golden

A2 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈɡoʊl.dən/ UK /ˈɡəʊl.dən/ See IPA manual

Freq #2080

Meanings

1

adj
Having the bright, warm yellow colour of gold.

She had long golden hair.
2

adj
Made of gold or relating to gold.

The queen wore a golden crown.
3

adj
Excellent and not to be missed; very favourable.

This is a golden opportunity to learn from the best.
4

adj
Marked by happiness, peace, and success.

The 1950s were a golden era for the city.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · having the bright, warm... gilded

3 adj · excellent and not to be... fortunate

4 adj · marked by happiness, peace,... halcyon prosperous

Word family

Derived forms engoldengolden-agergolden-chaingolden-eyedgolden-hairedgolden-raingolden-tonguedgolden-yellowgoldenbackgoldenberrygoldencarpetgoldeneye

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Phrases (1)

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golden retriever
a breed of retriever with a long golden coat

Adjective + noun

Idioms (7)

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golden rule
the most important rule or principle to follow
golden age
a period when something was at its most successful or admired
golden goose
a reliable source of money that must be protected, not exploited to death
golden handcuffs
financial incentives designed to keep a valuable employee from leaving
golden parachute
a generous severance package guaranteed to an executive who loses their job, typically after a takeover
golden path
the default, well-supported, happy-path way of using a system, opposed to exotic configurations

Proverbs (3)

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Simplified etymology

Golden is a medieval formation from gold, an Old English word descended from an ancient root meaning “yellow.” It replaced the earlier adjective gilden.

Etymology

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

*ǵʰelh₃- Proto-Indo-European golden Middle English gulden Middle English gylden Old English *gulþīn Proto-West Germanic *gulþīnaz Proto-Germanic

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Topics

Describing Qualities

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# golden

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈɡoʊl.dən/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈɡəʊl.dən/
**Frequency rank:** 2080

## Meanings
1. Having the bright, warm yellow colour of gold.
2. Made of gold or relating to gold.
3. Excellent and not to be missed; very favourable.
4. Marked by happiness, peace, and success.

## Examples
- She had long golden hair.
- The queen wore a golden crown.
- This is a golden opportunity to learn from the best.
- The 1950s were a golden era for the city.

## Derived Forms
- engolden
- golden-ager
- golden-chain
- golden-eyed
- golden-haired
- golden-rain
- golden-tongued
- golden-yellow
- goldenback
- goldenberry
- goldencarpet
- goldeneye

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *ǵʰelh₃-
- Root: golden
- Root: gulden
- Root: gylden
- Root: *gulþīn
- Root: *gulþīnaz

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

## AI Etymology
Golden comes from Middle English golden, a restored form (due to the noun gold) of earlier Middle English gulden, gylden, gilden ("golden"; > English gilden), from Old English gylden (“golden”), from Proto-West Germanic *gulþīn, from Proto-Germanic *gulþīnaz (“golden, made of gold”), equivalent to gold + -en. Cognate with Dutch gouden, gulden (“golden”), German gülden, golden (“golden”), Danish gylden (“golden”). Doublet of gilden. More at gold. The historical line also includes *ǵʰelh₃- (Proto-Indo-European). In current use, the main senses are “Having the bright, warm yellow colour of gold” and “Made of gold or relating to gold”.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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golden

Meanings

Thesaurus

Appears in

Phrases (1)

Idioms (7)

Proverbs (3)

Simplified etymology

Etymology

Topics

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