gleam
See also: glean
English
Etymology
- (noun) From Middle English gleme, from Old English glæm, from Proto-Germanic *glaimiz, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰley-.
- (verb) Derived from the Middle English noun form before the first millennium.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɡliːm/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -iːm
Noun
gleam (plural gleams)
- a small or indistinct shaft or stream of light.
- Longfellow
- A glimmer, and then a gleam of light.
- Longfellow
- a glimpse or hint; an indistinct sign of something.
- The rescue workers preserved a gleam of optimism that they might still survive.
- brightness or shininess; splendor.
- Alexander Pope
- In the clear azure gleam the flocks are seen.
- Alexander Pope
Synonyms
Translations
small shaft or stream of light
glimpse or indistinct sign
Verb
gleam (third-person singular simple present gleams, present participle gleaming, simple past and past participle gleamed)
Synonyms
Translations
to shine, glitter, or glisten
See also
References
- “gleam” in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 2000, →ISBN.
- “gleam” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
- "gleam" in On-line Medical Dictionary, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, 1997–2005.
- "gleam" in WordNet 2.0, Princeton University, 2003.
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