Gold vs. Iron — What's the Difference?

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from Latin: aurum) and atomic number 79, making it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. In a pure form, it is a bright, slightly reddish yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal.

Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from Latin: ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table.

A yellow precious metal, the chemical element of atomic number 79, used especially in jewellery and decoration and to guarantee the value of currencies.

Symbol Fe A silvery-white, lustrous, malleable, ductile, magnetic or magnetizable, metallic element occurring abundantly in combined forms, notably in hematite, limonite, magnetite, and taconite, and used alloyed in a wide range of important structural materials. Atomic number 26; atomic weight 55.845; melting point 1,538°C; boiling point 2,861°C; specific gravity 7.874 (at 20°C); valence 2, 3, 4, 6. See Periodic Table.

A deep lustrous yellow or yellow-brown colour

An implement made of iron alloy or similar metal, especially a bar heated for use in branding, curling hair, or cauterizing.

Coins or other articles made of gold

Great hardness or strength; firmness

The bullseye of an archery target.

(Sports) Any of a series of golf clubs having a bladelike metal head and numbered from one to nine in order of increasing loft.

Symbol Au A soft, yellow, corrosion-resistant element, the most malleable and ductile metal, occurring in veins and alluvial deposits and recovered by mining, panning, or sluicing. A good thermal and electrical conductor, gold is generally alloyed to increase its strength, and it is used as a common monetary standard, in jewelry, for decoration, and as a plated coating on a wide variety of electrical and mechanical components. Atomic number 79; atomic weight 196.967; melting point 1,064.2°C; boiling point 2,856.0°C; specific gravity 19.3; valence 1, 3. See Periodic Table.

A metal appliance with a handle and a weighted flat bottom, used when heated to press wrinkles from fabric.

Coinage made of this element.

A harpoon.

A gold standard.

Irons Fetters; shackles.

Money; riches.

A tonic, pill, or other medication containing iron and taken as a dietary supplement.

A light olive-brown to dark yellow, or a moderate, strong to vivid yellow.

Made of or containing iron

Something regarded as having great value or goodness

Strong, healthy, and capable of great endurance

A medal made of gold awarded to one placing first in a competition, as in the Olympics

Inflexible; unyielding

Having the color of gold.

Holding tightly; very firm

(uncountable) A heavy yellow elemental metal of great value, with atomic number 79 and symbol Au.

To press and smooth with a heated iron

A coin or coinage made of this material, or supposedly so.

To remove (creases) by pressing.

(uncountable) A deep yellow colour, resembling the metal gold.

To put into irons; fetter.

(countable) The bullseye of an archery target.

To fit or clad with iron.

(countable) A gold medal.

To iron clothes.

(figuratively) Anything or anyone that is very valuable.

(uncountable) A common, inexpensive metal, silvery grey when untarnished, that rusts, is attracted by magnets, and is used in making steel.

A grill jewellery worn on front teeth made of gold.

A metallic chemical element having atomic number 26 and symbol Fe.

Made of gold.

Any material, not a steel, predominantly made of elemental iron.

Having gold of gold.

(countable) A tool or appliance made of metal, which is heated and then used to transfer heat to something else; most often a thick piece of metal fitted with a handle and having a flat, roughly triangular bottom, which is heated and used to press wrinkles from clothing, and now usually containing an electrical heating apparatus.

(of commercial services) Premium, superior.

(usually plural, irons) shackles.

Of a musical recording: having sold 500,000 copies.

(slang) A firearm, either a long gun or a handgun.

In a finished state, ready for manufacturing.

(uncountable) A dark shade of the color silver.

To appear or cause to appear golden.

A male homosexual.

Of or referring to a gold version of something

(golf) A golf club used for middle-distance shots.

An old English name of some yellow flower, - the marigold (Calendula), according to Dr. Prior, but in Chaucer perhaps the turnsole.

Used as a symbol of great strength or toughness, or to signify a very strong or tough material.

A metallic element of atomic number 79, constituting the most precious metal used as a common commercial medium of exchange. It has a characteristic yellow color, is one of the heaviest substances known (specific gravity 19.32), is soft, and very malleable and ductile. It is quite unalterable by heat (melting point 1064.4° C), moisture, and most corrosive agents, and therefore well suited for its use in coin and jewelry. Symbol Au (Aurum). Atomic weight 196.97.

(weightlifting) Weight used as resistance for the purpose of strength training.

Money; riches; wealth.

A meteorite consisting primarily of metallic iron (mixed with a small amount of nickel), as opposed to one composed mainly of stony material.

A yellow color, like that of the metal; as, a flower tipped with gold.

A safety curtain in a theatre.

Figuratively, something precious or pure; as, hearts of gold.

Dumb bombs, those without guidance systems.

Coins made of gold

(not comparable) Made of the metal iron.

A deep yellow color;

(figuratively) Strong as of will, inflexible.

A soft yellow malleable ductile (trivalent and univalent) metallic element; occurs mainly as nuggets in rocks and alluvial deposits; does not react with most chemicals but is attacked by chlorine and aqua regia

(transitive) To pass an iron over (clothing or some other item made of cloth) in order to remove creases.

Great wealth;

To shackle with irons; to fetter or handcuff.

Something likened to the metal in brightness or preciousness or superiority etc.;

(transitive) To furnish or arm with iron.

Made from or covered with gold;

The most common and most useful metallic element, being of almost universal occurrence, usually in the form of an oxide (as hematite, magnetite, etc.), or a hydrous oxide (as limonite, turgite, etc.). It is reduced on an enormous scale in three principal forms; viz., cast iron, steel, and wrought iron. Iron usually appears dark brown, from oxidation or impurity, but when pure, or on a fresh surface, is a gray or white metal. It is easily oxidized (rusted) by moisture, and is attacked by many corrosive agents. Symbol Fe (Latin Ferrum). Atomic number 26, atomic weight 55.847. Specific gravity, pure iron, 7.86; cast iron, 7.1. In magnetic properties, it is superior to all other substances.

Having the deep slightly brownish color of gold;

An instrument or utensil made of iron; - chiefly in composition; as, a flatiron, a smoothing iron, etc.

Fetters; chains; handcuffs; manacles.

Strength; power; firmness; inflexibility; as, to rule with a rod of iron.

An iron-headed club with a deep face, chiefly used in making approaches, lifting a ball over hazards, etc.

Of, or made of iron; consisting of iron; as, an iron bar, dust.

Resembling iron in color; as, iron blackness.

Like iron in hardness, strength, impenetrability, power of endurance, insensibility, etc.;

Rude; hard; harsh; severe.

Firm; robust; enduring; as, an iron constitution.

Inflexible; unrelenting; as, an iron will.

Not to be broken; holding or binding fast; tenacious.

To smooth with an instrument of iron; especially, to smooth, as cloth, with a heated flatiron; - sometimes used with out.

To shackle with irons; to fetter or handcuff.

To furnish or arm with iron; as, to iron a wagon.

A heavy ductile magnetic metallic element; is silver-white in pure form but readily rusts; used in construction and tools and armament; plays a role in the transport of oxygen by the blood

A golf club that has a relatively narrow metal head

Metal shackles; for hands or legs

Implement used to brand live stock

Home appliance consisting of a flat metal base that is heated and used to smooth cloth

Press and smooth with a heated iron;

Extremely robust;