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glide

verb, noun — 11 senses

glide

verb

/ˈɡlaɪd/

Etymology From Middle English gliden, from Old English glīdan, from Proto-West Germanic *glīdan, from Proto-Germanic *glīdaną, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰleydʰ-. Cognate with West Frisian glide, glydzje, Low German glieden, Dutch glijden, German gleiten, Norwegian Nynorsk gli, Danish glide, Swedish glida, Finnish liitää.

1

To move softly, smoothly, or effortlessly.

  • The river glideth at his own sweet will:1807, William Wordsworth, “Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802 (Sonnet 14)”, in Poems, in Two Volumes, volume I, London: […] Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, […], →OCLC:
  • It is odd how easily the common-places of morality or of sentiment glide off in conversation. Well, they are "exceedingly helpful," and so Lord Avonleigh found them.1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XVII, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume III, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 137:
2 more examples
  • The water over which the boats glided was black and smooth, rising into huge foamless billows, the more terrible because they were silent.1874, Marcus Clarke, For the Term of His Natural Life, Chapter VI:
  • But it was 37-year-old Giggs who looked like a care-free teenager as he glided across the pitch he knows so well to breathtaking effect.2011 January 22, “Man Utd 5 - 0 Birmingham”, in BBC:
2

To fly unpowered, as of an aircraft. Also relates to gliding birds and flying fish.

  • The tide was out, and we drew up amid the strong bracing smell of seaweed, with gulls screeching, wheeling around, and gliding on the wind.1947 January and February, O. S. Nock, “"The Aberdonian" in Wartime”, in Railway Magazine, page 8:
3

To cause to glide.

4

Human sciences, Linguistics, Phonetics, Phonology, Sciences To pass with a glide, as the voice.

Synonyms
coast, slide

glide

noun

Etymology From Middle English gliden, from Old English glīdan, from Proto-West Germanic *glīdan, from Proto-Germanic *glīdaną, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰleydʰ-. Cognate with West Frisian glide, glydzje, Low German glieden, Dutch glijden, German gleiten, Norwegian Nynorsk gli, Danish glide, Swedish glida, Finnish liitää.

7 senses
  1. 1The act of gliding.
  2. 2A transitional sound, especially a semivowel.
  3. 3An attack or preparatory movement made by sliding down…
  4. 4A bird, the glede or kite.
  5. 5A kind of cap affixed to the base of the legs of…
  6. 6The joining of two sounds without a break.
  7. 7A smooth and sliding step in dancing the waltz.
1

The act of gliding.

  • With stealthy glide he approached the door of his master's room, listened, cautiously peeped in, then entered.1934, Ernest Bramah, The Bravo of London:
2

Human sciences, Linguistics, Phonology, Sciences A transitional sound, especially a semivowel.

3

Fencing, Government, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Martial arts, Military, Politics, Sports, War An attack or preparatory movement made by sliding down the opponent’s blade, keeping it in constant contact.

4

A bird, the glede or kite.

5

A kind of cap affixed to the base of the legs of furniture to prevent it from damaging the floor while being moved.

6

The joining of two sounds without a break.

7

A smooth and sliding step in dancing the waltz.

Derived terms
33 termsboostglide, downglide, glidant, glide bomb, glide kip, glideless, glideosome, glide pad, glide path, glider, glide ratio, glide reflection, glide slope, glideslope, glide time, gliding, gliding vowel, glip, handglide, hang-glide, hang glide, hypersonic glide vehicle, midglide, offglide, off-glide, onglide, on-glide, outglide, overglide, palais glide, paraglide, upglide, voice glide

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.

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