Etymologically
Log in

yield

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 13:18. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /jiːld/[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English yelden, inherited from Old English ġieldan (“to pay, repay; reward; worship, sacrifice to”) (Anglian geldan),[2][3][4][5] from Proto-Germanic *geldaną (“to pay”),[3][4] source also of Old Saxon geldan, to be worth, Dutch gelden (“to be worth, concern”), German gelten, Old Norse gjalda (“to repay”) and Gothic fra-gildan,[3][2] reconstructed from PIE Proto-Indo-European *gheldh- (“to pay”), a root found only in Germanic and Balto-Slavic.[3] It is related to German Geld (“money”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

To pay, repay, return, produce or surrender: before 1325 in Barnhart; to pay, about 725 in Beowulf.[2]

Semantic evolution

The OED notes that the surviving senses on the Continent, to be worth, to be valid, to concern, are not represented in English;[3] the English sense development came through its use to translate Latin reddere, French rendre.[3] To produce or bring forth, also to give in return for labour, is from about 1300, and later of invested capital.[3][6] To give oneself up, surrender, and to give way to superior force are also from about 1300.[3][6] The noun first meant a payment, tax or tribute (about 950), and production of crops from the mid-15th century;[7][3] the financial yield of an investment is from 1877.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 725 – to pay.[2]
  • c. 950 – a payment (noun).[7]
  • c. 1300 – to produce; to surrender.[3]
  • mid-15th century – a crop yield.[3]
  • 1877 – the yield of an investment.[7]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To produce or provide a crop, result or profit.
  2. To give way to pressure or force; to surrender or submit.
  3. To give up possession of; to relinquish.
  4. To give right of way to other traffic.

Noun

  1. The amount produced, as of a crop.
  2. The profit or income from an investment.

Word family

  • yielder
  • outyield
  • yieldable
  • unyielding
  • yielding
  • yield strength
  • yield to maturity
  • sustained yield
  • geld
  • guild
  • wergild

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press