gold

n. & adj.
—n.
1 a yellow malleable ductile high density metallic element resistant to chemical reaction, occurring naturally in quartz veins and gravel, and precious as a monetary medium, in jewellery, etc.
Usage:
Symb.: Au.
2 the colour of gold.
3 a coins or articles made of gold. b money in large sums, wealth.
4 something precious, beautiful, or brilliant (all that glitters is not gold).
5 = gold medal.
6 gold used for coating a surface or as a pigment, gilding.
7 the bull's-eye of an archery target (usu. gilt).
—adj.
1 made wholly or chiefly of gold.
2 coloured like gold.
Phrases and idioms:
age of gold = golden age. gold amalgam an easily-moulded combination of gold with mercury. gold-beater a person who beats gold out into gold leaf. gold-beater's skin a membrane used to separate leaves of gold during beating, or as a covering for slight wounds. gold bloc a bloc of countries having a gold standard. gold brick sl.
1 a thing with only a surface appearance of value, a sham or fraud.
2 US a lazy person.
gold-digger
1 sl. a woman who wheedles money out of men.
2 a person who digs for gold. gold-dust 1 gold in fine particles as often found naturally.
2 a plant, Alyssum saxatile, with many small yellow flowers. gold-field a district in which gold is found as a mineral. gold foil gold beaten into a thin sheet. gold leaf gold beaten into a very thin sheet. gold medal a medal of gold, usu. awarded as first prize.
gold-mine
1 a place where gold is mined.
2 colloq. a source of wealth. gold of pleasure an annual yellow-flowered plant, Camelina sativa.
gold plate
1 vessels made of gold.
2 material plated with gold. gold-plate v.tr. plate with gold. gold reserve a reserve of gold coins or bullion held by a central bank etc. gold-rush a rush to a newly-discovered gold-field. gold standard a system by which the value of a currency is defined in terms of gold, for which the currency may be exchanged.
Gold Stick
1 (in the UK) a gilt rod carried on State occasions by the colonel of the Life Guards or the captain of the gentlemen-at-arms.
2 the officer carrying this rod.
gold thread
1 a thread of silk etc. with gold wire wound round it.
2 a bitter plant, Coptis tinfolia.
Etymology: OE f. Gmc