Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The art or process of applying gilt to a surface.
  • noun A thin layer of gold or a paint containing or simulating gold; gilt.
  • noun Something used to give a superficially attractive appearance.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The art of overlaying or decorating with gold.
  • noun The art or practice of producing the appearance of gilding by the use of other materials than gold. Compare gild, verb
  • noun That which is laid on in overlaying with gold; hence, any superficial coating used to give a better appearance to a thing than is natural to it.
  • noun A rich golden color imparted to herrings by the use of hard wood only in smoking them.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The art or practice of overlaying or covering with gold leaf; also, a thin coating or wash of gold, or of that which resembles gold.
  • noun Gold in leaf, powder, or liquid, for application to any surface.
  • noun Any superficial coating or appearance, as opposed to what is solid and genuine.
  • noun a tough kind of sheet brass from which cartridge shells are made.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb Present participle of gild.
  • noun uncountable The art of applying gold leaf to a surface
  • noun uncountable Gold leaf
  • noun countable A coating of gold, etc.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a coating of gold or of something that looks like gold

Etymologies

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Examples

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  • Why isn't this word "gilting"?

    (noun The art or process of applying gilt to a surface.)

    June 7, 2010

  • Gilty! Gilty! I've never seen anyone so gilty!

    June 7, 2010