English Explanatory Dictionary

glimpse

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb
  1. To see or view (someone, or something tangible) briefly and incompletely.
  2. To perceive (something intangible) briefly and incompletely.
  3. Chiefly followed by at or upon: to look at briefly and incompletely; to glance.
  4. To shine with a faint, unsteady light; to glimmer, to shimmer.
  5. To appear or start to appear, especially faintly or unclearly; to dawn.
  6. Sometimes followed by out: to provide a brief and incomplete look.
noun
  1. Chiefly followed by of: a brief and incomplete look.
  2. A brief, sudden flash of light; a glimmer.
  3. A faint or imprecise idea; an inkling.
  4. A brief, unspecified amount of time; a moment.
  5. A faint (and often temporary) appearance; a tinge.

Pronunciation

/ˈɡlɪm(p)s/ [ˈɡl̥ɪm(p)s] En-us-glimpse.ogg

Word forms

glimpse glimpses glimpsing glimpsed no-table-tags glossary glimpsest glimpsedst glimpseth glinse glympse glymse glimse

Etymology

The verb is derived from earlier glimse (obsolete), from Middle English glimsen (“to dazzle; to glisten; to glance with the eyes”), possibly from Old English *glimsian, from Proto-West Germanic *glimmisōjan, from Proto-Germanic *glimō, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰley- (“to shine”). Doublet of glimmer. The noun is derived from the verb. Cognates Middle Dutch glinsen (modern Dutch glinsteren (“to glint, glitter, shimmer, sparkle; to glance”), glimmen (“to gleam, shine”)) Middle High German glimsen (“to glow, smoulder”), glinsen (“to glimmer, shine”) Middle Low German glinsen, glintzen, glinzen (“to shimmer, shine”)

Synonyms

glitter coruscate flash gleam glisten luster sheen shimmer shine sparkle glance peek gander bat of an eye bit blink of an eye crack eyeblink glimpse half a mo instant jiff jiffy jot minute mo moment New York minute New York second no time sec second span split-second spurt stound tick trice twink twinkle twinkling while glimmer hint trace

Derived words

foreglimpse glimpsable glimpseable glimpsed glimpser glimpsing unglimpsed glemish glimpselike

Translations

Aromanian: ndzãrescu Bulgarian: съзирам Bulgarian: зървам Chinese Mandarin: 瞥見 /瞥见 Czech: zahlédnout Dutch: een glimp opvangen Esperanto: ekvidi Finnish: silmäillä Finnish: vilkaista French: entrevoir Galician: albiscar German: entdecken German: erhaschen Greek: βλέπω φευγαλέα Italian: intravedere Māori: kite wheriko Māori: wheriko Occitan: entrevéser Polish: dostrzegać Polish: dostrzec Portuguese: vislumbrar Romanian: întrezări Romanian: zări Russian: бе́гло взгляну́ть Russian: гля́нуть Russian: уви́деть ме́льком Spanish: atisbar Spanish: entrever Spanish: ojear Spanish: vislumbrar Swedish: glimta Swedish: skymta Thai: เหลือบ
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