Meanings
noungolden mean (plural golden means)
plural golden means
- idiomaticA position of balance between excess and deficiency.
He who chooses the golden mean safely avoids both the hovel and the palace
(Can we date this quote?), chapter 10, in Odes II, translation of original by Horace
Synonyms & antonyms
nounthe proportional relation between two divisions of line or two dimension of a plane figure such that short : long :: long : (short + long)
Similar
Broader
Also see
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinaurea mediocritās
- Englishgolden mean
Calque of Latin aurea mediocritās.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan daurat punt mitjà
- daurat punt mitjàbalance between excess and deficiency
Chinese Mandarin 中庸
- 中庸 (zhōngyōng)balance between excess and deficiency
Danish den gyldne middelvej
- den gyldne middelvejbalance between excess and deficiency
Dutch gulden middenweg, juiste middenweg
- gulden middenwegbalance between excess and deficiency
- juiste middenwegbalance between excess and deficiency
Finnish kultainen keskitie
- kultainen keskitiebalance between excess and deficiency
French juste milieu
- juste milieubalance between excess and deficiency
German goldener Mittelweg, goldene Mitte
- goldener Mittelwegbalance between excess and deficiency
- goldene Mittebalance between excess and deficiency
Hungarian arany középút
- arany középútbalance between excess and deficiency
Latin aurea mediocritas
- aurea mediocritasbalance between excess and deficiency
Norwegian Bokmål den gylne middelvei
- den gylne middelveibalance between excess and deficiency
Polish złoty środek
- złoty środekbalance between excess and deficiency
Russian золотая середи́на
- золотая середи́на (zolotaja seredína)balance between excess and deficiency
Swedish gyllene medelväg
- gyllene medelvägbalance between excess and deficiency
Ukrainian золота́ середи́на
- золота́ середи́на (zolotá seredýna)balance between excess and deficiency
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with golden mean
beenbetweengreenmagazinemeanseenscreenmachinecleangenescenedeanjeanroutineHalloweenbeancuisinevaccineEugeneChristineleanfifteengasolinekeen
All rhymes →Cite this entry
APA
golden mean. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/golden%20mean
MLA
“golden mean.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/golden%20mean. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “golden mean,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/golden%20mean.
Source: golden mean on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.