From Middle High German gelt, from Old High German gelt, kelt, from Proto-West Germanic *geld, from Proto-Germanic *geldą (“reward, gift, money”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰeldʰ- (“to pay”). The modern consonantism -d instead of expected -t is Central and Low German (compare Middle Low German gelt, -des, from Old Saxon geld); but also Upper German in some dialects through revoicing after -l-. Compare Dutch geld, English geld, yield, Swedish gäld.