gelts

Noun (1)

gelt (plural gelts)

1. (rare) A lunatic.
   • She […] like a ghastly Gelt whose wits are reaved, / Ran forth in hast with hideous outcry […]1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book IV, Canto VII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC

Noun (2)

gelt (plural gelts)

1. (obsolete) Gilding; gilt.

Noun (3)

gelt (plural gelts)

1. A gelding.
   • spay'd Gelts1707, J[ohn] Mortimer, The Whole Art of Husbandry; or, The Way of Managing and Improving of Land. […], London: […] J[ohn] H[umphreys] for H[enry] Mortlock […], and J[onathan] Robinson […], →OCLC

Noun (4)

gelt (usually uncountable, plural gelts)

1. (usually, especially thieves' cant and Polari, later Judaism and general slang) Money.
   • That nothynge had / There of theyr awne / Neyther gelt nor pawne.c. 1529, John Skelton, The Tunning of Elynour Rummyng, section 610
2. (usually) Tribute; tax.
   • All these the king granted unto them […] free from all gelts [guilds] and payments, in a most full and ample manner.1655, Thomas Fuller, The History of Waltham Abbey
3. (Judaism, usually) Money, especially that given as a gift on Hanukkah or used in games of dreidel.

See all 7 meanings of gelt