golden

English

WOTD – 19 February 2010

Wikipedia has articles on:

Golden

Wikipedia

Alternative forms

goulden (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English golden, a restored form (due to the noun gold) of earlier Middle English gulden, gylden, gilden (“golden”), from Old English gylden (“golden”), from Proto-Germanic *gulþīnaz (“golden, made of gold”), equivalent to gold +‎ -en. Cognate with Dutch gouden (“golden”), German gülden, golden (“golden”), Danish gylden (“golden”). More at gold.

Pronunciation

(UK) IPA: /ˈɡəʊl.dən/, X-SAMPA: /'g@Ul.d@n/
(US) IPA: /ˈɡoʊl.dən/, X-SAMPA: /'goUl.d@n/

Audio (US, California)

(file)

Rhymes: -əʊldən
Hyphenation: gol‧den

Adjective

golden (comparative more golden, superlative most golden)

Made of, or relating to, gold.
She wore a golden crown.
Having a colour or other richness suggestive of gold.
Under a golden sun.
Marked by prosperity, creativity etc.
The Renaissance was a golden era.

the Golden Horseshoe
Advantageous or very favourable.
This is a golden opportunity
Relating to a fiftieth anniversary.
It's not long until our golden wedding.

Derived terms

Terms derived from golden (adjective)

Translations

made of, or relating to, gold

Armenian: ոսկե (hy) (oske)
Catalan: d'or (ca) m, daurat (ca)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 金的 (cmn) (jīn de), 黃金的 (cmn), 黄金的 (cmn) (huángjīn de)
Finnish: kultainen (fi)
French: d'or (fr), en or (fr)
German: golden (de)
Greek: χρυσός (el) (chrysós) m

Italian: d'oro (it)
Japanese: 黄金の (ja) (おうごんの, ōgon-no)
Latin: aureus (la)
Persian: طلایی (fa) (talâyi), زرین (fa) (zarrin)
Polish: złoty (pl) m
Portuguese: de ouro (pt), dourado (pt)
Russian: золотой (ru) (zolotój) m
Spanish: de oro (es) (made of gold), dorado (es)
Telugu: బంగారు (te)

having a colour or other richness suggestive of gold

Catalan: , daurada (ca) f, daurat (ca) m
Chinese:
Mandarin: 金色的 (cmn) (jīnsè de)
Esperanto: ora (eo)
Finnish: kultainen (fi)
French: doré (fr)
German: golden (de)
Greek: χρυσός (el) (chrysós) m, χρυσαφένιος (el) (chrysafénios) m

Hebrew: זהוב (he) (zahóv)
Italian: dorato (it)
Latin: inauratus (la), aurosus (la)
Occitan: daurat (oc)
Persian: طلایی (fa) (talâyi)
Polish: złoty (pl) m, złocisty (pl) m
Portuguese: dourado (pt)
Russian: золотой (ru) (zolotój), золотистый (ru) (zolotístyj)
Spanish: dorado (es)

marked by prosperity, creativity, etc.

Finnish: kulta- (fi)
Greek: χρυσός (el) (chrysós) m
Italian: d'oro (it)
Latin: aureus (la)

Polish: złoty (pl) m
Russian: золотой (ru) (zolotój) m
Spanish: dorado (es), de oro (es)

advantageous or very favourable

Finnish: tuhannen taalan (fi)
Greek: χρυσός (el) (chrysós) m
Italian: d'oro (it)

Latin: aureus (la)
Polish: wielki (pl) m

relating to a fiftieth anniversary

Finnish: kulta- (fi)
Italian: d'oro (it)
Latin: aureus (la)

Polish: złoty (pl) m
Spanish: de oro (es)

Verb

golden (third-person singular simple present goldens, present participle goldening, simple past and past participle goldened)

(intransitive) To become golden (in colour).
(transitive) To make golden or like gold.
- 1994, Marion H. Hedges, Iron City:
  It goldened, as nothing else goldened, the commonplace countryside.