gild

¹

[gild]

verb (used with object)

gilded, gilt, gilding. 

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. 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. a variant spelling of guild

Other Word Forms

• gildable adjective
• gilder noun
• gildsman noun

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

Not many of us had “Jeffrey Epstein” or “Ghislaine Maxwell” on our bingo cards — to mix metaphors while gilding the lily.

From Salon

But for Belgravia's gilded set, being told to leave the rarefied streets and return to a supposedly less desirable part of the English capital cuts deep.

From BBC

Here she sang it while standing in a glittering mermaid gown that seemed to make it impossible for her to move — some kind of metaphor for the gilded cage of a celebrity romance.

From Los Angeles Times

In images shared by Russian outlets, the two men - who have met several times before - were seen smiling and shaking hands in a gilded hall.

From BBC

But where else would you find a gilded temple floating in the middle of one of the city’s most frenzied intersections?

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• adorn 
• bedeck