yield English · revision 7167

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 1325|origins=gem-pro *geldaną}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /jiːld/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English yelden, [[inh|ang|ġieldan|t=to pay, repay; reward; worship, sacrifice to]] (Anglian geldan),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) from [[gem-pro|*geldaną|t=to pay]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) source also of Old Saxon geldan, to be worth, Dutch [[m|nl|gelden|t=to be worth, concern]], German [[m|de|gelten]], Old Norse [[m|non|gjalda|t=to repay]] and Gothic fra-gildan,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) reconstructed from PIE [[ine-pro|*gʰeldʰ-|alt=*gheldh-|t=to pay]], a root found only in Germanic and Balto-Slavic.^(Etymonline) It is related to German [[m|de|Geld|t=money]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To pay, repay, return, produce or surrender: before 1325 in Barnhart; to pay, about 725 in Beowulf.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==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;^(Etymonline) the English sense development came through its use to translate Latin reddere, French rendre.^(Etymonline) To produce or bring forth, also to give in return for labour, is from about 1300, and later of invested capital.^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998) To give oneself up, surrender, and to give way to superior force are also from about 1300.^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998) The noun first meant a payment, tax or tribute (about 950), and production of crops from the mid-15th century;^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) the financial yield of an investment is from 1877.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – to pay.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 950 – a payment (noun).^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1300 – to produce; to surrender.^(Etymonline)

+ * mid-15th century – a crop yield.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1877 – the yield of an investment.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To produce or provide a crop, result or profit.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To give way to pressure or force; to [[surrender]] or submit.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To give up possession of; to relinquish.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To give right of way to other traffic.^(COED 2004)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # The amount produced, as of a crop.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The profit or income from an investment.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[yielder]]

+ * [[outyield]]

+ * [[yieldable]]

+ * [[unyielding]]

+ * [[yielding]]

+ * [[yield strength]]

+ * [[yield to maturity]]

+ * [[sustained yield]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[geld]]

+ * [[guild]]

+ * [[wergild]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}