The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Gold \Gold\ (g[=o]ld), n. [AS. gold; akin to D. goud, OS. & G.
gold, Icel. gull, Sw. & Dan. guld, Goth. gul[thorn], Russ. &
OSlav. zlato; prob. akin to E. yellow. [root]49, 234. See
Yellow, and cf. Gild, v. t.]
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1. (Chem.) A metallic element of atomic number 79,
constituting the most precious metal used as a common
commercial medium of exchange. It has a characteristic
yellow color, is one of the heaviest substances known
(specific gravity 19.32), is soft, and very malleable and
ductile. It is quite unalterable by heat (melting point
1064.4[deg] C), moisture, and most corrosive agents, and
therefore well suited for its use in coin and jewelry.
Symbol Au (Aurum). Atomic weight 196.97.
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Note: Native gold contains usually eight to ten per cent of
silver, but often much more. As the amount of silver
increases, the color becomes whiter and the specific
gravity lower. Gold is very widely disseminated, as in
the sands of many rivers, but in very small quantity.
It usually occurs in quartz veins (gold quartz), in
slate and metamorphic rocks, or in sand and alluvial
soil, resulting from the disintegration of such rocks.
It also occurs associated with other metallic
substances, as in auriferous pyrites, and is combined
with tellurium in the minerals petzite, calaverite,
sylvanite, etc. Pure gold is too soft for ordinary use,
and is hardened by alloying with silver and copper, the
latter giving a characteristic reddish tinge. [See
Carat.] Gold also finds use in gold foil, in the
pigment purple of Cassius, and in the chloride, which
is used as a toning agent in photography.
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2. Money; riches; wealth.
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For me, the gold of France did not seduce. --Shak.
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3. A yellow color, like that of the metal; as, a flower
tipped with gold.
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4. Figuratively, something precious or pure; as, hearts of
gold. --Shak.
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Age of gold. See Golden age, under Golden.
Dutch gold, Fool's gold, Gold dust, etc. See under
Dutch, Dust, etc.
Gold amalgam, a mineral, found in Columbia and California,
composed of gold and mercury.
Gold beater, one whose occupation is to beat gold into gold
leaf.
Gold beater's skin, the prepared outside membrane of the
large intestine of the ox, used for separating the leaves
of metal during the process of gold-beating.
Gold beetle (Zool.), any small gold-colored beetle of the
family Chrysomelid[ae]; -- called also golden beetle.
Gold blocking, printing with gold leaf, as upon a book
cover, by means of an engraved block. --Knight.
Gold cloth. See Cloth of gold, under Cloth.
Gold Coast, a part of the coast of Guinea, in West Africa.
Gold cradle. (Mining) See Cradle, n., 7.
Gold diggings, the places, or region, where gold is found
by digging in sand and gravel from which it is separated
by washing.
Gold end, a fragment of broken gold or jewelry.
Gold-end man.
(a) A buyer of old gold or jewelry.
(b) A goldsmith's apprentice.
(c) An itinerant jeweler. "I know him not: he looks like a
gold-end man." --B. Jonson.
Gold fever, a popular mania for gold hunting.
Gold field, a region in which are deposits of gold.
Gold finder.
(a) One who finds gold.
(b) One who empties privies. [Obs. & Low] --Swift.
Gold flower, a composite plant with dry and persistent
yellow radiating involucral scales, the Helichrysum
St[oe]chas of Southern Europe. There are many South
African species of the same genus.
Gold foil, thin sheets of gold, as used by dentists and
others. See Gold leaf.
Gold knobs or Gold knoppes (Bot.), buttercups.
Gold lace, a kind of lace, made of gold thread.
Gold latten, a thin plate of gold or gilded metal.
Gold leaf, gold beaten into a film of extreme thinness, and
used for gilding, etc. It is much thinner than gold foil.
Gold lode (Mining), a gold vein.
Gold mine, a place where gold is obtained by mining
operations, as distinguished from diggings, where it is
extracted by washing. Cf. Gold diggings (above).
Gold nugget, a lump of gold as found in gold mining or
digging; -- called also a pepito.
Gold paint. See Gold shell.
Gold pheasant, or Golden pheasant. (Zool.) See under
Pheasant.
Gold plate, a general name for vessels, dishes, cups,
spoons, etc., made of gold.
Mosaic gold. See under Mosaic.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Pheasant \Pheas"ant\ (f[e^]z"ant), n. [OE. fesant, fesaunt, OF.
faisant, faisan, F. faisan, L. phasianus, Gr. fasiano`s (sc.
'o`rnis) the Phasian bird, pheasant, fr. Fa`sis a river in
Colchis or Pontus.]
1. (Zool.) Any one of numerous species of large gallinaceous
birds of the genus Phasianus, and many other genera of
the family Phasianid[ae], found chiefly in Asia.
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Note: The
common pheasant, or English pheasant (Phasianus
Colchicus) is now found over most of temperate Europe,
but was introduced from Asia. The
ring-necked pheasant (Phasianus torquatus) and the
green pheasant (Phasianus versicolor) have been
introduced into Oregon. The
golden pheasant (Thaumalea picta) is one of the most
beautiful species. The
silver pheasant (Euplocamus nychthemerus) of China, and
several related species from Southern Asia, are very
beautiful.
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2. (Zool.) The ruffed grouse. [Southern U.S.]
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Note: Various other birds are locally called pheasants, as
the lyre bird, the leipoa, etc.
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Fireback pheasant. See Fireback.
Gold pheasant, or Golden pheasant (Zool.), a Chinese
pheasant (Thaumalea picta), having rich, varied colors.
The crest is amber-colored, the rump is golden yellow, and
the under parts are scarlet.
Mountain pheasant (Zool.), the ruffed grouse. [Local, U.S.]
Pheasant coucal (Zool.), a large Australian cuckoo
(Centropus phasianus). The general color is black, with
chestnut wings and brown tail. Called also pheasant
cuckoo. The name is also applied to other allied species.
Pheasant duck. (Zool.)
(a) The pintail.
(b) The hooded merganser.
Pheasant parrot (Zool.), a large and beautiful Australian
parrakeet (Platycercus Adelaidensis). The male has the
back black, the feathers margined with yellowish blue and
scarlet, the quills deep blue, the wing coverts and cheeks
light blue, the crown, sides of the neck, breast, and
middle of the belly scarlet.
Pheasant's eye. (Bot.)
(a) A red-flowered herb (Adonis autumnalis) of the
Crowfoot family; -- called also pheasant's-eye
Adonis.
(b) The garden pink (Dianthus plumarius); -- called also
Pheasant's-eye pink.
Pheasant shell (Zool.), any marine univalve shell of the
genus Phasianella, of which numerous species are found
in tropical seas. The shell is smooth and usually richly
colored, the colors often forming blotches like those of a
pheasant.
Pheasant wood. (Bot.) Same as Partridge wood
(a), under Partridge.
Sea pheasant (Zool.), the pintail.
Water pheasant. (Zool.)
(a) The sheldrake.
(b) The hooded merganser.
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