GILD, verb transitive preterit tense and participle passive gilded or gilt. 1. To overlay with gold, either in leaf or powder, or in amalgam with quicksilver; to overspread with a thin covering of gold; as the gilt frame of a mirror. Her joy in gilded chariots when alive, And love of ombre after death survive. 2. To cover with any yellow matter. 3. To adorn with luster; to render bright. No more the rising sun shall gild the morn. 4. To illuminate; to brighten. Let oft good humor, mild and gay, GILD the calm evening of your day. 5. To give a fair and agreeable external appearance; to recommend to favor and reception by superficial decoration; as, to gild flattery or falsehood.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI