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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

Goldilocks en · PROPN

Pronunciation

  • /ˈɡoʊldiˌlɑks/ (Atlantic-Canada, General-American)
  • gōlʹdē-lŏks
  • (Southern-England) audio
  • /ˈɡəʊldilɒks/ (Received-Pronunciation)
  • /ˈɡoʊldiˌlɒks/ (Canada, dialectal) of the US

Etymology

Apparently from goldilocks, equivalent to goldy + locks (“tuft of hair, curl”).

Meanings

  1. A golden-haired young girl, featuring as the protagonist of a traditional fairy tale, who inquisitively enters the house of three bears and tries their three bowls of porridge, three chairs, and three beds, in each case finding only one that suits her.
    • Tennis players are the Goldilocks characters of sports. The balls are too big, or too small. The courts are too fast, or too slow. It’s too cold, or too hot, or too sticky, or too sunny. 2022 September 6, Matthew Futterman, “The Great U.S. Open Ball Debate of 2022”, in The New York Times:
  2. (attributive, figuratively) A happy medium or optimal point between two extremes.
    • Once the appropriate levels are stabilized at a Goldilocks level, not too detailed nor too summarized, then the connection of the ABC/M data to business problems, their analysis, and ultimate solutions can follow. 2002, Gary Cokins, Activity-Based Cost Management: An Executive's Guide, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 87:
    • The mathematically rigorous texts, on the other hand, are unreadable for the non- specialist. I was looking for something in-between, a Goldilocks volume pitched just at my level, neither too easy nor too difficult. 2013, Peter Collier, A Most Incomprehensible Thing: Notes Towards a Very Gentle Introduction to the Mathematics of Relativity, Incomprehensible Books, →ISBN, page 14:
    • He sighed at the Goldilocks temperature. Jane might think different, but this felt perfect to him. 2014, Laura Stapleton, The Very Best Man, Stapleton Enterprises, →ISBN:

Deriveds

Goldilocks zone · Baldilocks · Goldilocks economy · Goldilocks principle · Goldilocks planet

Translations (34)

es óptimo (happy medium) · af Gouelokkies (fairy tale character) · kw Blewowrek (fairy tale character) · es Ricitos de Oro (fairy tale character) · sv Guldlock (fairy tale character) · sh Златокоса (fairy tale character) · fi juuri sopiva (happy medium) · de Goldlöckchen (fairy tale character) · es Ricitos Dorados (fairy tale character) · hu Aranyfürtöcske (fairy tale character) · ko 골디락스 (fairy tale character) · fi Kultakutri (fairy tale character) · pl złoty środek (happy medium) · et Kuldkihar (fairy tale character) · it Riccioli d'oro (fairy tale character) · pt Cachinhos dourados (fairy tale character) · cmn 金髮姑娘 /金发姑娘 (fairy tale character) · ru золота́я середи́на (happy medium) · bg Златокоска (fairy tale character) · sh Zlatokosa (fairy tale character) · pl Złotowłosa (fairy tale character) · nl Goudlokje (fairy tale character) · eo Orbuklulino (fairy tale character) · is Gullbrá (fairy tale character) · ru Златовла́ска (fairy tale character) · es Ricitos Áureos (fairy tale character) · mk Златокоса (fairy tale character) · br Blev rodellek (fairy tale character) · ja ゴルディロックス 金髪の巻き毛ちゃん (fairy tale character) · fr Boucles d'or (fairy tale character) · es ricitos de oro (happy medium) · ca Rínxols d'Or (fairy tale character) · da Guldlok (fairy tale character) · es Ricitos Áuricos (fairy tale character)