gliff

noun, verb — 5 senses

gliff

noun

/ɡlɪf/

Etymology Compare Middle English glyffen (“to give a glancing look; to become startled or frightened”).

1

Scotland, Archaic A quick glance.

2

Scotland, Archaic An unexpected view of something startling.

3

Scotland, Archaic A sudden fright.

4

Scotland, Archaic A short moment.

[W]ill ye come out and speak just a gliff to ane that has mony thanks to gi'e ye?— […] Wad ye but come out a gliff, man, or but say ye're listening?— […]1816, Jedadiah Cleishbotham [pseudonym; Walter Scott], chapter IX, in Tales of My Landlord, […], volume I (The Black Dwarf), Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for William Blackwood, […]; London: John Murray, […], →OCLC, page 207:

Related terms: giffle

gliff

verb

Etymology Compare Middle English glyffen (“to give a glancing look; to become startled or frightened”).

1

Scotland, Archaic To glimpse.

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