glisten

glisten
—glisteningly, adv.
/glis"euhn/, v.i.
1. to reflect a sparkling light or a faint intermittent glow; shine lustrously.
n.
2. a glistening; sparkle.
[bef. 1000; ME glis(t)nen (v.), OE glisnian, deriv. of glisian to GLITTER; see -EN1]
Syn. 1. glimmer, gleam, glitter. GLISTEN, SHIMMER, SPARKLE refer to different ways in which light is reflected from surfaces. GLISTEN refers to a lustrous light, as from something sleek or wet, or it may refer to myriads of tiny gleams reflected from small surfaces: Wet fur glistens. Snow glistens in the sunlight. SHIMMER refers to the changing play of light on a (generally moving) surface, as of water or silk: Moonbeams shimmer on water. Silk shimmers in a high light. To SPARKLE is to give off sparks or small ignited particles, or to send forth small but brilliant gleams, sometimes by reflection: A diamond sparkles with numerous points of light.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • glisten — O.E. glisnian to glisten, gleam, from P.Gmc. *glis (Cf. O.Fris. glisa to shine, M.H.G. glistern to sparkle, O.Dan. glisse to shine ), from PIE *ghleis , from root *ghel to shine, glitter, glow, be warm (see GLASS (Cf …   Etymology dictionary

  • Glisten — Glis ten (gl[i^]s n), v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Glistened}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Glistening}.] [OE. glistnian, akin to glisnen, glisien, AS. glisian, glisnian, akin to E. glitter. See {Glitter}, v. i., and cf. {Glister}, v. i.] To sparkle or shine;… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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

  • glisten — [v] shimmer coruscate, flash, flicker, glance, glare, gleam, glimmer, glint, glister, glitter, glow, scintillate, shine, sparkle, twinkle; concept 624 …   New thesaurus

  • glisten — ► VERB ▪ (of something wet or greasy) shine or sparkle. ► NOUN ▪ a sparkling light reflected from something wet. ORIGIN Old English …   English terms dictionary

  • glisten — [glis′ən] vi. [ME glistnen (with unhistoric t ) < OE glisnian < base of glisian, to shine < IE * ghleis < base * ĝhel > GLEAM, GLASS] to shine or sparkle with reflected light, as a wet or polished surface does n. a glistening SYN.… …   English World dictionary

  • glisten — v. (D; intr.) to glisten with * * * [ glɪs(ə)n] (D; intr.) to glisten with …   Combinatory dictionary

  • glisten — UK [ˈɡlɪs(ə)n] / US verb [intransitive] Word forms glisten : present tense I/you/we/they glisten he/she/it glistens present participle glistening past tense glistened past participle glistened if something glistens, it shines because it is wet or …   English dictionary

  • glisten — verb Glisten is used with these nouns as the subject: ↑dew, ↑eye, ↑hair, ↑perspiration, ↑skin, ↑sweat, ↑tear …   Collocations dictionary

  • glisten — glis|ten [ˈglısən] v [: Old English; Origin: glisnian] to shine and look wet or oily glisten with ▪ The boy s back was glistening with sweat. ▪ glistening black hair [i]see usage note ↑gleam1 …   Dictionary of contemporary English

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