gold latten

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   historical: gold formed into thin plates or sheets

   The reliquary's damaged border was repaired with a narrow strip of gold latten.

2. 2
   noun

   historical: thin gilded metal, especially brass or another yellow metal made to resemble gold

   The restorer identified the bright ornament as gold latten rather than solid gold.

A compound of gold and latten, recorded for both actual gold in thin plates and gilded base-metal sheet. Latten came through Middle English latoun and Old French laton or laiton from Arabic latun, 'copper or copper alloy'; its deeper history is often connected with Turkic words for gold. The historical spelling is normally open, but it is hyphenated attributively in Wilde.

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