Webster's 1913 Dictionary
DANEGELD; DANEGELT
Dane "geld `, Dane "gelt `, n. Etym: [AS. danegeld. See Dane, and Geld, n.] (Eng. Hist. )
Defn: An annual tax formerly laid on the English nation to buy off the ravages of Danish invaders, or to maintain forces to oppose them. It afterward became a permanent tax, raised by an assessment, at first of one shilling, afterward of two shillings, upon every hide of land throughout the realm. Wharton's Law Dict. Tomlins.
New American Oxford Dictionary
Danegeld
Dane geld |ˈdānˌgeld ˈdeɪnɡɛld | ▶noun historical a land tax levied in medieval England, originally to raise funds for protection against Danish invaders. ORIGIN late Old English, from Old Norse Danir ‘Danes ’ + gjald ‘payment. ’
Oxford Dictionary
Danegeld
Danegeld |ˈdeɪngɛld | ▶noun [ mass noun ] historical a land tax levied in Anglo-Saxon England during the reign of King Ethelred to raise funds for protection against Danish invaders. • taxes collected for national defence by the Norman kings until 1162. ORIGIN late Old English, from Old Norse Danir ‘Danes ’ + gjald ‘payment ’.
The Wordsmith Dictionary