Goud

Grammar: <goud> [adjective, noun] [het goud].

Translates to: gold.

The adjective “goud” is part of the group of “stoffelijke bijvoeglijke naamwoorden” or “material adjectives”, and is therefore declined differently (see example 3 below); read more in “Declining adjectives“.

Examples:
1. “Goud is een edelmetaal.”
(“Gold is a precious metal.”)

2. “Deze halsketting is gemaakt van 14-karaats goud.”
(“This necklace is made of 14-carat gold.”)

3. “De gouden Rolex van de bankdirecteur blinkt in de zon.”
(“The bank director’s golden Rolex glitters in the sun.”)

The Dutch word for “to shine/to glitter” is “blinken” and is pronounced a bit like “bling-can”. I wonder if there is a relation with the hip-hop slang term “bling-bling“!

Expressions:
1. “Een gouden hart hebben.”
To have a heart of gold.

Example:
“Isabelle heeft een hart van goud.”
(“Isabelle has a heart of gold.”)

2. “Spreken is zilver, zwijgen is goud.”
Speech is silver, silence is golden.

3. “Iemand gouden bergen beloven.”
To promise someone the sun and the moon. Literally “to promise someone golden mountains”.

Example:
“De getrouwde man beloofde zijn vriendin gouden bergen.”
(“The married man promised his girlfriend the sun and the moon.”)

4. “Eigen haard is goud waard!”
There is no place like home. Literally: “one’s own hearth is worth gold”.

Related words:
1. “Goudsmid”: gold smith.
2. “Juwelier”: jeweller.
3. “Goudmijn”: gold mine.

The word “goudmijn” is often used figuratively.

Example:
“Het onlangs geopende koffietentje is een echte goudmijn voor de eigenaar!”
(“The recently opened coffee place is a true gold mine for the owner!”)

Extra:
One of the readers of the Dutch word of the day wondered if the Dutch city of Gouda has something to do with gold. Gouda is well-known for its cheese, the “Gouda kaas” or “Goudse kaas” (“cheese from Gouda”). The original settlement of Gouda was at the peat river “Gouwe” and a theory exists that says that this peat river had a golden glare and hence the name “Gouwe” originated. Read different theories at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gouda.

The word “goud” appeared earlier in “DWOTD 37. Vis” and “DWOTD 83. Morgen“.