Gold \Gold\ (g[=o]ld), n. [AS. gold; akin to D. goud, OS. & G.
gold, Icel. gull, Sw. & Dan. guld, Goth. gul[thorn], Russ. &
OSlav. zlato; prob. akin to E. yellow. [root]49, 234. See
Yellow, and cf. Gild, v. t.]
[1913 Webster]
1. (Chem.) A metallic element of atomic number 79,
constituting the most precious metal used as a common
commercial medium of exchange. It has a characteristic
yellow color, is one of the heaviest substances known
(specific gravity 19.32), is soft, and very malleable and
ductile. It is quite unalterable by heat (melting point
1064.4[deg] C), moisture, and most corrosive agents, and
therefore well suited for its use in coin and jewelry.
Symbol Au (Aurum). Atomic weight 196.97.
[1913 Webster]
Note: Native gold contains usually eight to ten per cent of
silver, but often much more. As the amount of silver
increases, the color becomes whiter and the specific
gravity lower. Gold is very widely disseminated, as in
the sands of many rivers, but in very small quantity.
It usually occurs in quartz veins (gold quartz), in
slate and metamorphic rocks, or in sand and alluvial
soil, resulting from the disintegration of such rocks.
It also occurs associated with other metallic
substances, as in auriferous pyrites, and is combined
with tellurium in the minerals petzite, calaverite,
sylvanite, etc. Pure gold is too soft for ordinary use,
and is hardened by alloying with silver and copper, the
latter giving a characteristic reddish tinge. [See
Carat.] Gold also finds use in gold foil, in the
pigment purple of Cassius, and in the chloride, which
is used as a toning agent in photography.
[1913 Webster]
2. Money; riches; wealth.
[1913 Webster]
For me, the gold of France did not seduce. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
3. A yellow color, like that of the metal; as, a flower
tipped with gold.
[1913 Webster]
4. Figuratively, something precious or pure; as, hearts of
gold. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
Age of gold. See Golden age, under Golden.
Dutch gold, Fool's gold, Gold dust, etc. See under
Dutch, Dust, etc.
Gold amalgam, a mineral, found in Columbia and California,
composed of gold and mercury.
Gold beater, one whose occupation is to beat gold into gold
leaf.
Gold beater's skin, the prepared outside membrane of the
large intestine of the ox, used for separating the leaves
of metal during the process of gold-beating.
Gold beetle (Zool.), any small gold-colored beetle of the
family Chrysomelid[ae]; -- called also golden beetle.
Gold blocking, printing with gold leaf, as upon a book
cover, by means of an engraved block. --Knight.
Gold cloth. See Cloth of gold, under Cloth.
Gold Coast, a part of the coast of Guinea, in West Africa.
Gold cradle. (Mining) See Cradle, n., 7.
Gold diggings, the places, or region, where gold is found
by digging in sand and gravel from which it is separated
by washing.
Gold end, a fragment of broken gold or jewelry.
Gold-end man.
(a) A buyer of old gold or jewelry.
(b) A goldsmith's apprentice.
(c) An itinerant jeweler. "I know him not: he looks like a
gold-end man." --B. Jonson.
Gold fever, a popular mania for gold hunting.
Gold field, a region in which are deposits of gold.
Gold finder.
(a) One who finds gold.
(b) One who empties privies. [Obs. & Low] --Swift.
Gold flower, a composite plant with dry and persistent
yellow radiating involucral scales, the Helichrysum
St[oe]chas of Southern Europe. There are many South
African species of the same genus.
Gold foil, thin sheets of gold, as used by dentists and
others. See Gold leaf.
Gold knobs or Gold knoppes (Bot.), buttercups.
Gold lace, a kind of lace, made of gold thread.
Gold latten, a thin plate of gold or gilded metal.
Gold leaf, gold beaten into a film of extreme thinness, and
used for gilding, etc. It is much thinner than gold foil.
Gold lode (Mining), a gold vein.
Gold mine, a place where gold is obtained by mining
operations, as distinguished from diggings, where it is
extracted by washing. Cf. Gold diggings (above).
