guild English · revision 14930

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=inherited|attested=before 1000|origins=gem-pro *geldja-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɡɪld/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|gilde]], earlier [[m|enm|yilde]], [[inh|ang|gegield|t=guild, brotherhood]] fused with [[m|ang|gield|t=payment, tribute, offering]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) with its spelling later influenced by [[non|gildi|t=guild, payment]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) Hoad and the NODE take the present form from [[gml|gilde]] or [[dum|gilde]].^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) All go back to [[gem-pro|*geldja-|t=payment, contribution]] (see [[yield]]).^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) The link is probably the payment made to join, though some see the older sense of sacrifice, a union for worship.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ An association for mutual aid, of medieval origin: before 1000 in the OED.^(OED 1989) It is in the compound Chapmanegilde probably about 1230, and as gylde before 1338.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The Anglo-Saxon guilds had a strong religious element and were burial societies.^(Etymonline) The meeting place of a guild was also called a guild,^(OED 1989) any company or fellowship from 1630,^(OED 1989) and modern associations took the name from 1827.^(OED 1989) In ecology a guild is a group of species with similar roles (1903).^(OED 1989)^(AHD) In Scotland and Northumberland a guild was an assembly of burgesses.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1000 – a guild.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1230 – Chapmanegilde.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1630 – any company or fellowship.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1827 – modern associations.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1903 – guild (ecology).^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An association of people of the same trade or interests, formed for mutual aid and to keep standards.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(history)'' A medieval association of merchants or craftsmen.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(ecology)'' A group of plants or species with similar habits, such as [[epiphyte|alt=epiphytes]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[guildship]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[yield]]

+ * [[guildhall]]

+ * [[geld]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ It is also spelled gild.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}