| 释义 |
▪ I. golden, a.|ˈgəʊld(ə)n|
Forms: 3– golden; also 4, 6 Sc. goldin, -yn, (4 goldein, -un, coldin, 5 goldene, -on, 6 -ing), 6 goulden, 8–9 Sc. gowden, 9 dial. goolden (superl., 6 goldnest, 7 -enst).
[f. gold1 + -en4, taking the place of the earlier gilden (q.v.). Cf. Du. gouden, G. golden.]
1. a. Made of gold, consisting of gold.
the golden fleece, the fabulous fleece of gold in search of which Jason went to Colchis; (Order of the) Golden Fleece (see fleece n. 1 b). golden ball, the apple of discord (see apple n. 5). golden gates, the gates of Heaven.
c1275Lay. 4251 Þe goldene [c 1205 guldene] croune. Ibid. 14298 Ane goldene [c 1205 guldene] bolle. a1300Cursor M. 6503 A goldin calf þar-of þai blu. 1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xvi. iv. (1495) 553 A thynne plate of golde of the whyche golden threde is made. c1400Destr. Troy 667 The wethir was wonen, & away borne, The grete goldyn flese with a greke noble. 1548Hall Chron., Rich. III, 38 b, To promes to the duke..golden hilles and sylver ryvers. 1595Chapman Ovid's Banquet Sence (1639) 18 With the goldnest arrow in his Quiver. a1671Ld. Fairfax Mem. (1699) 118 The King was the golden ball cast between the two parties, the Parliament and the army. 1676W. Row Contn. Blair's Autobiog. xi. (1848) 352 A large Bible with golden clasps. 1794Burns My lord a-hunting, My lady's gown there's gairs upon't, And gowden flowers sae rare upon't. 1833H. Martineau Berkeley the Banker i. ii. 30 Golden guineas are rare things now. 1887Ruskin Præterita II. 422 The higher religious souls, hoping to lead me to the golden gates.
b. In fig. expressions, referring to gold coin or money. to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs: see goose n. 1 d.
1597Breton Wits Trenchmour (Grosart) 8/1 Fishing with the golden hooke, which rich men onely layde in the deepe consciences of the covetous. a1618Sylvester Hymn Alms 334 While Great-ones..Had oft their Fingers in the Golden Py; For private Profit [etc.]. 1626Breton Pasquils Mad-cap (Grosart) 8/1 If she haue the golden hony-bees, She shall [etc.]. 1629Leather 12 What cannot golden hookes plucke away from vs. 1636Massinger Gt. Dk. Florence iii. i, That petition lined too With golden birds, that sing to the tune of profit. 1842Tennyson Locksley Hall 100 Every door is barr'd with gold, and opens but to golden keys.
2. Containing or yielding gold; auriferous. Of a country or district: Abounding in gold. the Golden State, California.
1398Trevisa Barth. De. P.R. xv. cviii. (1495) 527 Ophir..was in olde tyme callyd the golden londe. a1618Sylvester Hymn Alms 417 Pactolus, Ganges, and the golden Tay. 1666Dryden Ann. Mirab. ccvi, Some, bound for Guinea, golden Sand to find. 1701De Foe True-born Eng. 6 The golden mines of Mexico. 1819Heber Hymn ‘From Greenland's icy Mountains’ i, Where Afric's sunny fountains Roll down their golden sand. 1847Congress. Rec. 7 May, App. 246/2 From the hills of the Golden State we will send..cattle of every breed. 1893Gunter Miss Dividends 238, I thought a tour of ‘the Golden State’ would please me. 1967Boston Sunday Globe 21 May A5/2 If Mayor Yorty gets the Senate nomination, Lyndon Johnson may have to write off the Golden State in 1968.
3. a. Of the colour of gold; that shines like gold.
c1300Cursor M. 17865 (Arundel MS.) To vs þer brast a goldein leme. 1552Huloet, Golden heere, chrysocoma. 1624Heywood Captives i. i, The blackest serpents weare the goldenst scales. 1725Pope Odyss. xv. 444 Her rich vallies wave with golden corn. 1838Lytton Leila i. ii, The hair and curling beard were of a deep golden colour. 1852Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. xii. 107 She saw sunshine sparkling on the water, in golden ripples.
fig.1548Hall Chron., Hen. VII, 32 Belevinge no fraude nor deceate to be hid or cloked undre this golden tale. 1588Shakes. Tit. A. iv. iv. 97 For I can smooth and fill his aged eare, With golden promises. 1795Macneill Will & Jean ii. xxv, A' his gowden prospects vanish'd.
b. In the names of several kinds of tobacco, e.g. ‘Golden Cloud’, ‘Golden Flake’, etc.
4. a. Resembling gold in value; most excellent, important, or precious. † golden vein [= med.L. vena aurea, Ger. goldader]: the hæmorrhoidal vein.
c1400Rom. Rose 5650 Pictagoras himsilf reherses In a book that the Golden Verses Is clepid. 1498W. de Worde (title), Here begynneth the legende named in Latyn Legenda Aurea that is to saye in Englysshe the Golden Legende. For lyke as passeth golde in valewe all other metallys, so this legende excelleth all other bookes. 1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 144 b, Men & women, bothe rude & vnlerned that haue spoken golden wordes. 1527Andrew Brunswyke's Distyll. Waters D ij a/1 The same [great plantayn water] is good agaynste the flode & bledynge of the golden vayne. 1559Morwyng Evonym. 155 Of waters of vertues or golden waters. 1605Shakes. Macb. i. vii. 33, I haue bought Golden Opinions from all sorts of people. 1607Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 197 It hath been proved for a golden remedy, to take and anoint it with Goats-grease. 1739Cibber Apol. (1756) II. 35 He was a golden actor. 1838Arnold Hist. Rome (1846) I. vii. 102 He had a golden wit within.
b. Of time, an opportunity: Of inestimable value; exceedingly favourable or propitious.
1601Shakes. Twel. N. v. i. 391 When that is knowne, and golden time conuents. 1646J. Hall Horæ Vac. 20 'Tis..unsufferable..to let the Golden houres of the morning passe without advantage. 1703Rowe Fair Penit. i. i. 156, I snatch'd the glorious, golden opportunity. 1806–7J. Beresford Miseries Hum. Life (1826) ii. xviii, At such a golden moment as this. 1884Earl Grey in 19th Cent. Mar. 514 The golden opportunity was thrown away.
5. a. Of rules, precepts, etc.: Of inestimable utility; often spec. with reference to the precept, ‘whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them’ (Matt. vii. 12).
1674R. Godfrey Inj. & Ab. Physic 54 Whilst forgetting that Golden Law do as you would be done by, they make self the center of their actions. 1741Watts Improv. Mind i. xiv. §8 Such is that golden principle of morality which our blessed Lord has given us. 1807Med. Jrnl. XVII. 242 The best rule in this respect is..the golden rule of Dr. Jenner; not to take matter after the areola begins to spread. 1885Howells Silas Lapham II. xxv, In our dealings with each other we should be guided by the Golden Rule. 1887Ruskin Præterita II. 13 ‘When you have got too much to do, don't do it’,—a golden saying.
†b. Math. the golden rule, the rule of three.
1542Recorde Gr. Artes (1575) 240 The rule of Proportions, whiche for his excellencie is called the Golden rule. 1571Digges Pantom. i. xiv. E j, By the rule (called the golden precept). 1636Featly Clavis Myst. xxi. 279 The rule of three, or golden rule, as it is called in sacred algebray. 1806Hutton Course Math. I. 44 The Rule of Three..is often called the Golden Rule.
c. (a) golden mean, the avoidance of excess in either direction [tr. L. aurea mediocritas, Hor. Odes II. x. 5]; (b) = golden section (see sense d).
1587Mirr. Mag. (1815) I. 52 The golden meane is best. 1590Spenser F.Q. ii. ii. Argt., The face of golden Meane: Her sisters, two Extremities, Strive her to banish cleane. 1636Massinger Gt. Dk. Florence i. i, We, whom for our high births, they conclude The onely free men, are the onely slaves: Happy the golden meane! 1725Pope Odyss. xv. 80 Both the golden mean alike condemn. a1817T. Dwight Trav. New Eng. etc. (1821) II. 269 That middle state of poverty, which so long, and so often, has been termed Golden. 1821–2Wordsw. Sacheverel, As if a Church..must owe To opposites and fierce extremes her life,—Not to the golden mean. 1917D. W. Thompson On Growth & Form xiv. 643 This celebrated series, which..is closely connected with the Sectio aurea or Golden Mean, is commonly called the Fibonacci series. 1929[see Fibonacci]. 1945Burlington Mag. Jan. 7/1 Various people have tried to prove..that the ‘golden mean’, in which Italian artists believed, was applied here by Franciscus Florentinus.
d. golden section, (the proportion resulting from) the division of a straight line into two parts so that the ratio of the whole to the larger part is the same as the ratio of the larger part to the smaller, viz. ½(√5 + 1), or 1·61803{ddd}; ‘extreme and mean ratio’.
This celebrated proportion has been known since the 4th century b.c., and occurs in Euclid (ii. 11, vi. 30). Of the several names it has received, golden section (or its equivalent in other languages) is now the usual one, but it seems not to have been used before the 19th century.
[1835M. Ohm Die reine Elementar-Mathematik (ed. 2) II. 194 Diese Zertheilung einer beliebigen Linie r in 2 solche Theile, nennt man wohl auch den goldenen Schnitt. 1844J. Helmes in Arch. Math. und Physik IV. 15 (heading) Eine..Auflösung der sectio aurea. 1849A. Wigand (title) Der allgemeine goldene Schnitt und sein Zusammenhang mit der harmonischen Teilung.] 1875Encycl. Brit. I. 220/1 Zeising..asserts that the most pleasing division of a line, say in a cross, is the golden section. 1898[see section n. 3 e]. 1914T. A. Cook Curves of Life xx. 426 In Sandro Botticelli's Venus..the line containing the figure from the top of the head to the soles of the feet is divided, at the navel, into the exact proportions given by that ancient formula the ‘Golden Section’. 1931T. L. Heath Man. Gr. Math. viii. 181 Proclus speaks of theorems which Plato ‘originated regarding the ‘section’’, and, if this ‘section’ was what came to be called the ‘golden section’,..Plato may well have had this case in mind. 1951G. Sarton in Isis XLII. 47/2 As far as we know now, the expression divine proportion was introduced by Pacioli in 1509 [in his treatise, Divina proportione], and the expression golden section by Martin Ohm in 1835. It is almost certain that they had predecessors [printed predecesors]. Who were they? 1953‘M. Innes’ Christmas at Candleshoe i. 5 It so happens that in the picture-space we are contemplating, the one line cuts the other in a ratio which artists call golden section. 1955T. Dantzig Bequest of Greeks v. 59 Just as specious are the contentions that certain proportions in human anatomy conform to the golden-section rule. 1963H. Read Contrary Experience iv. viii. 345 Certain correspondences are easily established—the prevalence, for example, in art and in both organic and inorganic matter of the proportion known as the Golden Section. 1970[see Fibonacci]. 1970Oxf. Compan. Art 489/1 Statistical experiments are said to have shown that people involuntarily give preference to proportions that approximate to the Golden Section.
Similarly golden rectangle, a rectangle in which the ratio of the longer side to the shorter is the golden section.
