# golden

Pronunciation: say "GOHL-duhn" US /ˈɡoʊl.dən/, UK /ˈɡəʊl.dən/

## Adjective

1. Having a color, glow, or richness that suggests gold.
   - Simple: Having a color, glow, or rich, warm quality that reminds you of gold.
   - _Late-afternoon light turned the wheat fields golden._
   - _Her voice had a golden warmth that filled the concert hall._
2. Fashioned from gold, or connected with gold in some way.
   - Simple: Made of gold, or having to do with gold.
   - _The museum displays a golden goblet hammered from solid gold centuries ago._
   - _Divers recovered golden jewelry from the wreck of the treasure ship._
3. Marked by prosperity, creativity, or similar flourishing.
   - Simple: Describing a time that is very successful and full of good things.
   - _Critics consider the 1970s a golden era for American film._
   - _The port city enjoyed a golden period of trade and invention._
4. Offering a clear advantage; very favorable.
   - Simple: Very good for you, giving a great chance to succeed.
   - _The merger gives the startup a golden opportunity to expand overseas._
   - _A canceled flight turned into a golden chance to explore the city._
5. Relating to a fiftieth anniversary.
   - Simple: Connected with a fiftieth anniversary, like fifty years of marriage.
   - _Their children are planning a big dinner by the lake for their parents' golden anniversary next spring._
   - _The firm marked its golden jubilee with a company-wide celebration._
7. Relating to the elderly or to people who have retired.
   - Simple: About older people or the years after retirement.
   - _They spent their golden years traveling the country in a small camper._
   - _After forty years at the factory, he spent his golden years fishing and visiting his grandchildren._
8. Completely fine, with nothing wrong and no problems left to worry about. *(slang, US)*
   - Simple: Totally fine, with no problems to worry about.
   - _Once the boiler's fixed, you'll be golden for the winter._
   - _We picked up the keys to the apartment, so we're golden._
9. Describing a beverage flavored or colored with turmeric.
   - Simple: Used for drinks made yellow with the spice turmeric.
   - _The café's golden latte owes its bright color to fresh turmeric._
   - _She drinks golden milk made with turmeric and honey before bed._

## Noun

6. Ellipsis of golden retriever. — Ellipsis of golden retriever.
   - Simple: Short for golden retriever. People say it as a quick way to name the friendly dog breed.
   - _The breeder had one golden left from the spring litter._
   - _Their golden swims in the lake every chance it gets._

## Verb

10. To give something a gold color, or to take on a gold color. *(literary)*
   - Simple: To make something the color of gold, or to turn the color of gold.
   - _Watch the autumn light golden the hillsides each evening._
   - _Years of sunlight have goldened the old linen curtains._

## Other meanings

- (noun) A sea chub, Kyphosus vaigiensis, a silvery fish with thin golden lines along its body, found in warm seas worldwide, including Southeast Asia.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–9** — From Middle English golden (a form reshaped after the noun gold from earlier gulden, gylden), from Old English gylden, going back to Proto-Germanic *gulþīnaz ('golden, made of gold'); essentially gold plus the suffix -en. It is related to Dutch gouden, German golden, and Danish gylden.
**Meaning 10** — From gold plus the suffix -en, or perhaps derived from the adjective golden.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/golden (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).