English

gilthead

From gilt + head.

A compound of gilt + head

English gild ‘to cover in gold’

English gilt

Proto-Indo-European *kap- ‘head’

…

Proto-Germanic *haubudą ‘head’

Proto-West Germanic *haubud

Old English hēafod ‘head’

Middle English heed ‘head’

English head

Today it means

noun A marine fish, Sparus aurata (gilt-head bream), with a golden-coloured head; the giltpoll.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / gilthead