Gold

Pronunciation

• RP IPA: /ɡəʊld/, /ɡɔʊld/
• US enPR: gōld, IPA: /É¡oÊŠld/, /É¡lÌ©d/
• Rhymes: -əʊld

Alternative forms

• gould obsolete

From Middle English gold, from Old English gold ("gold"), from Proto-Germanic *gulþą ("gold") (Compare Dutch goud, German Gold, Swedish guld), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰl̥tóm ("gold"), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰel- ("yellow; gleam; to shine"). compare Latvian zelts, Russian золото, Persian زرد (zard, "yellow, golden"), Sanskrit हिरण्य. More at yellow.

Full definition of gold

Noun

1. (uncountable) A heavy yellow elemental metal of great value, with atomic number 79 and symbol Au.
2. (countable) A coin made of this material, or supposedly so.
3. (countable) A bright yellow colour, resembling the metal gold.
4. (countable) The bullseye of an archery target.
5. (countable) A gold medal.France has won three golds and five silvers.
6. (figuratively) Anything or anyone considered to be very valuable.
• 2010, Paul Hendy, Who Killed Simon Peters?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.
• 2012, Victor Pemberton, Leo's GirlMarge Quincey didn't deserve a husband like his dad. He was pure gold, and she wasn't worth a light beside him.

Synonyms

• E175 when used as a food colouring

Derived terms

Related terms

Adjective

1. Made of gold.
• 1898, Winston Churchill, The Celebrity Chapter 2, 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.
2. Having the colour of gold.
• 1927, F. E. Penny, Pulling the Strings Chapter 4, 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.
• 1963, Margery Allingham, The China Governess Chapter 3, Here the stripped panelling was warmly gold and the pictures, mostly of the English school, were mellow and gentle in the afternoon light.
3. (of commercial services) Premium, superior.

Synonyms

• (having the colour of gold) golden

Verb

1. To pyrolyze or burn food until the color begins to change to a light brown, but not as dark as browning

From gold master, a copy of the code certified as being ready for release.

Adjective

1. (programming, of software) In a finished state, ready for manufacturing.
• 2004, Half-Life 2 goes gold, The Company confirmed that Half-Life 2, developed by Valve Software, has gone gold with a planned retail street date of November 16, 2004.
• 2011, Jordan Gray, Unearthed, 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, Jessica Mulligan and Bridgette Patrovsky, Developing Online Games: An Insider's Guide, I had coded guilds into M59 over the weekend, shortly before we were supposed to go gold.

Adverb

1. of or referring to a gold version of something