Yield

Part of speech: verb, noun

Pronunciation: /jiːld/

Definitions

1. To produce or provide something, or to give way under pressure or force
2. To give way to physical force or pressure while also producing something of value, as well as complying with demands in a given context
3. To give in or surrender to influence or control while also generating a result or output in a process

Etymology: The core idea of "yield" is payment. In Old English, "ġieldan" meant "to pay," and its noun "ġield" meant "payment," so a yield was originally something handed over as a debt or tax. The sense of giving up ground or submitting came later, as paying what is owed began to mean surrendering to a demand. The word shares its root with "geld," a doublet that came into English along a different path and kept the older meaning of a payment or tribute. Both descend from a Proto-Germanic verb meaning "to pay," which goes back to a Proto-Indo-European root. Across the Germanic languages the same root spread widely: German "gelten" means "to apply" or "to be worth," and Dutch "geld" and German "Geld" both mean "money."

Synonyms: produce, generate, provide, surrender, give way

Antonyms: withhold, retain, refuse, resist, deny