1953Scripta Math. XIX. 136 Since the diagonal of a pentagon is τ times its side, this rectangle is a golden rectangle, whose sides are in the ratio τ:1. Ibid. 138 The golden rectangle can be dissected into two pieces: a square and a smaller golden rectangle. 1967W. J. Reichmann Spell of Math. v. 90 The sides of the rectangle are thus in golden section, and the rectangle may therefore be called a golden rectangle... If we draw the largest square possible within this rectangle..then the next remaining rectangle will also be golden.
6. golden number [tr. med.L. aureus numerus; so called from its importance in calculating the date of Easter]: the number of any year in the Metonic lunar cycle of nineteen years.
This number for a year n of the Christian era is (a) the remainder of (n + 1) {div} 19, or (b) if there be no remainder, 19. Hence these numbers are retained in the ecclesiastical calendar in connexion with the computation of the time of Easter. The golden number is found by adding 1 to the remainder left after dividing the number of the year by 19.
1552Bk. Com. Prayer, Almanack, The Golden Number. 1561Eden Arte Nauig. ii. vi. 30 b, This present yeare of 1545, we haue .7. of the golden number. 1594Blundevil Exerc. vii. i. (1636) 654 The Golden number is the number of 19, proceeding from 1 to 19, and so to begin againe at 1. 1686Plot Staffordsh. 431 They scrupled not to set them in the margins of their Calendars in characters of gold, whence they are stiled to this day, also the golden number.
7. Of a time or epoch: Characterized by great prosperity and happiness; flourishing, joyous. † golden world = golden age.
1530Tindale Pract. Prelates B ij b, Then they called a parliament (as though the golden worlde shuld come agayne). 1548Hall Chron., Hen. VII, 20 b, That golden worlde of Tully. 1597Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, v. iii. 100 Tydings do I bring, and luckie ioyes, and golden Times. 1600― A.Y.L. i. i. 125 [They] fleet the time carelesly as they did in the golden world. 1661Cowley Disc. Govt. O. Cromwell Ess. (1669) 72 The golden times of our late Princes. 1775Burke Corr. (1844) II. 90 Your gentleman does well to call the days of Lord Clare golden. 1855Macaulay Hist. Eng. xviii. IV. 174 In the golden days of the Plot he had been allowed three times as much. 1877Tennyson Harold iv. iii, Our day..will not shine Less than a star among the goldenest hours Of Alfred.
†8. Pertaining to gold (as the object of desire, pursuit, etc.). Obs.
1613Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 817 He would carry them where their Golden thirst should be satisfied. 1623R. Jobson (title), The Golden Trade, or a discovery of the River Gambia and the golden Track of the Ethiopians. 1720De Foe Capt. Singleton vii. (1840) 120 Thus ended our first golden adventure.
9. Comb.
a. with adjs. of colour, as golden-brown, golden-chestnut, golden-green, golden-olive, golden-red, golden-yellow.
1796Withering Brit. Plants (ed. 3) IV. 172 Juice golden yellow. 1845E. Acton Mod. Cookery (ed. 2) ii. 60 Fry them a clear golden brown in plenty of boiling lard. 1863–5Thomson Sunday at Hampstead viii, The great dusk emerald golden-green. 1865Ld. Derby Iliad xi. 777 Golden-chesnut mares. 1891Leeds Mercury 27 Apr. 4/7 A dress of golden brown silk.
b. quasi-adverbial ‘with or like gold’, as golden-gleaming, golden-glowing, golden-wrought.
1777Potter æschylus, Agamem. 231 Golden-gleaming rays. 1796T. Townshend Poems 34 And in her pearly hand a lyre She held of golden-glowing wire. 1870Morris Earthly Par. III. iv. 49 Her array all golden-wrought.
c. parasynthetic, as † golden-aged, golden-coloured, golden-fettered, golden-fleeced, golden-footed, golden-fruited, golden-girdled, golden-haired, golden-hearted, golden-hilted, golden-locked, golden-railed, † golden-slopt, golden-tongued, golden-trapped, golden-winged, golden-wired, etc.
1568T. Howell Arb. Amitie (1879) 101 To runne the race of Nestors yeeres, a *golden aged man.
c1610Sir J. Melvil Mem. (1735) 98 She [Queen Elizabeth] delighted to show her *golden-coloured Hair wearing a Caul and Bonnet.
1824J. Bowring Batavian Anthol. 46 Many a *golden-fetter'd fool.
1591Sylvester Du Bartas i. vi. 118 The *golden-fleeced Sheep.
1757Dyer Fleece iii. 405 Around the globe, The *golden footed sciences their path Mark, like the sun.
a1835Mrs. Hemans Dreams Heaven Poems (1875) 518 In..*golden-fruited grove.
1848J. R. Lowell New Year's Eve, 1844 in Uncoll. Poems (1950) 52 Blithely as the *golden-girdled bee Sinks into the sleepy poppy's cup of flame.
1552Huloet, *Golden heered, or hauynge golden heere or lockes, chrysocomus. 1850Mrs. Browning Poems II. 273 Thou golden-haired, and silver-voicëd child.
1646Crashaw Music's Duel Poems 89 A *golden-headed harvest.
1907Dublin Rev. Jan. 30 She is the *golden-hearted rose that held our perfect joy. 1960Times 30 Jan. 11/2 We have..never until now seen him in other than golden-hearted parts.
1859Tennyson Enid 166 Nor weapon, save a *golden-hilted brand.
1871Earle Philol. Eng. Tongue §660 c, A brave, bold, *golden-locked boy.
1833Tennyson Pal. Art xii, The light aërial gallery, *golden-rail'd, Burnt like a fringe of fire.
1599Marston Sco. Villanie i. iii. 107 When some slie, *golden-slopt Castilio Can cut a manors strings at Primero.
1645Howell Dodona's Grove 101 That flexanimous and *golden toungd Orator.
