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glimmer

noun, verb — 6 senses

glimmer

noun

AU, UK /ˈɡlɪməː/ · US /ˈɡlɪmɚ/

Etymology From Middle English glimeren, glemeren (“to glimmer”), equivalent to glim (“to shine”) + -er (frequentative suffix). Cognate with German Low German glimmern (“to glimmer”), German glimmern (“to glimmer”), Danish glimre (“to glimmer”), Swedish glimra (“to glimmer”). Doublet of glimpse. Sense 5 was coined in the 2020s in analogy to trigger.

1

A faint light; a dim glow.

  • The glimmer of the fireflies was pleasant to watch.
2

A flash of light.

3

Figuratively A faint or remote possibility (as it were a flash of light).

  • After all, Harmony Korine has no more than a glimmer of talent.1997, David Denby, “Clawless”, in New York Magazine, volume 30, number 42, page 52:
4

Dated Mica.

5

Human sciences, Psychology, Sciences Neologism A subtle, positive micromoment that evokes feelings of joy, safety, calm, or connection.

Derived terms
flimmer, glimmer-gowk, glimmer of hope

glimmer

verb

Etymology From Middle English glimeren, glemeren (“to glimmer”), equivalent to glim (“to shine”) + -er (frequentative suffix). Cognate with German Low German glimmern (“to glimmer”), German glimmern (“to glimmer”), Danish glimre (“to glimmer”), Swedish glimra (“to glimmer”). Doublet of glimpse. Sense 5 was coined in the 2020s in analogy to trigger.

1

To shine with a faint, unsteady light.

  • the glimmering dawn    a glimmering lamp
  • The fireflies glimmered in the dark.
1 more example
  • The west yet glimmers with some streaks of day.c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iii]:
Derived terms
aglimmer, glimmerite, glimmersome, glimmery

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

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