gleam

gleam
—gleamingly, adv. —gleamless, adj.
/gleem/, n.
1. a flash or beam of light: the gleam of a lantern in the dark.
2. a dim or subdued light.
3. a brief or slight manifestation or occurrence; trace: a gleam of hope.
v.i.
4. to send forth a gleam or gleams.
5. to appear suddenly and clearly like a flash of light.
[bef. 1000; (n.) ME glem(e), OE glaem; c. OHG gleimo glowworm; akin to OS glimo brightness; (v.) ME, deriv. of the n. See GLIMMER, GLIMPSE]
Syn. 1. GLEAM, GLIMMER, BEAM, RAY are terms for a stream of light. GLEAM denotes a not very brilliant, intermittent or nondirectional stream of light. GLIMMER indicates a nondirectional light that is feeble and unsteady: a faint glimmer of moonlight. BEAM usually means a directional, and therefore smaller, stream: the beam from a searchlight. RAY usually implies a still smaller amount of light than a beam, a single line of light: a ray through a pinprick in a window shade. 4. shine, glimmer, flash, glitter, sparkle, beam.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Gleam — Gleam, n. [OE. glem, gleam, AS. gl[ae]m, prob. akin to E. glimmer, and perh. to Gr. ? warm, ? to warm. Cf. {Glitter}.] [1913 Webster] 1. A shoot of light; a small stream of light; a beam; a ray; a glimpse. [1913 Webster] Transient unexpected… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Gleam — Gleam, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Gleamed}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Gleaming}.] 1. To shoot, or dart, as rays of light; as, at the dawn, light gleams in the east. [1913 Webster] 2. To shine; to cast light; to glitter. Syn: To {Gleam}, {Glimmer}, {Glitter}.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • gleam — gleam·ing·ly; gleam·less; gleam·er; gleam; …   English syllables

  • gleam — ► VERB ▪ shine brightly, especially with reflected light. ► NOUN 1) a faint or brief light. 2) a brief or faint show of a quality or emotion. ● a gleam in someone s eye Cf. ↑a gleam in someone s eye …   English terms dictionary

  • gleam — [glēm] n. [ME glem < OE glæm < IE * ghlei < * ĝhel , to shine, gleam > GOLD, GLASS, GLOW] 1. a flash or beam of light 2. a faint light 3. a reflected brightness, as from a polished surface 4 …   English World dictionary

  • Gleam — Gleam, v. i. [Cf. OE. glem birdlime, glue, phlegm, and E. englaimed.] (Falconry) To disgorge filth, as a hawk. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Gleam — Gleam, v. t. To shoot out (flashes of light, etc.). [1913 Webster] Dying eyes gleamed forth their ashy lights. Shak. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • gleam — [n] brightness, sparkle beam, brilliance, coruscation, flash, flicker, glance, glim, glimmer, glint, glitz, gloss, glow, luster, ray, scintillation, sheen, shimmer, splendor, twinkle; concepts 620,624 Ant. dullness gleam [v] sparkle beam, burn,… …   New thesaurus

  • gleam|er — «GLEE muhr», noun. a cosmetic for making the skin of the face gleam …   Useful english dictionary

  • gleam — (n.) O.E. glæm brilliant light; brightness, splendor, radiance, from P.Gmc. *glaimiz (Cf. O.S. glimo brightness; M.H.G. glim spark, gleime glowworm; Ger. glimmen to glimmer, glow; O.N. glija to shine, glitter ), from root *glim , from PIE …   Etymology dictionary

  • gleam — vb *flash, glance, glint, sparkle, glitter, glisten, scintillate, coruscate, twinkle …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

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