gold
A precious yellow metallic element, prized since antiquity.
Etymology
From Old English gold, from Proto-Germanic *gulþą, from PIE *gʰel-d- "to pay, yield," itself from *gʰel- "to shine, gleam." The connection to shining is ancient — gold was the bright metal. The same root gives us "yellow" and "glow," all bound by the concept of radiance.
The Journey: *gʰel-d- → gold
*gʰel-d-
*gulþą
gold
gold
gold
Cognates Across Languages
These words in other languages descend from the same PIE root *gʰel-d-. They are not borrowings but independent inheritances from a common ancestor.
| Language | Word |
|---|---|
| Dutch | goud |
| German | Gold |
| Gothic | gulþ |
| Old Norse | gull |
| Lithuanian | geltonas (yellow) |
Did You Know?
The words "gold," "yellow," and "glow" all descend from the same PIE root *gʰel- meaning "to shine." The metal was literally named for its colour — the shining stuff.
This word descends from the Proto-Indo-European root *gʰel-d-. See the full root page for descendant trees, sound law references, and scholarly discussion.