Gold nugget, a lump of gold as found in gold mining or
digging; -- called also a pepito.
Gold paint. See Gold shell.
Gold pheasant, or Golden pheasant. (Zool.) See under
Pheasant.
Gold plate, a general name for vessels, dishes, cups,
spoons, etc., made of gold.
Mosaic gold. See under Mosaic.
[1913 Webster]
|
Golden \Gold"en\ (g[=o]ld"'n), a. [OE. golden; cf. OE. gulden,
AS. gylden, from gold. See Gold, and cf. Guilder.]
[1913 Webster]
1. Made of gold; consisting of gold.
[1913 Webster]
2. Having the color of gold; as, the golden grain.
[1913 Webster]
3. Very precious; highly valuable; excellent; eminently
auspicious; as, golden opinions.
[1913 Webster]
Golden age.
(a) The fabulous age of primeval simplicity and purity of
manners in rural employments, followed by the silver
age, bronze age, and iron age. --Dryden.
(b) (Roman Literature) The best part (B. C. 81 -- A. D.
14) of the classical period of Latinity; the time when
Cicero, C[ae]sar, Virgil, etc., wrote. Hence:
(c) That period in the history of a literature, etc., when
it flourishes in its greatest purity or attains its
greatest glory; as, the Elizabethan age has been
considered the golden age of English literature.
Golden balls, three gilt balls used as a sign of a
pawnbroker's office or shop; -- originally taken from the
coat of arms of Lombardy, the first money lenders in
London having been Lombards.
Golden bull. See under Bull, an edict.
Golden chain (Bot.), the shrub Cytisus Laburnum, so named
from its long clusters of yellow blossoms.
Golden club (Bot.), an aquatic plant (Orontium
aquaticum), bearing a thick spike of minute yellow
flowers.
Golden cup (Bot.), the buttercup.
Golden eagle (Zool.), a large and powerful eagle (Aquila
Chrysa["e]tos) inhabiting Europe, Asia, and North
America. It is so called from the brownish yellow tips of
the feathers on the head and neck. A dark variety is
called the royal eagle; the young in the second year is
the ring-tailed eagle.
Golden fleece.
(a) (Mythol.) The fleece of gold fabled to have been taken
from the ram that bore Phryxus through the air to
Colchis, and in quest of which Jason undertook the
Argonautic expedition.
(b) (Her.) An order of knighthood instituted in 1429 by
Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy; -- called also
Toison d'Or.
Golden grease, a bribe; a fee. [Slang]
Golden hair (Bot.), a South African shrubby composite plant
with golden yellow flowers, the Chrysocoma Coma-aurea.
Golden Horde (Hist.), a tribe of Mongolian Tartars who
overran and settled in Southern Russia early in the 18th
century.
Golden Legend, a hagiology (the "Aurea Legenda") written by
James de Voragine, Archbishop of Genoa, in the 13th
century, translated and printed by Caxton in 1483, and
partially paraphrased by Longfellow in a poem thus
entitled.
Golden marcasite tin. [Obs.]
Golden mean, the way of wisdom and safety between extremes;
sufficiency without excess; moderation.
[1913 Webster]
Angels guard him in the golden mean. --Pope.
Golden mole (Zool), one of several South African
Insectivora of the family Chrysochlorid[ae], resembling
moles in form and habits. The fur is tinted with green,
purple, and gold.
Golden number (Chronol.), a number showing the year of the
lunar or Metonic cycle. It is reckoned from 1 to 19, and
is so called from having formerly been written in the
calendar in gold.
Golden oriole. (Zool.) See Oriole.
Golden pheasant. See under Pheasant.
Golden pippin, a kind of apple, of a bright yellow color.
Golden plover (Zool.), one of several species of plovers,
of the genus Charadrius, esp. the European (Charadrius
apricarius, syn. Charadrius pluvialis; -- called also
yellow plover, black-breasted plover, hill plover,
and whistling plover. The common American species
(Charadrius dominicus) is also called frostbird, and
bullhead.
Golden robin. (Zool.) See Baltimore oriole, in Vocab.
