Yield, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Yielded; obs. p. p. Yold; p. pr. & vb. n. Yielding.]
Etymology: [OE. yelden, ýelden, ýilden, AS. gieldan, gildan, to pay, give, restore, make an offering; akin to OFries. jelda, OS. geldan, D. gelden to cost, to be worth, G. gelten, OHG. geltan to pay, restore, make an offering, be worth, Icel. gjalda to pay, give up, Dan. gielde to be worth, Sw. gälla to be worth, gälda to pay, Goth. gildan in fragildan, usgildan. Cf. 1st Geld, Guild.]
1. To give in return for labor expended; to produce, as payment or interest on what is expended or invested; to pay; as, money at interest yields six or seven per cent. To yelde Jesu Christ his proper rent. Chaucer. When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength. Gen. iv. 12.
2. To furnish; to afford; to render; to give forth. "Vines yield nectar." Milton. [He] makes milch kine yield blood. Shak. The wilderness yieldeth food for them and for their children. Job xxiv. 5.
3. To give up, as something that is claimed or demanded; to make over to one who has a claim or right; to resign; to surrender; to relinquish; as a city, an opinion, etc. And, force perforce, I'll make him yield the crown. Shak. Shall yield up all their virtue, all their fame. Milton.
4. To admit to be true; to concede; to allow. I yield it just, said Adam, and submit. Milton.
2 more senses
5. To permit; to grant; as, to yield passage.
6. To give a reward to; to bless. [Obs.] Chaucer. Tend me to-night two hours, I ask no more, And the gods yield you for 't. Shak. God yield thee, and God thank ye. Beau. & Fl. To yield the breath, the ghost, or the life, to die; to expire; -- often followed by up. One calmly yields his willing breath. Keble.
2 other Webster entries under this spelling
Yield, v. i.
1. To give up the contest; to submit; to surrender; to succumb. He saw the fainting Grecians yield. Dryden.
2. To comply with; to assent; as, I yielded to his request.
3. To give way; to cease opposition; to be no longer a hindrance or an obstacle; as, men readily yield to the current of opinion, or to customs; the door yielded. Will ye relent, And yield to mercy while 't is offered you Shak.
4. To give place, as inferior in rank or excellence; as, they will yield to us in nothing. Nay tell me first, in what more happy fields The thistle springs, to which the lily yields Pope.
Yield, n.
Amount yielded; product; -- applied especially to products resulting from growth or cultivation. "A goodly yield of fruit doth bring." Bacon.
Shades of meaning
Fernald has no entry of its own for yield; he lists it under allow, bend, harvest, surrender.
Where he writes about it:
We allow a child's innocent intrusion; we concede a right; grant a request; consent to a sale of property; permit an inspection of accounts; sanction a marriage; tolerate the rudeness of a well-meaning servant; submit to a surgical operation; yield to a demand or necessity against our wish or will, or yield something under compulsion; as, the sheriff yielded the keys at the muzzle of a revolver, and allowed the mob to enter. — from allow
To submit or yield is to bend the mind humbly to another's wishes. — from bend
The yield is what the land gives up to the farmer's demand; we speak of the return from an expenditure of money or labor, but of the yield of corn or oats. — from harvest
To yield is to give place or give way under pressure, and hence under compulsion. — from surrender
Yield implies more softness or concession than surrender; the most determined men may surrender to overwhelming force; when one yields, his spirit is at least somewhat subdued. — from surrender
We sacrifice something precious through error, friendship, or duty, yield to convincing reasons, a stronger will, winsome persuasion, or superior force. — from surrender