Third person singular present tense of gild; covers something with gold or gold-colored coating, or makes something appear more valuable.
From gild + -s (3rd person singular present tense marker). This is the regular conjugation of the verb.
When Shakespeare wrote about 'gilding the lily,' he was using a verb form just like this—'gilds'—to describe our endless human impulse to improve the already-beautiful. The phrase is 800+ years old because the impulse never dies.
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