Geld is intriguing in that it has widely varying meaning as a noun and a verb, and also touches on a range of historical contexts. The reference to castration, especially of animals, as well as money, specifically taxes, gives the word almost uncontrollable resonances in the context of Bloom.
From the O.E.D. :
Geld, n.
a. The tax paid to the crown by English landholders before the Conquest, and continued under the Norman kings.
Geld, v.1
a. to deprive (a male) of generative power or virility, to castrate or emasculate. Obsolescent in general literary use; current in technical language with reference to animals.
b. to extirpate the ovaries of (a female), to spay.
a. trans and fig. To deprive of some essential part; to cut down the resources of; to impair the strength or force of, to weaken, enfeeble. Obs.
b. To mutilate (a book, a quotation, etc.) by excising certain portions, esp. objectionable or obscene passage; to expurgate.
Geld, v.2
- trans. To charge with ‘geld’.