1648–99J. Beaumont Psyche ix. cliii, The Sun..had from the east Prick'd forth his *Golden-trapped Steeds.
c1625Milton Death Fair Infant 57 Or wert thou of the *golden-wingéd host.
1596C. Fitzgeffrey Sir F. Drake (1881) 25 Her silver-feathered turtle-doves, Which in their *golden-wired cage remaine.
10. a. Specialized combinations and phrases, as golden balls (see ball n. 20); golden book, a register of the nobility of the state of Venice; golden boy, a popular or successful boy or man; similarly golden girl; golden-bull (see bull n.2 3); golden cat, either of two honey-coloured wild cats, Felis aurata or F. temmincki, found in west Africa and south-east Asia; Golden Chersonese [tr. Gr. Χρυσῆ Χερσόνησος], the Malay Peninsula; golden-comb, some kind of shellfish; golden ear, a moth, Hydrœcia nictitans; golden earth, yellow arsenic or orpiment; golden-fly = golden-wasp; golden girl (see golden boy); golden handcuffs orig. U.S., benefits provided by an employer, esp. a corporation, to make it difficult or unattractive for an employee to leave and work elsewhere; golden handshake, a gratuity given as compensation for dismissal or compulsory retirement; also transf.; golden hello [after golden handshake], a substantial sum offered to a senior executive, etc., as an inducement to change employers, and paid in advance when the new post is accepted; golden hoof, said of the action of sheep or other animals trampling the ground beneath them, consolidating and improving its texture; golden-knop, a lady-bird; golden maid, the fish Crenilabrus melops or tinca; golden-mouth, used to render the name Chrysostom (see gilden a. 1 b); golden-mouthed a., whose speech is golden (used chiefly as prec.); golden perch, ‘a fresh-water fish of Australia, Ctenolates ambiguus’ (Morris); † golden-poll (see quots. and gilt-head); golden rain, a kind of firework forming a shower of golden sparks; golden retriever, a retriever with a thick golden-coloured coat; golden-ring (see quot.); golden sherry, a type of sweet sherry; golden shower = golden rain; golden spur, a papal order, the order of St. Sylvester; golden star, ‘a kind of monstrance or ciborium used at Rome in the Papal High Mass on Easter-day’ (Lee Gloss. Eccl. Terms 1877); golden sulphide, sulphuret, persulphide of antimony or antimony pentasulphide, Sb2 S5 (Watts Dict. Chem. I. 334); golden syrup (see syrup); golden-wasp, a brightly-coloured hymenopterous insect of the family Chrysididæ, esp. Chrysis ignita; golden wedding (see wedding); golden wrasse = golden maid; † golden yard, the belt of Orion (see quot.).
1712Lond. Gaz. No. 5022/6 The Senate..designs to open the *Golden Book, to enter such Persons as will buy the Nobility of Venice for themselves or Families.
1937C. Odets (title) The *golden boy. Ibid. iii. i. 196 He walks down the street respected—the golden boy! 1964‘J. Welcome’ Hard to Handle viii. 91 Poor dear Richard... What a change from being the golden boy of English racing. 1965P. Moyes Johnny under Ground xx. 250 That would have been the end of Beau Guest, the young chevalier, the golden boy. 1971Sunday Times (Johannesburg) 28 Mar. 24/1 Ever since he assumed the ‘golden boy’ mantle, Richards has studiously avoided local opposition.
[1867Proc. Zool. Soc. 815 An adult specimen of the Golden Tiger-cat of Sumatra (Felis aurata, Temm.) received June 19th.] 1883D. G. Elliot Monogr. Felidæ tab. xvi. (caption) Temminck's *Golden Cat. 1954G. Durrell Bafut Beagles ix. 154 The Golden Cat, one of the smaller, but one of the most beautiful, members of the cat family.
1667*Golden Chersonese [see chersonese]. 1883I. L. Bird (title) The Golden Chersonese and the way thither.
1863Kingsley Water-Bab. v. 192 Live cockles and whelks and razor shells and sea-cucumbers and *golden-combs.
1819G. Samouelle Entomol. Compend. 433 Noctua auricula. The *golden Ear.
1567J. Maplet Gr. Forest 10 The stone Arsenick..which also they call the *golden earth.
1823Crabb Technol. Dict., *Golden-fly, an insect so called from its gilt body, which is generally found in the holes of old walls, the Chrysis of Linnæus.
1896R. Le Gallienne (title) The quest of the *golden girl. 1966‘W. Cooper’ Mem. New Man iii. iv. 245 Alice liked him, but I'm bound to admit that she didn't see him as such a golden boy as I did. Nor..did she see Roz as such a golden girl.
1976D. W. Moffat Econ. Dict. 130/2 *Golden handcuffs, benefits provided by employers in such a manner as to make it costly for employees to change jobs, thereby removing the competitive advantage an individual would otherwise have in selling his labor. 1982Wall St. Jrnl. 9 Feb. 16/3 Getty Oil is trying to lock ‘golden handcuffs’ on explorationists by offering them four-year loans ‘up front’ equal to 80% of an employee's salary. 1985Times 4 Apr. 30/1 Managers..have private health insurance, a better than average pension scheme, a car, and perhaps help with independent school fees from the company. These ‘golden handcuffs’ are a hangover from the days of labour shortages and income policies and higher tax rates.
1960Economist 9 Apr. 179/2 There is little public sympathy for the tycoon who retires with a *golden handshake to the hobby farm. 1960Times 8 July 13/2 On the financial side, Cyprus receives its golden handshake of over {pstlg}14 m. 1969‘B. Graeme’ Blind Date i. 13, I knew there would be no future in the Forces... So I came out, and have been living on the golden handshake ever since.
