goldcrest 
O.oldcrest (Reffitlus cristattts}. 
species is R. cristatut ; that of the United States is Ji. 
satrapa. 
goldcup (gold'kup), n. One of various species 
of crowfoot or Ranunculus, especially B. acris 
and B, bulbosus. Also called buttercup, Itingcup. 
gold-cushion (g61d'kush"gn), n. Same as cush- 
ion, 2 (a). 
A gold-cushion, which can be made by stretching a piece 
of calf leather, rough side upwards, over a pad of wadding 
on a board 10 inches by 8. 
Workshop Receipts, 1st ser., p. 397. 
gold-digger (gold'dig"er), n. One who digs for 
or mines gold. This word is almost exclusively used to 
designate placer miners, or those who dig and wash aurifer- 
ous detrital material (gravel and sand). Those who are en- 
gaged in mining in the solid rock are called quartz miner*. 
gold-dust (gold 'dust), i. 1. Gold occurring 
naturally in a state of flue subdivision. 2. A 
plant, Alyssum saxatile, so called from the pro- 
fusion of its small yellow flowers. Also called 
goldbasket. [Properly golddust.'] 
golden (gol'dri), a. [< ME. golden, a restored 
form of earlier gulden, gylden, gilden, < AS. gyl- 
den (with umlaut) (= OS. guldin = OFries. gel- 
den, golden, gulden = D. gouden = MLG. golden 
= OHG. guldin, culdin, MHG. guldin (also used 
as a noun, > G. gulden, florin), G. gulden, usual- 
ly golden = Icel. gullinn = Sw. gyllen, gylden = 
Dan. gylden = Goth, gultheins), of gold, < gold, 
gold: see gold and -eifi. Cf. gilden 1 , a doublet 
of golden, and gilden 2 , gulden.} 1. Made of 
gold ; consisting of gold. 
Thy state is taken for a joint-stool, thy golden sceptre 
for a leaden dagger. Shak., 1 Hen. IV., ii. 4. 
Two massy keys he bore of metals twain ; 
The golden opes, the iron shuts amain. 
Milton, Lycidas, 1. 111. 
Then was I ware of one that on me moved 
In golden armour with a crown of gold. 
Tennyson, Holy Grail. 
2. Of the color or luster of gold ; yellow; bright ; 
shining ; splendid : as, the golden sun ; golden 
fruit : sometimes poetically used of blood. 
The weary sun hath made a golden set, 
And, by the bright track of his fiery car, 
Gives token of a goodly day to-morrow. 
Shak., Kich. III., v. 3. 
Here lay Duncan, 
His silver skin lac'd with his golden blood. 
Shak., Macbeth, it 3, 
To see thee, laying there thy golden head, 
My pride in happier summers, at my feet. 
Tennyson, Guinevere. 
Hence 3. Excellent; most valuable; very pre- 
cious : as, the golden rule. 
I will recite a golden sentence out of that Poete, which 
is next vnto Homer. Ascham, The Scholemaster, p. 107. 
I have bought 
Golden opinions from all sorts of people. 
Shak., Macbeth, i. 7. 
This mistress [Affliction] lately plucked me by the ear, 
And many a golden lesson hath me taught. 
Sir J. Davies, Immortal, of Soul, Int. 
4. Most happy or prosperous ; marked by great 
happiness, prosperity, or progress : as, the gold- 
en age. 
A goodly place, a goodly time, 
For it was in the golden prune 
Of good Haroun Alraschid. 
Tennyson, Arabian Nights. 
That was in golden summer-time ; 
The winter wind is howling now. 
R. T. Cooke, En Espagne. 
The IV. century witnessed the blooming of Syrian liter- 
ature into its golden age. Amer. Jour. Philol., V. 204. 
5. Preeminently favorable or auspicious: as, 
a golden opportunity. 
When that is known, and golden time convents, 
A solemn combination shall be made 
Of our dear souls. Shak. , T. N. , v. 1. 
The State has a golden chance the opportunity of get- 
ting the whole manufacture and sale . . . into its 'own 
hands. British Quarterly Rev., LXXXIII. 333. 
Figure of the golden rule, see rule. Golden age. 
See ages in mythology and history, under age. Golden 
balls, the three gilt balls used as a pawnbroker's sign. 
The golden balls form the arms of Lombardy, and wene as- 
sumed by the colony of Lombards who settled in Ixmdon 
as bankers and money-lenders. Golden beetle, a chry- 
somelid ; a beetle of the genus Chrysomela or family Chry- 
2566 
gomelidce: so called from their metallic luster. See cut 
under Chrusomela. Golden bull. See bull?. Golden 
carp, the gold carp or goldfish. Golden cudweed. See 
cttdwi. Golden cutty, the golden-crested wren, Reyu- 
lus crMatus. [Hants, Eng.] Golden daisy. Same as 
oxeye daisy (which see, under dflw*/). Golden division*. 
