mid-15c., "action of gilding;" 1630s, "golden surface produced by gilding;" verbal noun from gild (v.).
Entries linking to gilding
gild v.
Old English gyldan "to gild, to cover with a thin layer of gold," from Proto-Germanic *gulthjan (source also of Old Norse gylla "to gild," Old High German ubergulden "to cover with gold"), verb from *gultham "gold" (see gold). Related: Gilded; gilding. Figuratively from 1590s.