1302, from O.Fr. glebe, from L. gleba "clod, lump," from PIE *glebh- "to roll into a ball" (cf. L. globus "sphere," O.E. clyppan "to embrace"). Earliest Eng. sense is "land forming a clergyman's benefice," on notion of soil of the earth as source of vegetable products.
[gleeb] 
