Etymology From Middle English gold, from Old English gold (“gold”), from Proto-West Germanic *golþ, from Proto-Germanic *gulþą (“gold”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰl̥h₃tóm (“gold”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰelh₃- (“green, yellow”). Related to yellow; see there for more. Germanic cognates include Scots gowd, Dutch goud, German Gold, Faroese, Icelandic, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk gull, Danish and Swedish guld, and cognates from other Indo-European languages include Latvian zelts, Russian зо́лото (zóloto), Persian زرد (zard, “yellow, golden”), Sanskrit हिरण्य (hiraṇya).
A heavy yellow elemental metal of great value, with atomic number 79.
You like to hear about gold. A king filled his prison room As full as the room could hold To the top of his reach on the wall With every known shape of the stuff. ’Twas to buy himself off his doom.1936, Robert Frost, “The Vindictives”, in A Further Range:
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A coin or coinage made of this material, or supposedly so.
The pirates were searching for gold.
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A deep yellow colour, resembling the metal gold.
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The bullseye of an archery target.
Daniel hit the gold to win the contest.
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A gold medal.
France has won three golds and five silvers.
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Figuratively Anything or anyone that is very valuable.
That food mixer you gave me is absolute gold, mate!
Now obviously this meant that I went over my allotted time, but the theatre management didn't mind because I was giving them comedy gold and that's what gets bums on seats.2010, Paul Hendy, Who Killed Simon Peters?:
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Marge Quincey didn't deserve a husband like his dad. He was pure gold, and she wasn't worth a light beside him.2012, Victor Pemberton, Leo's Girl:
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In plural, Slang A grill (jewellery worn on front teeth) made of gold.
gold
symbol
Etymology From Middle English gold, from Old English gold (“gold”), from Proto-West Germanic *golþ, from Proto-Germanic *gulþą (“gold”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰl̥h₃tóm (“gold”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰelh₃- (“green, yellow”). Related to yellow; see there for more. Germanic cognates include Scots gowd, Dutch goud, German Gold, Faroese, Icelandic, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk gull, Danish and Swedish guld, and cognates from other Indo-European languages include Latvian zelts, Russian зо́лото (zóloto), Persian زرد (zard, “yellow, golden”), Sanskrit हिरण्य (hiraṇya).
Etymology From Middle English gold, from Old English gold (“gold”), from Proto-West Germanic *golþ, from Proto-Germanic *gulþą (“gold”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰl̥h₃tóm (“gold”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰelh₃- (“green, yellow”). Related to yellow; see there for more. Germanic cognates include Scots gowd, Dutch goud, German Gold, Faroese, Icelandic, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk gull, Danish and Swedish guld, and cognates from other Indo-European languages include Latvian zelts, Russian зо́лото (zóloto), Persian زرد (zard, “yellow, golden”), Sanskrit हिरण्य (hiraṇya).
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Usually Made of gold.
a gold chain
Sunning himself on the board steps, I saw for the first time Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke.[…]A silver snaffle on a heavy leather watch guard which connected the pockets of his corduroy waistcoat, together with a huge gold stirrup in his Ascot tie, sufficiently proclaimed his tastes.1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter II, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
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Usually Having the colour of gold.
gold sticker
gold socks
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Soon after the arrival of Mrs. Campbell, dinner was announced by Abboye. He came into the drawing room resplendent in his gold-and-white turban. […] His cummerbund matched the turban in gold lines.1927, F. E. Penny, chapter 4, in Pulling the Strings:
Here the stripped panelling was warmly gold and the pictures, mostly of the English school, were mellow and gentle in the afternoon light.1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 3, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
The album went gold, then platinum, thanks to a second hit single, "It's A Miracle".2000, Billboard, volume 112, number 20, page 52:
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Academia, Media, Publishing, Scholarly, SciencesUsually Subject to or involving a model of open access in which a published article is immediately available for to read for free with no embargo period.
Coordinate term: green
Scholars who make their work green open access rather than gold never pay a fee to do so. Even when they choose the gold route, only 33% of peer-reviewed open access journals charge author-side fees.2013 October 21, Peter Suber, “Open access: six myths to put to rest”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 03 Jun 2023:
gold
verb
Etymology From Middle English gold, from Old English gold (“gold”), from Proto-West Germanic *golþ, from Proto-Germanic *gulþą (“gold”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰl̥h₃tóm (“gold”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰelh₃- (“green, yellow”). Related to yellow; see there for more. Germanic cognates include Scots gowd, Dutch goud, German Gold, Faroese, Icelandic, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk gull, Danish and Swedish guld, and cognates from other Indo-European languages include Latvian zelts, Russian зо́лото (zóloto), Persian زرد (zard, “yellow, golden”), Sanskrit हिरण्य (hiraṇya).
1
To appear or cause to appear golden.
I caught sight of something that seemed the nexus of all that glittered, all that golded: like a hallucination in the traffic's rotary heart, a saried creature giddily swirling her own razored rainbow roundabout, mirrored fabric sending light spinning like saberlike amidst the smoking, choking cars.2010, Tanuja Desai Hidier, Born Confused:
You are the sun at Noon, that golds the barley, and pulls the bee to the ling on the moor.2011, Harry Nicholson, Tom Fleck, page 250:
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Worked wonders, knowing a thing like that. Golded up your hair, even, for all your record said indeterminate. Golded up the whole world, really.2011, D G Compton, A Usual Lunacy:
But I work still, a dead, unheeding man across the endless interface: wishing I was the sun who golds the lake or the lake, comprehending sun.2011, Robert M. Ellis, “Pokhara Lake”, in North Cape: Selected Poems of a Poet Turned Philosopher, page 21:
Hair down to my shoulders; waved and liquid-golded. Eyebrows shaved to a different shape and golded. Handle-bar mustache, waxed to points and golded.2021, Edward Elmer Smith, The Imperial Stars:
The Company confirmed that Half-Life 2, developed by Valve Software, has gone gold with a planned retail street date of November 16, 2004.2004 November, “Half-Life 2 goes gold”, in HWM, page 10:
He felt bone-tired and twitchy, the way he did in the final stages of putting a video-game project together, almost ready to go gold and turn a new game loose on the public.2011, Jordan Gray, Unearthed, page 6:
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I had coded guilds into M59 over the weekend, shortly before we were supposed to go gold.2011, Jessica Mulligan, Bridgette Patrovsky, quoting Damion Schubert, Developing Online Games: An Insider's Guide, page 221: