Etymology

glitter

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Today it means: A bright, sparkling light; shininess or brilliance. Full definition →

Middle English gliteren ← Old Norse glitra ← Proto-Germanic *glitrōną
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*ǵʰley-
  2. Proto-Germanic · derived from*glitrōną“to glitter”
  3. Old Norse · derived fromglitra
  4. Middle English · inherited fromgliteren
  5. English todayglitter

From Middle English gliteren, from Old Norse glitra, from Proto-Germanic *glitrōną (“to glitter”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰley-.

Words from the same roots

Proto-Indo-European*ǵʰley- all →

glimpsegloomgleamglintglimglistergloomies

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.