To yield can mean to produce something, like crops or results, or to give way, like letting another car go first. It can also mean to stop resisting and accept something.
“Yield” comes from Old English “ġieldan,” meaning “to pay” or “to give.” The idea of giving turned into producing (giving results) and giving way (letting others go or win).
The same word that tells drivers to “yield” also describes how fields “yield” crops—both are about giving. English reused one root for both surrender and productivity, tying together very different kinds of ‘giving.’
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