gild

From Middle English gilden or gulden, going back to Old English gyldan, meaning to cover something in a thin layer of gold. That word traces to Proto-Germanic *gulþijaną, a verb built directly on *gulþą, the word for gold itself.

At its root, this word simply meant to coat something in gold — a literal, physical act. The word's whole meaning grows out of that one material.

It shares its root with the very word 'gold,' since the Proto-Germanic verb was formed directly from the Proto-Germanic noun for that metal.