An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/gelten

by Friedrich Kluge

gelten, verb, ‘to be worth, pass current, prove effectual,’ from Middle High German gëlten, Old High German gëltan, strong verb, ‘to repay, pay, cost, be worth, requite, compensate’; compare Gothic us-, fra-gildan, ‘to requite’ (akin to Gothic gild and gilstr, neuter, ‘tax’), Old Icelandic gjalda (Old Swedish, also gialla, from Teutonic gelþan), ‘to pay,’ Anglo-Saxon gildan, English to yield, Dutch gelden, ‘to be worth, cost,’ Old Saxon geldan. The common Teutonic stem gelþ, the þ of which is proved by Old Swedish from pre-Teutonic ghel-t, points to the fact that Old Slovenian žlědą, ‘I pay, atone for,’ was borrowed. The primary meaning of the Teutonic cognates is ‘to make good, pay over something’; it seems to be specially applied to religious sacrifices; compare Anglo-Saxon gild, Old Saxon gëld, ‘sacrifice’ (akin to Greek τέλθος, ‘duty’?). See Geld, Gilde. — The particle gelt, which first occurs in early Modern High German, is properly the subj. present of the verb gelten.