See divixiun. Golden dock. See dc*i, 1. Golden 
eagle, fleece. See the nouns. Golden fly. Same as 
yoldieasp. Golden Friday, haddock, Horde, house, 
ide, legend, lungwort, maidenhair, mean, mole, 
mouse-ear, etc. See the nouns. Golden number, the 
number of any year in the Metonic cycle of 19 years. The 
rule for finding it is to add 1 to the number of the year af- 
ter Christ, according to the ordinary reckoning, and divide 
by 19, when the remainder will be the golden number. 
The name is said to be derived from the fact that, on the 
discovery of the Metonic cycle, about 432 B. c., an inscrip- 
tion in letters of gold was set up in Athens, and others in 
other cities of Greece ; the numbers were also marked in 
gold in the ancient calendars. The golden numbers are 
used in ecclesiastical computations, with the epact, to de- 
termine the day on which the Easter full moon occurs, 
the date by which all the movable feasts in the church 
year are determined. See Easteri. Golden pheasant, 
plover, robin. See the nouns. Golden rose, a rose 
made of pure gold, blessed by the Pope on Lsetare Sun- 
day, the fourth Sunday of Lent, used by him in blessing 
the people, and occasionally sent as a mark of especial 
honor to Catholic sovereigns and other notable persons, 
to churches, cities, etc. Originally it consisted of a sin- 
gle rose of wrought gold; the form finally adopted is a 
thorny branch with Bowers and leaves, surmounted by one 
principal rose. Golden rule, (a) The rule of conduct : 
" Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye 
even so to them." Mat. vii. 12. (i>) 
In aritk., the rule of three. See rule. l> 
Golden samphire, saxifrage, 
shiner, etc. See the nouns. Gold- 
en section, the division of a line 
in extreme and mean ratio, which Is 
solved by Euclid II. 11. Golden 
Spur, a papal order existing since 
the sixteenth century. It consists 
of two classes, commanders and 
knights. The present name is Order 
of St. Sylvester. Golden star, a 
form of monstrance in which during 
the papal mass on Easter day the 
bread is exhibited to the people for 
adoration. Walcott. Golden sul- 
phld, a sulphid of antimony, pre- 
pared by precipitating a sulphanti- 
moniate by sulphuric acid. Gold- 
en thistle, wedding, wrasse, etc. 
See the nouns. Golden warblers, 
several species of the genus Den- 
G H I 
The Golden Section 
of Euclid II. n. AB 
is the given line. The 
sideof the squareABIG 
is bisected in C. CD is 
taken equal to BC, and 
the square ADEF is 
constructed. 
droeca, which resemble the common summer warbler of 
the United States, D. aestiva, in being almost entirely of 
a bright-yellow color. See yellowJrird. Golden wasp. 
See aoldwasp. Knights of the Golden Circle. See 
knight. Order of the Golden Fleece. See fleece. 
golden (goTdn), v. i. [< golden, a.] To be- 
come golden in color. [Rare.] 
Like loose mists that blow 
Across her crescent, goldening ta they go. 
Lowell, Endymion, iv. 
goldenback (gol'dn-bak), . The American 
golden plover, Charadrius dominions. 
goldenbough (gol'dn-bou), n. The mistletoe, 
Viscum album. 
goldenbug (gol'dn -bug), . The seven-spot- 
ted ladybird, Coccinella scptem-punctata. Also 
called goldenknop. 
goldenchain (gol'dn-chan), . The laburnum, 
Cytisus Laburnum : so called from its long ra- 
cemes of yellow flowers. 
golden-cheeked (gol'dn-chekt), a. Having yel- 
low lores : as, the golden-cheeked warbler, Den- 
drceca chrysoparia. 
goldenclub (gol'dn-klub), n. The Orontium 
aquaticum, an aquatic plant of theUnited States, 
bearing a yellow club-shaped spadix. 
golden-crested (g61'dn-kres"ted), a. Having 
a yellow crest: specifically applied to several 
kinglets or goldcrests. 
golden-crowned (gol'dn-kround), a. Having 
a yellow crown : as, the golden-crowned thrush, 
Siurus auricapillus ; the golden-crowned spar- 
row, Zonotrivhia coronata. 
gold-end-mant, n. A man who buys broken 
pieces of gold and silver; an itinerant jeweler. 
Re-enter Higgen, disguised as a void -end -man. 
Sig. Have ye any ends of gold or silver ? 
Fletcher, Beggar's Bush, lii. 1. 
goldenear (gol'dn-er), n. A noctuid moth, 
Hydrcecia nictitans. 
goldeneye (gdl'dn-I), n. 1. A sea-duck of the 
subfamily Fuligulince and genus Clangula; a 
garrot. The common goldeneye is C. glaucion or C. 
clangula of Europe and America. Barrow's goldeneye is 
the Rocky Mountain garret, C. oarrovi. See cut under 
garrot. 
In the interior, and perhaps at some points on the coast, 
the golden-eyes decoy readily, but this is not the case on 
our southern New England shore, where they rarely pay 
the slightest attention to the stools. 
Sportsman's Gazetteer, p. 223. 
2. A fish, Hyodon chrysopsis, having a large eye 
with yellow iris. 3. One of various neurop- 
terous insects of the genus Chrysopa : so called 
in allusion to their golden or bronze-colored 
goldfinch 
eyes. The larvse are often called apMs-Konn. 
Also called golden-eyed fly. 
golden-eyed (gol'dn-Id), a. Having yellow 
eyes Golden-eyed fly. See fly? and goldeneye, 3. 
golden-flower (gol ' dn -flou " er), n. The corn- 
marigold, Chrysanthemum segetum. See Chry- 
santhemum. 2. 
goldenhead (gol'dn-hed), n. The male wid- 
geon, Mareca penelope; the yellowpoll. [East 
coast of Ireland.] 
goldenknop (gol'dn-nop), n. Same as golden- 
bug. E. D. 
goldenlyt (g6Tdn-li), adv. Splendidly; delight- 
fully. 
My brother Jaqnes he keeps at school, and report speaks 
goldenly of his profit. Shak., As you Like it, L 1. 
goldenmaid (gol'dn-mad), n. ( A fish, the con- 
ner or gilthead, Crenilabrus m'elops. 
During this frost [the great frost of 1814, in England] a 
great number of the fish called golden maids were picked 
up on Brighton beach. Hone's Every-day Book, II. 108. 
goldenpert (gol'dn-pfert), n. The Gratiola att- 
rea, a low scrophulariaceous herb of the Atlan- 
tic States, with golden-yellow flowers. 
goldenrod (gol'dn-rod), n. [< golden + rod.] 
A plant of the genus Solidago, the species of 
which have rod-like stems with radiate heads 
of bright-yellow flowers. The sweet-scented 
goldenrod, S. odora, yields a volatile oil. See 
Solidago. 
But on the hills the golden-rod, and the aster in the wood, 
And the yellow sun-flower by the brook, in autumn beauty 
stood. Bryant, Death of the Flowers. 
False goldenrod, Brachycliozta cordata, a plant of the 
Alleghanies, closely resembling Solidago. West India 
goldenrod. the Neurolama lobata, a tall composite with 
a panicle 01 yellow flowers. 
goldenrod-tree (gol'dn-rod-tre), n. The Bosia 
Yervamora, a peculiar chenopodiaceous shrub 
of the Canary islands. 
goldenseal (gol'dn-sel), n. The yellowroot or 
yellow puccoon, Bydrastis Canadensis, a ranun- 
culaceous plant of the United States. 
golden-sloptt (gol'dn-slopt), a. Wearing slops 
or nether garments embroidered or adorned 
with gold. 
Some shy golden-slopt Castalio. Marston. 
golden-spoon (gol'dn-spou), n. In Jamaica, the 
Byrsonima cinerea, a small malpighiaceous tree, 
named from the shape and color of the petals. 
golden-swift (gol'dn-swift), n. The hepialid 
moth Hepialus liumuli. 
golden-winged (gol'dn-wingd), a. Having yel- 
low wings, or wings marked with yellow: 
applied to sundry birds: as, the golden-wing- 
ed woodpecker, Colaptes auratus ; the golden- 
winged warbler, Helmintnophila chrysoptera. 
gold'er, n. See golader. 
gold-fem (gold 'fern), n. A fern in which the un- 
der surface of the frond is covered with bright- 
yellow powder, giving a golden color. This occurs 
In many species of Gymnogramme and Notholcena. When 
the powder is white the fern is called silver-fern. Differ- 
ent fronds of the same species may have either color, as 
in the California gold- and silver-fern, Gymnogramme tri- 
angularis. 
gold-field (gold'feld), n. A district or region 
where gold-mining is earned on. 
Auriferous materials from our gold-fields. 
Ure, Diet., IV. 413. 
goldfinch (gold 'finch), n. [< ME. goldfinch, 
< AS. goldfinc (= ODan. guldfink = G. gold- 
fink), < gold, gold, + fine, finch.] 1. An ele- 
gant European siskin or thistle-bird, Cardue- 
lis elegans, of the family Fringillidce, having 
wings conspicuous- 
ly marked with yel- 
low, and a crimson 
face. 
Canara byrds come in to 
beare the bell, 
And Goldfinches do hope 
to get the gole. 
Gascoigne, Philomene, 
[1. 34. 
Two goldfinches, whose 
sprightly song 
Had been their mutual 
solace long, 
Liv'd happy prisoners 
there. 
Cowper, Faithful Bird. 
2. The American 
thistle-bird, Chry- 
somitris tristis, of 
the family Frin- 
gillidce, having a 
yellow body, with 
black cap, wings, 
and tail, the latter 
marked also with 
American Goldfinch ( Chrysomitris o 
Spiniis tristis}. 
