gold leaf
(Often hyphened.)
a. (with pl. gold leaves.) A minute quantity of gold, beaten out into an extremely thin sheet, averaging from 3 to 3½ inches square. b. (sing. only.) Gold in this form used in gilding, etc.
| 1727–41 Chambers Cycl., Gold-leaf, or beaten Gold, is gold beaten with a hammer into exceedingly thin leaves... Each book ordinarily contains twenty-five gold leaves. 1799 G. Smith Laboratory I. 195 You may lay on gold leaves with brandy. 1811 A. T. Thomson Lond. Disp. (1818) 44 The finest silver leaf being only one-third thicker than gold leaf. 1839 Ure Dict. Arts 611 Skins prepared from ox-gut are now interposed between each gold leaf. 1884 Chamb. Jrnl. 10 May 294/1 A mandarin..is graciously allowed to choke himself by swallowing gold-leaf. |
c. gold leaf electrometer, gold leaf electroscope, gold leaf galvanoscope, appliances in which gold leaf is used as a detector.
| 1812 Sir H. Davy Chem. Philos. 168 An insulated gold leaf electrometer. 1870 R. M. Ferguson Electr. 53 A gold leaf electroscope. |