Emily Dickinson Lexicon

GELD, v.t. [pret. gelded or gelt; pp. gelded or gelt. G. geilen, gelten; Sw. gälla; Dan. gilder, to geld, and to cut off the gills of herrings; Ir. caillim, to geld, to lose, to destroy. Qu. W. colli, to lose, or Eth. ገለየ gali, to cut off.]

1. To castrate; to emasculate.
2. To deprive of any essential part. Shak.
3. To deprive of any thing immodest or exceptionable. Dryden.