1983Observer 15 May 15/8 Following the ‘golden handshake’, the ‘*golden hello’ is taking root in British industry. Being paid a handsome lump sum before you even start a new job may sound too good to be true. But, last year alone, 50 top directors got such ‘golden hellos’. 1985Listener 6 June 8/3 They're often tempted away to a rival by a ‘golden hallo’: a sort of transfer fee on top of a sizeable salary increase.
1927Daily Tel. 15 Nov. 11/7 Much of the country [sc. Denmark] has land of the typical sheep and barley class, but it is successfully farmed without the aid of the *golden hoof. 1941M. Graham Soil & Sense iii. 47 It is presumably this essential difference between crumb structure and floury structure that has made the ‘golden hoof’ of the sheep important in consolidating land in which there is too little clay. 1946L. D. Stamp Britain's Struct. xi. 99 On light soils..they [sc. cattle] pack together the particles of soil by the treading action of the ‘golden hoof’. 1957E. J. Russell World of Soil vii. 171 So great was the benefit to the succeeding crop and to the condition of the soil that farmers regularly spoke of the ‘golden hoof’ as the best amendment for light soils.
1691Ray S. & E.C. Words, Bishop, the..lady⁓bird. I have heard this insect in other places called a *golden-knop. a1825Forby Voc. E. Anglia, Golden-knop.
1827Hone Every-day Bk. II. 108 The fish called *golden maids, were picked up on Brighton beach.
c1340Cursor M. 11393 (Fairf.) Iohn tellyth vs als *goldyn- [other MSS. gilden-] mowthe. 1542T. Becon Pathw. Prayer xxxiii. O j a, S. John golden mouth. 1887T. W. Allies Throne of Fisherman 320 This is borne witness to already by the Goldenmouth himself.
1577tr. Bullinger's Decades (1592) 773 Chrysostome that *golden-mouthed man. 1596C. Fitzgeffrey Sir F. Drake (1881) 21 Golden-mouthed Drayton musicall.
1655Moufet & Bennet Health's Improv. (1746) 243 Lucernæ. Gilt-heads or *Golden-poles, are very little unlike the Gournard, save that it seems about the Noddle of the Head as tho' it were all besprinkled with Gold-filings.
1672Venn Compleat Gunner iii. x. 19 *Golden rain. 1892Pall Mall G. 1 Nov. 5/2 The ‘Golden Rain’.. is a mixture of charcoal, saltpetre, and sulphur charged into a small yellow case.
1919T. Marples Show Dogs (ed. 2) xv. 73 The following is the *Golden Retriever Club's standard of points for Golden Retrievers. 1959R. Collier City that wouldn't Die v. 66 Then he set off on patrol like a country squire inspecting his coverts—tweeds, walking-stick, golden retriever Punch trotting at his side.
1727Bailey vol. II, *Golden-ring, a Worm that gnaws the Vine, and wraps it self up in its Leaves.
1840Thackeray in Fraser's Mag. July 93/1 A bottle of fine old *golden sherry..for 1s. 9d. 1854Golden sherry [see brown sherry s.v. brown a. 7]. 1957Encycl. Brit. XX. 500/2 A ‘sweet’, ‘cream’ or ‘golden’ sherry [contains] not over 7% [grape sugar].
1839Ure Dict. Arts 480 Stars for *golden showers, nitre 16; sulphur, 10 [etc.].
1817Kirby & Sp. Entomol. II. 234 The *golden-wasp tribe also (Chrysis and Parnopes)..roll themselves up..into a little ball when alarmed.
1551Recorde Cast. Knowl. (1556) 268 Other thre stande as bullions set in his gyrdle, and are called by manye englyshe men the *Golden yarde.
b. in the names of plants, as † golden apple, the tomato; golden-ball dial., (a) the globe flower, Trollius europæus; (b) the guelder-rose, Viburnum Opulus (Britten & Holland Plant-n. 1879); golden bell = forsythia; golden-chain dial., the laburnum; golden-club, the American plant Orontium aquaticum; golden-crown, the American genus Chrysostemma (Treas. Bot. 1866); golden cudweed, Helichrysum orientale; also Pterocaulon virgatum (Grisebach Flora W. Ind. 1864); golden-cup, a popular name of various species of Ranunculus, Caltha, Trollius; golden-cup oak = golden oak (b); golden dust = gold-dust 2; golden feather, the common golden-leaved Pyrethrum; golden flower, the corn marigold; golden flower of Peru, the sunflower; golden-hair, Chrysocoma comaurea (Paxton Bot. Dict. 1840); golden herb, the orach; golden-knob = golden-cup; golden-locks, a name for various plants, now esp. the fern Polypodium vulgare; also Pterocaulon virgatum (Grisebach Flora W. Ind. 1864); † golden-lungwort, Ray's name for the Wall Hawkweed, Hieracium murorum; † golden Mary, ? the marigold; golden moss, † (a) the moss Polytrichum commune; (b) the stonecrop, Sedum acre; golden mothwort = golden cudweed; golden nugget (see quot.); golden oak U.S. (a) the false foxglove, Aureolaria virginica; (b) the canyon live-oak, Quercus chrysolepis; (c) a light-coloured finish used on furniture; golden oat, the yellow oat-grass; golden osier, (a) Salix vitellina; (b) Myrica Gale; golden pert, Gratiola aurea (Treas. Bot. 1866); golden-rayed lily, Lilium auratum; golden samphire, Inula crithmoides; golden saxifrage, the genus Chrysosplenium; golden-seal, Hydrastis Canadensis of N. America; golden shower = pudding-pipe tree (pudding n. 11 c); golden-spoon, the West Indian plant Byrsonima cinerea; golden spur, a variety of daffodil; golden thistle, the composite genus Scolymus, esp. S. hispanicus; golden-top U.S., a grass, Lamarckia aurea; golden trefoil, Hepatica triloba; golden tuft, Pterocaulon virgatum; formerly also applied to other plants; golden willow = golden osier; golden-withy, Myrica Gale. Also golden-rod.
