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gleam

 - 3 dictionary results

gleam

  [gleem]
Use gleam in a Sentence
–noun
1. a flash or beam of light: the gleam of a lantern in the dark.
2. a dim or subdued light.
3. a brief or slight manifestation or occurrence; trace: a gleam of hope.
–verb (used without object)
4. to send forth a gleam or gleams.
5. to appear suddenly and clearly like a flash of light.
Origin:
bef. 1000; (n.) ME glem(e), OE glǣm; c. OHG gleimo glowworm; akin to OS glīmo brightness; (v.) ME, deriv. of the n. See glimmer, glimpse

Related forms:
gleam⋅ing⋅ly, adverb
gleamless, adjective

Synonyms:
1. Gleam, glimmer, beam, ray are terms for a stream of light. Gleam denotes a not very brilliant, intermittent or nondirectional stream of light. Glimmer indicates a nondirectional light that is feeble and unsteady: a faint glimmer of moonlight. Beam usually means a directional, and therefore smaller, stream: the beam from a searchlight. Ray usually implies a still smaller amount of light than a beam, a single line of light: a ray through a pinprick in a window shade. 4. shine, glimmer, flash, glitter, sparkle, beam.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To gleam
gleam   (glēm)   
n.  

  1. A brief beam or flash of light: saw gleams of daylight through the cracks.

  2. A steady but subdued shining; a glow: the gleam of burnished gold.

  3. A brief or dim indication; a trace: a gleam of intelligence.

v.   gleamed, gleam·ing, gleams

  1. To emit a gleam; flash or glow: "Their tile roofs gleamed in the moon's pallid radiance" (Laura Joh Rowland). See Synonyms at flash.

  2. To be reflected as a gleam: The sun gleamed on the water.

  3. To be manifested or indicated briefly or faintly.


[Middle English glem, from Old English glǣm; see ghel-2 in Indo-European roots.]
gleam'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

gleam 
O.E. glæm "brightness, splendor, radiance," from P.Gmc. *glaimiz (cf. M.H.G. glim "spark," gleime "glowworm;" O.N. glija "to shine, glitter"), from root *glim-, from PIE *ghlei- "to shine, glitter, glow, be warm." Verb is c.1225, from the noun.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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