society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > ornamental art and craft > gilding and silvering > [noun] > gilding > gold or silver leaf (2)
Metal, esp. gold or silver, in the form of a thin sheet (in earlier use) or a very thin foil (in current use). Cf. gold leaf, n., silver-leaf, n.
As a mass noun: gold or silver leaf or foil; (precious) metal applied as a thin coating to base metal, esp. by electrolysis. Also (chiefly with…