golden

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

• adjective Of, relating to, made of, or containing gold.
• adjective Having the color of gold or a yellow color suggestive of gold.
• adjective Lustrous; radiant.
• adjective Suggestive of gold, as in richness or splendor.
• adjective Of the greatest value or importance; precious.
• adjective Marked by peace, prosperity, and often creativeness.
• adjective Very favorable or advantageous; excellent.
• adjective Having a promising future; seemingly assured of success.
• adjective Of or relating to a 50th anniversary.

from The Century Dictionary.

• To become golden in color.
• Made of gold; consisting of gold.
• Of the color or luster of gold; yellow; bright; shining; splendid: as, the golden sun; golden fruit: sometimes poetically used of blood.
• Hence Excellent; most valuable; very precious: as, the golden rule.
• Most happy or prosperous; marked by great happiness, prosperity, or progress: as, the golden age.
• Preëminently favorable or auspicious: as, a golden opportunity.
• In arithmetic, the rule of three. See rule.

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

• adjective Made of gold; consisting of gold.
• adjective Having the color of gold.
• adjective Very precious; highly valuable; excellent; eminently auspicious.
• adjective (Roman Literature) That period in the history of a literature, etc., when it flourishes in its greatest purity or attains its greatest glory; as, the Elizabethan age has been considered the golden age of English literature.
• adjective three gilt balls used as a sign of a pawnbroker's office or shop; -- originally taken from the coat of arms of Lombardy, the first money lenders in London having been Lombards.
• adjective See under Bull, an edict.
• adjective (Bot.) the shrub Cytisus Laburnum, so named from its long clusters of yellow blossoms.
• adjective (Bot.) an aquatic plant (Orontium aquaticum), bearing a thick spike of minute yellow flowers.
• adjective (Bot.) the buttercup.
• adjective (Zoöl.) a large and powerful eagle (Aquila Chrysaëtos) inhabiting Europe, Asia, and North America. It is so called from the brownish yellow tips of the feathers on the head and neck. A dark variety is called the royal eagle; the young in the second year is the ring-tailed eagle.
• adjective (Mythol.), (Her.) An order of knighthood instituted in 1429 by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy; -- called also Toison d'Or.
• adjective [Slang] a bribe; a fee.
• adjective (Bot.) a South African shrubby composite plant with golden yellow flowers, the Chrysocoma Coma-aurea.
• adjective (Hist.) a tribe of Mongolian Tartars who overran and settled in Southern Russia early in the 18th century.
• adjective a hagiology (the “Aurea Legenda”) written by James de Voragine, Archbishop of Genoa, in the 13th century, translated and printed by Caxton in 1483, and partially paraphrased by Longfellow in a poem thus entitled.
• adjective [Obs.] tin.
• adjective the way of wisdom and safety between extremes; sufficiency without excess; moderation.
• adjective (Zoöl) one of several South African Insectivora of the family Chrysochloridæ, resembling moles in form and habits. The fur is tinted with green, purple, and gold.
• adjective (Chronol.) a number showing the year of the lunar or Metonic cycle. It is reckoned from 1 to 19, and is so called from having formerly been written in the calendar in gold.
• adjective (Zoöl.) See Oriole.
• adjective See under Pheasant.
• adjective a kind of apple, of a bright yellow color.
• adjective (Zoöl.) one of several species of plovers, of the genus Charadrius, esp. the European (Charadrius apricarius, syn. Charadrius pluvialis; -- called also yellow plover, black-breasted plover, hill plover, and whistling plover. The common American species (Charadrius dominicus) is also called frostbird, and bullhead.
• adjective (Zoöl.) See Baltimore oriole, in Vocab.
• adjective (R. C. Ch.) a gold or gilded rose blessed by the pope on the fourth Sunday in Lent, and sent to some church or person in recognition of special services rendered to the Holy See.
• adjective The rule of proportion, or rule of three.
• adjective (Bot.) a composite plant (Inula crithmoides), found on the seashore of Europe.
• adjective (Bot.) a low herb with yellow flowers (Chrysosplenium oppositifolium), blossoming in wet places in early spring.
• adjective (Bot.) a perennial ranunculaceous herb (Hydrastis Canadensis), with a thick knotted rootstock and large rounded leaves.
• adjective (Chem.) the pentasulphide of antimony, a golden or orange yellow powder.
• adjective (Zoöl.) a common American wood warbler (Dendroica æstiva); -- called also blue-eyed yellow warbler, garden warbler, and summer yellow bird.
• adjective (Zoöl.) a bright-colored hymenopterous insect, of the family Chrysididæ. The colors are golden, blue, and green.