1578Lyte Dodoens iii. lxxxvi. 439 Of Amorus Apples or *Golden Apples.
1893W. Robinson Eng. Flower Garden (ed. 3) ii. 417/1 Forsythia (*Golden Bell). 1968N. Taylor Guide to Garden Shrubs & Trees v. 341 The golden bells are of the easiest culture in any ordinary garden soil.
1860Worcester, *Golden-club, a perennial aquatic plant, bearing yellow flowers.
1597Gerarde Herbal ii. cxcvi. §2. 520 Golden Motherwort is called in English..*Golden Cudweed; being doubtlesse a kinde of Gnaphalium, or Cudweede.
1736Ainsworth Lat. Dict. *Golden cup [herb]. Polyanthemon. 1879Britten & Holland Plant-n., Golden cup. Ranunculus acris, R. bulbosus, R. Ficaria, and R. repens. 1886Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk., Golden cup. 1. Marsh marigold. The usual name. Caltha Palustris..2. Ranunculus globosa.
1897B. B. Sudworth Nomencl. Arborescent Flora U.S. 164 Quercus chrysolepis,..*Golden-cup Oak (Cal.).
1878R. Thompson's Gardener's Assist. 795 Pyrethrum Parthenium aureum, one of the very finest and hardiest of all golden-leaved plants used in carpet bedding, is well known..under the name of *golden feather.
1551Turner Herbal i. K j b, Chrysanthemom or calchas..hath floures wonderfully shynynge yellowe..The herbe may be called in Englysh *goldenfloure. 1866Treas. Bot., Golden-flower, Chrysanthemum.
1578Lyte Dodoens ii. xxxiv. 191 The Indian Sunne, or *golden floure of Perrowe..groweth to the length of thirtene or fouretenne foote.
1736Ainsworth Lat. Dict., Atriplex..An herb called orage, or orach; *golden herb. 1820T. Mitchell Aristoph. I. 218 They love a tale of scandal to their hearts, And his had been as quick in birth as golden-herb.
1835W. Baxter Brit. Phænog. Bot. II. 153 Caltha palustris..*Golden-knobs. 1882Hardwicke's Science Gossip XVIII. 165 Local Names extant in rural Oxfordshire..‘golden knobs’, buttercups.
1736Bailey Housh. Dict. 305 *Golden-Locks call'd also Golden tufts. 1844E. Newman Brit. Ferns (ed. 2) 112 It [Polypodium vulgare]..is called by these gatherers Golden Locks, and Golden Maiden-hair.
1670Ray Catal. Plant. Angl. 255 Pulmonaria Gallica sive aurea, ..French or *Golden Lungwort.
1649Lovelace Poems (1864) 62 So opens loyall *golden Mary.
1597Gerarde Herbal iii. clvii, This is called in English Goldilockes Polytrichon..It might also be termed *Golden Mosse, or Hairie Mosse. 1863Berkeley Brit. Mosses i. 1 Sedum acre,..the Golden Moss of every cottager.
1597Gerarde Herbal ii. cxcvi. 519 Of *Golden Mothwoort, or Cudweede.
1882Garden 19 Aug. 156/2 Balsamita grandiflora..or *Golden Nugget..a good and effective hardy plant.
1830C. S. Rafinesque Med. Flora U.S. II. 223 Gerardia Quercifolia, Mx. *Golden Oak. Specific of the Sioux for the bite of rattle snakes, used also for the tooth ache. 1899Chicago Daily News 30 May 14/3 Solid golden oak finish handsome dressers. 1909Cent. Dict. Suppl. s.v. Live-oak, An evergreen oak of the Pacific coast,..also called golden oak, maul oak, and Valparaiso oak. 1913Britton & Brown Ilustr. Flora Northern U.S. (ed. 2) III. 208 Dasystoma virginica... In dry or moist woods, Maine to Minnesota, south to Florida and Illinois. Golden-oak. July–Sept. 1921A. F. Hall Handbk. Yosemite Nat. Park 127 The Transition Zone..is characterized by the yellow pine, Douglas spruce, golden oak, black oak, and incense cedar. 1928F. N. Hart Bellamy Trial i. 2 Nine rows of the golden-oak seats packed with grimly triumphant humanity. 1969New Yorker 25 Oct. 58/1 His wife was black and blue as a new stovepipe, but their children and grandchildren are best described as ‘golden oak’.
1842C. W. Johnson Farmer's Encycl. 150/2 Avena flavescens, *Golden oat or yellow oat⁓grass.
1838Loudon Arboretum Brit. III. 1528 Salix vitellina L. The..yellow Willow, or *Golden Osier. 1856W. A. Bromfield Flora Vectensis 466 Golden Withy..Golden Osier.
1784Cutler in Mem. Amer. Acad. Arts & Sci. (1785) I. 403 Veronica..*Goldenpert. 1821W. P. C. Barton Flora N. Amer. I. 71 Gratiola aurea. Golden pert. [1862Curtis's Bot. Mag. LXXXVIII. 5338 (caption) Golden-striped Lily.]
1870W. Robinson Wild Garden ii. 118 *Golden-rayed Lily. Lilium auratum. 1880H. J. Elwes Monogr. Genus Lilium Pl. 15, I believe the Golden-rayed Lily can be grown to greater perfection in pots than in the open ground. 1908Pall Mall Gaz. 20 Apr. 3/2 The golden-rayed lily, be it never so gorgeous. 1970M. Templeton tr. Feldmaier's Lilies i. 7 Japan is the home of some of the finest lilies of all, such as L[ilium] auratum, the Golden-Rayed Lily of Japan.
1776Withering Brit. Plants II. 515 Elecampane..*Golden Samphire.
