Goldsmithing

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The art and craft of shaping gold into decorative and utilitarian objects encompasses design, construction, and repair processes
2. A specialized form of craftsmanship that involves the creation and restoration of gold items, combining artistic design and technical skills
3. The practice of crafting and repairing objects made of gold requires both artistic creativity and technical craftsmanship in design and execution

Etymology: Gold has been worked into ornaments for thousands of years, but "goldsmithing" is simply the plain sum of two older English words: "gold," the precious metal, and "smithing," the craft of working metal by hammering and shaping it. The "smith" in the second half comes from Old English "smið," a word for a metalworker, which is why a blacksmith, a silversmith and a goldsmith all share the same pattern. The suffix "-ing" turns the act of smithing into a noun for the activity itself. The compound describes a trade as much as a technique. A goldsmith traditionally did more than shape the metal: the job included casting, soldering, setting stones and repairing pieces brought in damaged, which is why the word covers restoration as well as creation. Because the word is built transparently from its parts, its meaning has stayed close to its original sense, with little drift over the centuries.

Synonyms: jewelry making, metalworking