To Geld. v.a. preter. gelded or gelt; part. pass. gelded or gelt. [gelten, German.]
- To castrate; to deprive of the power of generation.
Geld bull-calf and ram lamb as soon as they fall. Tusser.
Lord Say hath gelded the commonwealth, and made it an eunuch. Shakesp. Henry VI.
- To deprive of any essential part.
He bears his course, and runs me up
With like advantage on the other side,
Gelding th' oppos'd continent as much
As on the other side it takes from you. Shakesp. Henry IV. - To deprive of any thing immodest, or liable to objection.
They were diligent enough to make sure work, and to geld it so clearly in some places that they took away the very manhood of it. Dryden's Preface to Cleomenes.