glim

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English

Etymology

From Middle English glim, glimme (“radiance; shining brightness”), of uncertain further origin. Perhaps from Old English gleomu (“splendor”) and/or Old Norse *glim, *glima, both apparently from Proto-Germanic *glimō, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰley- (“to gleam, shimmer, glow”). Compare Norwegian Nynorsk glim, dialectal Old Swedish glim, glimma.

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ɡlɪm/
  • Audio (AU)(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɪm

Noun

glim (countable and uncountable, plural glims)

  1. (obsolete) Brightness; splendour.
  2. (archaic, slang) A light; a candle; a lantern; a fire.
    • 1837, Charles Dickens, chapter 16, in Oliver Twist:
      'Let's have a glim,' said Sikes, 'or we shall go breaking our necks, or treading on the dog. Look after your legs if you do!'
    • 1851, Herman Melville, chapter 3, in Moby-Dick:
      "Come along here, I'll give ye a glim in a jiffy;" and so saying he lighted a candle and held it towards me, offering to lead the way.
    • 1883, Robert Louis Stevenson, chapter 5, in Treasure Island:
      'Sure enough, they left their glim here,' said the fellow from the window.
  3. (archaic, slang) An eye.
  4. (archaic, slang) A pair of glasses or spectacles.
  5. (archaic, slang) A look; a glimpse.
  6. (archaic, slang) Gonorrhea.
  7. (archaic, slang) Fake documents claiming the loss of property by fire (for use in begging).
    • 1851, Henry Mayhew, “Of the 'Screevers,' or Writers of Begging-Letters and Petitions”, in London Labour and the London Poor‎, volume 1, page 312:
      Tayler Tom lent me a shillin wish I send inklosed and yu must porn sumthing for anuther shilling and get Joe the Loryer to rite a fake for William not a glim (loss by fire) but a brakd say as e ad a hors fell downe with the mad staggurs an broke all is plates and dishes an we are starvin you can sa that the children is got the mesuls […]

Derived terms

Verb

glim (third-person singular simple present glims, present participle glimming, simple past and past participle glimmed)

  1. (obsolete, transitive) To brand on the hand.
    • 1714, Memoirs of the Right Villainous John Hall:
      Profligate women were glimm'd for that villany.
  2. (dated, slang) To illuminate.
  3. (dated, slang) To see; to observe.
    • 1918, Tommy West, The Long, Long Trail in the World of Sport:
      About 9 o'clock he showed up and he knew me the moment he glimmed me.
    • 1943 December 11, “Pipes for Pitchmen”, in Billboard‎, page 55:
      Heibers further states he glimmed the following on Maxwell Street on a Sunday morning […]

References

Dutch

Pronunciation

Verb

glim

  1. inflection of glimmen:
    1. first-person singular present indicative
    2. imperative

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

From Old Norse , whence also English glim; from Proto-Germanic *glīmô (“shine, splendor”).

Noun

glim m or n (definite singular glimen or glimet, indefinite plural glimar or glim, definite plural glimane or glima)

  1. glimpse
  2. glimmer
  3. glitter

Etymology 2

Verb

glim

  1. imperative of glime
  2. (non-standard since 1938) present tense of glime

References

Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia