Wiktionary

glint

English

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Etymology

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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.[1]

Pronunciation

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Noun

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glint (plural glints)

  1. A short flash of light.
    I saw the glint of metal as he raised the gun.
    • 1944 September and October, A Former Pupil, “Some Memories of Crewe Works—I”, in Railway Magazine, page 283:
      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.
  2. (obsolete) A brief look; a glance.
    • 1849, chapter V, in Passages in the Life of Mrs. Margaret Maitland, of Sunnyside.  […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, page 147:
      "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.
    • c. 1858, Charles Selby, The Bonnie Fish Wife: An Original Musical Interlude in One Act, Lacy's Acting edition, London: Thomas Hailes Lacy, Scene II, page 15:
      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.
    • 1875, Frederick Clifford, chapter XII, in The Agricultural Lock-out of 1874  […], Edinburgh, London: William Blackwood and Sons, page 281:
      “ […] 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)

Derived terms

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Translations

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Adjective

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glint (comparative more glint, superlative most glint)

  1. (archaic, Shropshire, of a blade) Not sharp; dull.
    The knife is glint.

Verb

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glint (third-person singular simple present glints, present participle glinting, simple past and past participle glinted)

  1. (intransitive) To flash or gleam briefly.
    A wedding ring glinted on her finger.
    • 1982, Douglas Adams, Life, the Universe and Everything, page 110:
      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.
  2. (intransitive, now uncommon) To glance; to peep forth, as a flower from the bud; to glitter.
    • 1785, Robert Burns, The Holy Fair:
      The rising sun owre Galston muirs, / Wi' glorious light was glintin'
    • 1847 November 6, “Lilly Begg: A Tale of the Times of the Covenant”, in Hogg's Weekly Instructor, volume VI, number 141, page 168, column 1:
      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!
  3. (transitive) To cause to flash or gleam; to reflect.
    • 1980, Inquiry Magazine:
      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 […]
  4. (archaic, Shropshire, transitive) To dry; to wither.
    The sun glints grass and corn.

Translations

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References

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  1. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “glint”, in Online Etymology Dictionary, retrieved 20 January 2017: “from Scottish, where apparently it survived as an alteration of glent [...] Reintroduced into literary English by Burns.”
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