gild1

[gild] /gɪld/
verb (used with object), gilded or 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.
Idioms
4.
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.
Origin
1300-50; Middle English gilden, Old English -gyldan; akin to gold
Related forms
gildable, adjective

gild2

[gild] /gɪld/
noun
1.
guild.
Examples from the web for gild
  • If you must gild the lily, choose from the brief list of toppings.
  • Methinks you gild the lily to much and lose credibility.
  • He has perched on rooftops to gild the domes of buildings.
  • The last vestiges of sunlight gild and burnish the pink walls.
  • No attempt has been made to gild the chronicle with rhetorical romance.
  • They spend on bad ideas, gild every surface, and cheat.
  • Stir in your minced tomatoes and basil and gild the lily with some more oil.
  • It requires an ability to squint a little and forget a lot, to gild things.
  • To gild with heavenly hopes their evening's pensive shade.
  • Nobody has thought to gild the sets or pad the orchestra, which consists exactly of two tuxedoed pianists.
British Dictionary definitions for gild

gild1

/ɡɪld/
verb (transitive) gilds, gilding, gilded, gilt (ɡɪlt)
1.
to cover with or as if with gold
2.
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
Derived Forms
gilder, noun
Word Origin
Old English gyldan, from goldgold; related to Old Norse gylla, Middle High German vergülden

gild2

/ɡɪld/
noun
1.
a variant spelling of guild (sense 2)
Derived Forms
gildsman, noun

guild

/ɡɪld/
noun
1.
an organization, club, or fellowship
2.
(esp in medieval Europe) an association of men sharing the same interests, such as merchants or artisans: formed for mutual aid and protection and to maintain craft standards or pursue some other purpose such as communal worship
3.
(ecology) a group of plants, such as a group of epiphytes, that share certain habits or characteristics
Word Origin
C14: of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse gjald payment, gildi guild; related to Old English gield offering, Old High German gelt money
Word Origin and History for gild
v.

Old English gyldan "to gild, to cover with a thin layer of gold," from Proto-Germanic *gulthianan (cf. Old Norse gylla "to gild," Old High German ubergulden "to cover with gold"), from *gulthan "gold" (see gold). Related: Gilded; gilding. Figuratively from 1590s.