An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Gelte

by Friedrich Kluge

Gelte, feminine, ‘pail, bucket, vessel,’ from Middle High German gęlte, Old High German gęllita, feminine, ‘vessel for liquids’; adopted in the Old High German period from Middle Latin galêta, with which are also connected the Romance cognates — French jale, ‘pail,’ Italian galea, galeotta, French galiasse, galion, applied to different kinds of ships. The ultimate source of the cognates is obscure.