1578Lyte Dodoens ii. cii. 288 The *golden Saxifrage groweth in certayne moyst and waterie places.
1855Trans. Mich. Agric. Soc. VI. 179 We have the sarsaparilla, ginsing, *goldenseal, sweet cicily. 1881S. P. McLean Cape Cod Folks ii. 38 The golden seal..was served in a diluted state with milk and sugar and taken as a beverage. 1897Willis Flower. Pl. II. 198 Golden-seal..is used as a tonic.
1914L. H. Bailey Standard Cycl. Hort. II. 680/2 [Cassia] Fistula, Linn. Pudding-Pipe Tree. *Golden Shower. 1934R. Campbell Broken Record 82 Palms, golden shower, grenadillas. 1953D. Lessing Five i. 14 The other neighbour was a house whose walls were invisible under a mass of golden shower—thick yellow clusters, like smoky honey, dripped from roof to ground.
1893Daily News 28 Mar. 2/2 *Golden spur..a magnificent trumpet daffodil of brilliant colour and noble form.
1597Gerarde Herbal ii. cccclxiv. 993 Carduus Chrysanthemus. The *golden Thistle.
1909Cent. Dict. Suppl., *Goldentop, an ornamental grass..introduced from the Mediterranean region into southern California. 1934A. Arber Gramineae ix. 186 In Goldentop, however, the tendency to reduced fertility is stronger than in Dog's-tail-grass. 1959P. A. Munz California Flora 1495 Lamarckia Moench. Goldentop.
1597Gerarde Herbal ii. cccclxxxvii. 1031 Of noble Lyuerwoort, or *golden Trefoile. Ibid. ii. cxcvi. 520 Coma aurea. Golden tuft. 1686Ray Hist. Plant. I. vi. x. 280 Stœchas citrina..Oriental Goldy-locks or Golden-tufts. 1864Grisebach Flora W. Ind. 784/1 Golden-tuft, Pterocaulon virgatum.
1861Trans. Ill. Agric. Soc. IV. 447 The *Golden Willow has been a favorite with me. 1866[see willow n. 2 b].
1847–78Halliwell, *Golden-withy, bog myrtle.
c. in the names of varieties of fruit, esp. apples, as † golden-doucet, -drop, † ducat-doucet, † munday, -pippin, -rennet, † russet, † russeting. Also golden berry (see quot. 1951).
1951Good Housek. Home Encycl. 385/1 Tinned cape gooseberries are imported from South Africa (usually under the name of *golden berries). 1958Times 6 Dec. 1/4 (Advt.), One tin each:—..Goldenberries,..Strawberries.
1664Evelyn Kal. Hort. (1729) 191 Apples.. *Golden Doucet.
a1825Forby Voc. E. Anglia, *Golden-drop, the variety of plum, called in our catalogues of fruits..drap d'or. 1882Garden 21 Jan. 48/2 That king of dessert Plums—the old Golden Drop. 1883[see drop n. 10 f].
1747H. Glasse Cookery xxi. 164 The *golden Ducket Dauset..Apples.
1725Bradley Fam. Dict. s.v. Apple, *Golden Munday.
1718Lady M. W. Montagu Let. to Abbé Conti 31 Oct., The honest English squire..who verily believes..that the African fruits have not so fine a flavour as *golden pippins. 1823J. Badcock Dom. Amusem. 47 The golden pippin has gradually become a shy grower in this country.
1778Eng. Gazetteer (ed. 2) s.v. Tenham, [Tenham] being the place where Richard Harris, fruiterer to Henry VIII. first planted cherries, pippins, and *golden-renates. 1824Miss Mitford Village Ser. i. (1863) 47 That great tree, bending with the weight of its golden-rennets.
1664Evelyn Kal. Hort. (1729) 232 *Golden Russet.
1707Mortimer Husb. 535 The Aromatick or *Golden Russeting.
d. in the names of birds, as golden back, ‘the American golden plover, Charadrius dominicus’ (Cent. Dict.); golden cuckoo, an African cuckoo belonging to one of the races of Chrysococcyx cupreus; cf. emerald cuckoo (s.v. emerald 5 d); golden-head (see quot.); golden-wing, the golden-winged woodpecker (Colaptes auratus). Also golden-breasted vulture, golden-cheeked warbler; golden-crested kinglet, regulus, wren; golden-crowned kinglet, sparrow, thrush, wren; golden eagle, manakin, oriole, pheasant, plover, robin, warbler; golden-winged warbler, woodpecker: see the ns. Also golden-eye.
[1811W. J. Burchell Jrnl. 29 Dec. in Trav. S. Afr. (1822) I. xix. 502 The Green-and-gold Cuckoo was found in abundance.] 1827G. Thompson Trav. & Adv. S. Afr. i. i. 6 His chief occupation was the stuffing of birds for sale, especially that very beautiful and much-prized species called the *Golden Cuckoo. 1876H. Brooks Natal iv. 136 It [sc. the emerald cuckoo] is in all probability nearly allied, if not identical, with the golden cuckoo..of the Cape. 1937Discovery XVIII. 265/2 Two more new races—a new Scops owl and a new golden cuckoo—have been added to the Arabian list. 1953Bannerman Birds W. & Equat. Afr. I. 583 This bird [sc. the yellow-throated cuckoo] is about the size of Klaas' Cuckoo but has not the brilliance in the plumage of the other Golden Cuckoos.
1753Chambers Cycl. Supp., *Golden-head, a name by which some have called the anas artica clusii, a web footed fowl, common on our shores. 1885Swainson Prov. Names Birds 154 Wigeon (Mareca penelope)..Golden head, or Yellow poll. The male is so called on the east coast of Ireland.
1895Atlantic Monthly July 61, I had a call from a family of flickers or *goldenwings.
Add:[10.] [a.] golden parachute Comm. (orig. U.S.), a long-term contractual agreement guaranteeing financial security to senior executives dismissed as a result of their company being taken over or merged with another.
1981Pittsburgh Press 4 Oct. b-9/3 Then there's the *golden parachute. This refers to the protection top management may give itself when a corporate merger looms. 1983Times 24 Feb. 17/2 Before the proposed merger with Vantona, an American-style ‘golden parachute’ clause was inserted in his contract, entitling him to automatic compensation for the full amount of his {pstlg}75,000-a-year [etc.]. 1990N.Y. Times Bk. Rev. 21 Jan. 7/3 It wasn't long before most of RJR Nabisco's top executives ‘pulled the rip cords on their golden parachutes’... Mr. Johnson's alone was worth $53 million.
golden share Comm., a residual, non-profit-sharing stake in a limited company (usu. one retained by a government when a nationalized industry is privatized), enabling the holder to veto any undesirable changes.
1982Hansard Commons 31 Mar. 329 It is shabby for a Government who purport to believe in enhancing private enterprise and releasing ensnared shareholders to embattle shareholders almost totally by means of a *golden share. 1987Daily Tel. 23 Nov. 24/1 In return for the new cash, Bergen Bank would get a ‘golden share’ entitling it to take control if the company slid towards insolvency. 1991Managem. Today Sept. 51/2 Companies should be able to develop ‘golden’ shares that protect them from contested takeover.
▸ Golden Delicious n. a widely grown variety of dessert apple with a yellow-green skin and crisp, moderately sweet flesh.
1918Green's Amer. Fruit Grower Jan. 2 (advt.) Now ready for your orchard—*Golden Delicious... Fruit authorities pronounce Golden Delicious ‘Queen of Yellow Apples’—Superior to Grimes Golden. 1950Science 24 Mar. 308/1 Flowers of the Golden Delicious apple were in the early pink stage. 2000Daily Tel. 2 Oct. 32/1 There is no place on this 90-acre fruit farm for the bland Golden Delicious.
▸ golden duck n. Cricket slang an instance of a batsman being dismissed on the first delivery faced; a score of nought obtained (also, occas.: a batsman dismissed) in this way (the sense ‘a batsman who gets a golden duck’ in quot. 1967 is otherwise unattested); cf. duck n.1 7.
1967E. Partridge Dict. Slang II. 1149/2 *Golden duck.., a batsman so unfortunate as to get out, first ball, in both innings of a cricket match..schoolboys'..since ca. 1960. 1984J. Green Dict. Contemp. Slang 118/1 Golden duck, (Cricket use) to be given out at the first ball of one's innings. 1987Guardian 22 May 14/5 Heald is a self-confessed sporting duffer, whose last performance on the pitch was a golden duck in a village match some 20 years ago. 2000Wells Jrnl. (Electronic ed.) 27 July Sharma..had broken the back of the Bridgwater side, his earlier golden duck giving him the necessary motivation to reap his revenge.
▸ golden oldie n. colloq. (a) a familiar old song, film, etc., that remains popular and is still regarded with affection; (b) a popular older or elderly person; esp. a veteran performer, etc., who retains his or her popularity or appeal.
1966Time 2 Dec. 46 The platter..promises to become what the deejays call a ‘*Golden Oldie’. 1971Amer. Polit. Sci. Rev. 65 781/1 New faces and golden oldies alike. 1995Snooker Scene May 16/1 While one veteran was being overwhelmed by a youthful opponent another golden oldie, Denis Taylor, showed characteristic determination. 2000A. Calcutt Brit Cult 151/1 Terrestrial broadcasters have got in on the act also, recognising that ‘rpt’ [i.e. repeat] need not be a dirty word if the programme in question can be presented as a ‘golden oldie’.
▸ golden raisin n. orig. and chiefly N. Amer. a raisin treated with sulphur dioxide during the drying process, to retain a lighter colour.
1946Chicago Daily Tribune 29 Oct. 23/1 There's a new ‘*golden’ raisin coming to market for those light Christmas fruit cakes. 2003Org. Style Sept.–Oct. 137 Even strong leafy greens like broccoli rabe will go over well when sautéed with sweet golden raisins and pine nuts.
▸ golden shower n. slang (orig. U.S.) an act or the fact of being urinated upon (or urinating on someone) as a means of obtaining sexual gratification, usually as part of a sadomasochistic sexual encounter; (also, occas.) (a stream of) urine.
1943T. Williams Let. 22 Oct. (1977) 111 You should have told Margot only thing I really enjoy is a ‘*golden shower’ from a black cloud. 1972B. Rodgers Queens' Vernacular 97 Golden shower, a stream of piss. 1986S. Churcher N.Y. Confidential vii. 170 The stained bathtubs where flabby men..lounged in hope of receiving a ‘golden shower’. 2000N.Y. Press 29 Mar.–4 Apr. ii. 70/5 (advt.) Ace butt, rod and nut sucker sex slave needs master to service and pleasure... Into golden showers.
▪ II. golden, v. rare.|ˈgəʊld(ə)n|
[f. the adj.]
a. trans. To cover or tinge with a golden hue.
b. intr. To assume a golden colour.
1850Mrs. Browning Poems II. 307 The sun strikes, through the farthest mist, The city's spire to golden. 1866Neale Sequences & Hymns 187 The pumpkin ripened and goldened. 18..Lowell Endymion iv. Poet. Wks. 1890 IV. 152 Like loose mists that blow Across her crescent, goldening as they go.
Hence ˈgoldened, ˈgoldening ppl. adjs.
1863A. B. Grosart Small Sins (ed. 2) 102 The goldening sunlight. 1876Smiles Sc. Natur. xii. (ed. 4) 237 Sails showing brightly in the goldened light. |