Golden rose (R. C. Ch.), a gold or gilded rose blessed by
the pope on the fourth Sunday in Lent, and sent to some
church or person in recognition of special services
rendered to the Holy See.
Golden rule.
(a) The rule of doing as we would have others do to us.
Cf. --Luke vi. 31.
(b) The rule of proportion, or rule of three.
Golden samphire (Bot.), a composite plant (Inula
crithmoides), found on the seashore of Europe.
Golden saxifrage (Bot.), a low herb with yellow flowers
(Chrysosplenium oppositifolium), blossoming in wet
places in early spring.
Golden seal (Bot.), a perennial ranunculaceous herb
(Hydrastis Canadensis), with a thick knotted rootstock
and large rounded leaves.
Golden sulphide of antimony, or Golden sulphuret of
antimony (Chem.), the pentasulphide of antimony, a golden or
orange yellow powder.
Golden warbler (Zool.), a common American wood warbler
(Dendroica [ae]stiva); -- called also blue-eyed yellow
warbler, garden warbler, and summer yellow bird.
Golden wasp (Zool.), a bright-colored hymenopterous insect,
of the family Chrysidid[ae]. The colors are golden,
blue, and green.
Golden wedding. See under Wedding.
[1913 Webster]
|
Pheasant \Pheas"ant\ (f[e^]z"ant), n. [OE. fesant, fesaunt, OF.
faisant, faisan, F. faisan, L. phasianus, Gr. fasiano`s (sc.
'o`rnis) the Phasian bird, pheasant, fr. Fa`sis a river in
Colchis or Pontus.]
1. (Zool.) Any one of numerous species of large gallinaceous
birds of the genus Phasianus, and many other genera of
the family Phasianid[ae], found chiefly in Asia.
[1913 Webster]
Note: The
common pheasant, or English pheasant (Phasianus
Colchicus) is now found over most of temperate Europe,
but was introduced from Asia. The
ring-necked pheasant (Phasianus torquatus) and the
green pheasant (Phasianus versicolor) have been
introduced into Oregon. The
golden pheasant (Thaumalea picta) is one of the most
beautiful species. The
silver pheasant (Euplocamus nychthemerus) of China, and
several related species from Southern Asia, are very
beautiful.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Zool.) The ruffed grouse. [Southern U.S.]
[1913 Webster]
Note: Various other birds are locally called pheasants, as
the lyre bird, the leipoa, etc.
[1913 Webster]
Fireback pheasant. See Fireback.
Gold pheasant, or Golden pheasant (Zool.), a Chinese
pheasant (Thaumalea picta), having rich, varied colors.
The crest is amber-colored, the rump is golden yellow, and
the under parts are scarlet.
Mountain pheasant (Zool.), the ruffed grouse. [Local, U.S.]
Pheasant coucal (Zool.), a large Australian cuckoo
(Centropus phasianus). The general color is black, with
chestnut wings and brown tail. Called also pheasant
cuckoo. The name is also applied to other allied species.
Pheasant duck. (Zool.)
(a) The pintail.
(b) The hooded merganser.
Pheasant parrot (Zool.), a large and beautiful Australian
parrakeet (Platycercus Adelaidensis). The male has the
back black, the feathers margined with yellowish blue and
scarlet, the quills deep blue, the wing coverts and cheeks
light blue, the crown, sides of the neck, breast, and
middle of the belly scarlet.
Pheasant's eye. (Bot.)
(a) A red-flowered herb (Adonis autumnalis) of the
Crowfoot family; -- called also pheasant's-eye
Adonis.
(b) The garden pink (Dianthus plumarius); -- called also
Pheasant's-eye pink.
Pheasant shell (Zool.), any marine univalve shell of the
genus Phasianella, of which numerous species are found
in tropical seas. The shell is smooth and usually richly
colored, the colors often forming blotches like those of a
pheasant.
Pheasant wood. (Bot.) Same as Partridge wood
(a), under Partridge.
Sea pheasant (Zool.), the pintail.
Water pheasant. (Zool.)
(a) The sheldrake.
(b) The hooded merganser.
[1913 Webster]
|