glint
Part of speech: noun
verb
Morphological type: simple
Etymology: 15th century. Borrowed from Scots glint, from Middle English glenten (“to shine, gleam; flash”), probably from Old Norse *glenta, from Proto-Germanic *glantijaną, causitive of Proto-Germanic *glintaną (“to gleam, shine”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰley- (“to shine”). Cognate with Danish glente, Swedish glänta, Norwegian Nynorsk gletta (“to peep, look”), Middle High German glinzen; compare also Swedish glinta (“to slip, slide, gleam, shine”), Swedish glimt (“flash, glint, glimpse”), Norwegian Nynorsk glanta, gletta (“to glide, slip”). Reintroduced into literary English by Robert Burns.
Inflected forms:
form: glints
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: glints
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: glinting
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: glinted
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: glinted
pos: verb
tags: past
Senses:
gloss: A short flash of light, usually when reflected off a shiny surface.
pos: noun
examples: I saw the glint of metal as he raised the gun.
To be plunged straight into the old nut and bolt shop, as was the writer's experience, during a spell of cloudless June Weather was a real hardship, and the mind kept flitting back to the glint of blue water under willow trees and the click of ball on bat on a quiet spacious greensward.
gloss: A brief look; a glance.
pos: noun
tags: obsolete
examples: "My name is Elphinstone, ma'am," said the young man, and then he cleared his throat and gave a glint at Mary, and grew redder in the face than ever.
Are ye the gentleman that’s speering for my hayreens—they’re fresh this morning—cast a glint at them, sir, and you’ll say you neever saw rubies, emeralds, and silver, and gold, sparkle sa boneely as the finny jewels that dazzle ye in this wee basket.
“[…] I also remember the following dialogue in the Suffolk vernacular between a neighbouring farmer and his backus (¹) boy :—‘I sa, Mester?’ ‘ Well, bor.’ (²) ‘If thar ain't Sillett's owd razor-backed hogs broke out agin. That thar owd sarpint of a sow ha' got her snout under the gate, and lifted it off the jimmers, (³) and I ketched a glint (⁴) of the rest on 'em skrigglin' (⁵) thar way through the shruff (⁶) in the hedge holl (⁷) and making another gap right atwin (⁸) the stub-apple (⁹) and the touch-wood (¹⁰) tree, and tha ha' bin' a pamplin' (¹¹) all over the land, and rootin (¹²) up our taters, and not one on 'em ringled (¹³). Mester, I think we'd better pound 'em.'” (¹⁴)
gloss: To flash or gleam briefly.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
examples: A wedding ring glinted on her finger.
Thor glared at him [...] what little light there was in the place mustered its forces briefly to glint menacingly off the horns of his helmet.
gloss: To glance; to peep forth, as a flower from the bud; to glitter.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
uncommon
examples: The rising sun owre Galston muirs, / Wi' glorious light was glintin'
There was Clavers and six wild dragoons standin’ ranged in a raw, wi’ their muskets in hand, and a form kneelin’ on the grass afore them. I saw the flash o’ the guns, and as I turned to glint at the mangled corpse, oh, mither!
gloss: To cause to flash or gleam; to reflect.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: The scientists theorized that a meteoroid, ranging in size from a speck of dust to a marble, might have struck the satellite and chipped off a bit of debris that glinted a ray of sun back on the Vela's second sensor […]
gloss: To dry; to wither.
pos: verb
tags: Shropshire
archaic
transitive
examples: The sun glints grass and corn.
Derived words: glint in the milkman's eye
sunglint
aglint
glinty
Translations: