different between golden vs precious

English

Alternative forms

• goulden (obsolete)

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /????l.d?n/
• (US) IPA^(key): /??o?l.d?n/, [???l.d?n]
• Rhymes: -??ld?n
• Hyphenation: gol?den

Etymology 1

From Middle English golden, a restored form (due to the noun gold) of earlier Middle English gulden, gylden, gilden (“golden”), from Old English gylden (“golden”), from Proto-Germanic *gulþ?naz (“golden, made of gold”), equivalent to gold +? -en. Cognate with Dutch gouden, gulden (“golden”), German gülden, golden (“golden”), Danish gylden (“golden”). More at gold.

Adjective

golden (comparative more golden or goldener, superlative most golden or goldenest)

1. Made of, or relating to, gold.

   She wore a golden crown.
2. Having a colour or other richness suggestive of gold.

   Under a golden sun.

3. Of a beverage, flavoured or colored with turmeric. [from c. 2010]
4. Marked by prosperity, creativity etc.

   The Renaissance was a golden era.

   the Golden Horseshoe

   • O Partridge! could I hope once again to see that face; but, alas! all those golden dreams are vanished for ever, and my only refuge from future misery is to forget the object of all my former happiness.

5. Advantageous or very favourable.

   This is a golden opportunity

   • ... a seasoned Champions League outfit, who beat Barcelona at the Nou Camp in 2009-10 and continually worked their way between the home defence to create some golden opportunities.

6. Relating to a fiftieth anniversary.

   It's not long until our golden wedding.

7. Relating to the elderly or retired.

   After retiring, Bob and Judy moved to Arizona to live out their golden years.

8. (Britain, slang) Fine, without problems.
   • 2007, Colin Barr, Steve Katai, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Triathlon Training, Penguin ?ISBN, page 28

     Many anti-fog variety goggles are available, but if you don't get that type, just rub a little spit on the lenses before you put them on in the water and you'll be golden.

   • 2009, Mark Wiskup, Presentation S.O.S.: From Perspiration to Persuasion in 9 Easy Steps, Hachette UK ?ISBN

     Therefore, the task ahead is easy. When the spotlight is on you, never let the audience down and you'll be golden.

   • 2011, Wayne R. Dempsey, 101 Projects for Your Porsche Boxster, Motorbooks ?ISBN, page 68

     If all of the marks line up perfectly, then you're golden, and you can continue on with finishing up the installation.

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

golden (plural goldens)

1. Kyphosus vaigiensis, a fish found in southeast Asia.

Etymology 2

From gold +? -en, or perhaps a derivation from the adjective above.

Verb

golden (third-person singular simple present goldens, present participle goldening, simple past and past participle goldened)

1. (intransitive) To become gold or golden (in colour).
2. (transitive) To make golden or like gold.
   • 1994, Marion H. Hedges, Iron City:

     It goldened, as nothing else goldened, the commonplace countryside.

Translations

Anagrams

• Delong, dongle, longed

Dutch

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -?ld?n

Verb

golden

1. plural past indicative and subjunctive of gelden

Anagrams

• dongel, gondel

German

Alternative forms

• gülden (archaic, poetic)
• gulden, gölden (obsolete)

Etymology

Common since the 18th century. Alteration (after Gold (“gold”)) of older gulden, gülden, from Middle High German guld?n, güld?n, from Old High German guld?n, from Proto-Germanic *gulþ?naz. Equivalen to Gold +? -en. Cognate with Dutch gulden, gouden, English golden.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??ld?n/
• Hyphenation: gol?den

Adjective

golden (comparative goldener, superlative am goldensten)

1. golden; gold (made of gold)
2. golden (gold-coloured)

Declension

Synonyms

• (in predicative use) aus Gold
• (in attributive use) Gold-

Derived terms

• Goldener Schnitt
• Goldene Zahl
• goldenes Herz
• Gulden

See also

Further reading

• “golden” in Duden online
• “golden” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Middle English

Alternative forms

• goldene, goldyn, goldin, goldun, goldyng, goldein, gowuldyn, colden, coldin

Etymology

From gilden, reformed by analogy with gold.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /????ld?n/

Adjective

golden

1. Formed from gold.
2. Decorated or covered with gold.
3. Having a golden colour.
4. (figurative) Of excellent quality or worth; precious, best.

Descendants

• English: golden
• Scots: gowden

See also

• gilden

References

• “g?lden, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 27 April 2018.

Plautdietsch

Adjective

golden

1. golden

English

Alternative forms

• pretious (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English precious, borrowed from Old French precios (“valuable, costly, precious, beloved, also affected, finical”), from Latin preti?sus (“of great value, costly, dear, precious”), from pretium (“value, price”); see price.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?p????s/
• Rhymes: -???s

Adjective

precious (comparative more precious, superlative most precious)

1. Of high value or worth.

2. Regarded with love or tenderness.

3. (derogatory) Treated with too much reverence.

4. (derogatory) Contrived to be cute or charming.
5. (colloquial) Thorough; utter.

   a precious rascal

Synonyms

• (of high value): dear, valuable
• (contrived to charm): saccharine, syrupy, twee

Derived terms

• nonprecious
• precious metal
• precious stone
• preciously
• preciousness
• semiprecious

Related terms

Translations

Noun

precious (plural preciouses)

1. Someone (or something) who is loved; a darling.
   • 1937, J. R. R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

     “It isn't fair, my precious, is it, to ask us what it's got in its nassty little pocketses?”

   • 1909, Mrs. Teignmouth Shore, The Pride of the Graftons (page 57)

     She sat down with the dogs in her lap. "I won't neglect you for any one, will I, my preciouses?"

Adverb

precious (not comparable)

1. Very; an intensifier.

   There is precious little we can do.

   precious few pictures of him exist

Usage notes

This adverb is chiefly used before few and little; usage with other adjectives (slight, small, scant) is much more sporadic, and is in any case limited to the semantic field of “little, small, scarce, few”.

Translations

Further reading

• precious on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Further reading

• precious in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• precious in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.