Etymologically
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golden

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 20:43. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈɡəʊl.dən/, US /ˈɡoʊl.dən/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English golden, formed from English gold + -en,[2][3] replacing Middle English gilden, from Old English gylden.[2][4] Gold is one of the few modern English nouns that form adjectives meaning “made of” with -en, as in wooden and leaden.[2] It is related to gold and gild.[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Made of gold: about 1275 in the OED,[5] about 1300 in Etymonline.[2]

Semantic evolution

“Of the colour of gold” is from the late 14th century[2] (about 1300 in the OED),[5] and the figurative “excellent, precious, most valuable” also from the late 14th century.[2][5] “Favourable, auspicious”, as in a golden opportunity, is from about 1600.[2][5] The golden mean translates Horace's aurea mediocritas,[2] and golden age, an idyllic period in the past, is from late Middle English,[4] the 1550s in Etymonline, after the Greek and Roman poets' name for the first age of mankind;[2][4] as “old age” it is from 1961.[2] Golden rule was earlier golden law (1670s),[2] and in mathematics the golden rule was the rule of three (1542).[5] To kill the goose that lays the golden eggs is from 1597.[5] The golden handshake is from the late 1950s, followed by golden handcuffs (1960s) and golden hello (1980s).[4]

Timeline

  • c. 1275 – made of gold.[5]
  • late 14th century – precious, excellent.[2]
  • 1542 – golden rule in arithmetic.[5]
  • 1550s – golden age.[2]
  • c. 1600 – auspicious.[2]
  • 1670s – golden law.[2]
  • late 1950s – golden handshake.[4]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Made of or containing gold.
  2. Having the colour of gold.
  3. Shining; radiant.
  4. Of great value; precious: a golden opportunity.
  5. Marked by peace and prosperity: a golden age.
  6. Of a 50th anniversary: golden wedding.

Word family

  • goldenly
  • goldenness

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e f Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press