gleam

See also glean

English

Etymology

• (noun) Originates before the first millennium from Middle English gleme, from Old English glæm; see Proto-Indo-European *ghel-.
• (verb) Derived from the Middle English noun form before the first millennium.

Pronunciation

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːm

Noun

gleam (plural gleams)

1. a small or indistinct shaft or stream of light.
   • Longfellow

     A glimmer, and then a gleam of light.

2. a glimpse or hint; an indistinct sign of something.

   The rescue workers preserved a gleam of optimism that they might still survive.

3. brightness or shininess; splendor.
   • Alexander Pope

     In the clear azure gleam the flocks are seen.

Synonyms

• (small shaft or stream of light): beam, ray
• (glimpse or indistinct sign): flicker, glimmer, trace
• (brightness or splendor): dazzle, lambency, shine

Translations

small shaft or stream of light

• Finnish: säde (fi)
• French: rayon (fr) m, reflet (fr) m, miroitement (fr) m
• German: Schein (de) m, Schimmer (de) m

• Greek: αχτίδα (el) (axtídha) f
• Russian: (сла́бый) свет (ru) (svet) m, (ray) луч (ru) (luč) m
• Turkish: parıltı (tr)

glimpse or indistinct sign

• Armenian: նշույլ (hy) (nšuyl)
• Finnish: pilkahdus (fi)
• German: Funke (de) m

• Romanian: urmă (ro) f
• Russian: проблеск (ru) (próblesk) m
• Turkish: belirti (tr)

brightness or splendor

• Finnish: loisto (fi), välke (fi)
• German: Glanz (de) m
• Romanian: strălucire (ro) f

• Russian: (flash) вспышка (ru) (vspýška) f, (brilliance, glitter) блеск (ru) (blesk) m
• Turkish: parlaklık (tr)

Verb

gleam (third-person singular simple present gleams, present participle gleaming, simple past and past participle gleamed)

1. To shine; to glitter; to glisten.
2. To be briefly but strongly apparent.
3. (obsolete, falconry) To disgorge filth, as a hawk.

Synonyms

• (to shine, glitter, or glisten) glint, sparkle
• (to radiate or emanate) glow, shine
• (to be briefly but strongly apparent) flare, flash, kindle

Translations

to shine, glitter, or glisten

• Arabic: please add this translation if you can
• Esperanto: glimi (eo)

• Finnish: kiiltää (fi), välkkyä (fi), välkehtiä (fi), hohtaa (fi)
• French: luire (fr)

to be briefly but strongly apparent

• Finnish: vilahtaa (fi), vilkahtaa (fi), pilkahtaa (fi)

See also

• leam

References

• “gleam” in The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000.
• “gleam” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, v1.0.1, Lexico Publishing Group, 2006.
• "gleam" in On-line Medical Dictionary, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, 1997–2005.
• "gleam" in WordNet 3.0, Princeton University, 2006.