gild

¹

[ gild ]

verb (used with object)

, gild·ed or gilt, gild·ing.

1. to coat with gold, gold leaf, or a gold-colored substance.
2. to give a bright, pleasing, or specious aspect to.
3. Archaic. to make red, as with blood.

gild

²

[ gild ]

noun

1. guild.

gild

¹

/ ɡɪld /

verb

1. to cover with or as if with gold
2. gild the lily
   gild the lily
   1. to adorn unnecessarily something already beautiful
   2. to praise someone inordinately
3. to give a falsely attractive or valuable appearance to
4. archaic.
   to smear with blood

gild

²

/ ɡɪld /

noun

1. See guild
   a variant spelling of guild

Derived Forms

• ˈgilder, noun
• ˈgildsman, noun

Other Words From

• gilda·ble adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of gild¹

1300–50; Middle English gilden, Old English -gyldan; akin to gold

Word History and Origins

Origin of gild¹

Old English gyldan, from gold gold ; related to Old Norse gylla, Middle High German vergülden

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. gild the lily, to add unnecessary ornamentation, a special feature, etc., in an attempt to improve something that is already complete, satisfactory, or ideal:

   After that wonderful meal, serving a fancy dessert would be gilding the lily.

Example Sentences

The growing exclusiveness of the merchant gild led to the great insurrection of 1312.

From Project Gutenberg

The first documentary evidence of the existence of the merchant gild appears in 1242.

From Project Gutenberg

The Merchant Gild is too wide a subject to be treated in an Essay such as this.

From Project Gutenberg

Bearing this in mind, deviations—apparent or real—from the ordinary course of Gild history will cause us no surprise.

From Project Gutenberg

The chief distinction indeed between town and country lay in the fact that the former had a Merchant Gild.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• adorn
• bedeck