Au is the chemical symbol for gold.
The symbol comes from the Latin word aurum, meaning “gold” or “shining dawn.” Gold has atomic number 79 and is a relatively dense, soft, yellow metal. Its resistance to corrosion and tarnishing made it valuable in decoration, coinage, jewelry, and scientific applications for thousands of years.
Gold’s symbol does not match its English name because many chemical symbols preserve Latin or other historical names. Silver, for example, is Ag from argentum, while iron is Fe from ferrum. These older forms are why the periodic table contains symbols that can look unrelated to modern English words.
Olympic gold medals are not made entirely of gold. Under International Olympic Committee regulations, a gold medal must be gilded with at least six grams of pure gold and be composed primarily of silver. Gold is also used in electronics because it conducts electricity and remains reliable in contacts that must resist corrosion.