Meanings
nounalpenglow (usually uncountable, plural alpenglows)
plural alpenglows
- uncountableusuallyA rosy or reddish glow seen during sunset or sunrise on the summits of mountains, especially snow-covered mountains on the opposite side of the sun.
But Jim was all smiles and, as if in added welcome, alpenglow suddenly flared to flood the summit hot pink and lit up the cabin.
2021 February 16, Dan Richards, “Peak cabin: a fire-spotter's lonely vantage point in Washington state”, in The Guardian
Origin
A partial calque of German Alpenglühen (literally “glow of the Alps”), with the second element replaced by the English equivalent glow.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans alpegloei
- alpegloeia reddish glow seen near sunset or sunrise on the summits of mountains
Arabic شَفَق أَلْبِيّ
- شَفَق أَلْبِيّ (šafaq ʔalbiyy)a reddish glow seen near sunset or sunrise on the summits of mountains
Catalan resplendor alpina
- resplendor alpinaa reddish glow seen near sunset or sunrise on the summits of mountains
Chinese Mandarin 染山霞
- 染山霞 (rǎnshānxiá)a reddish glow seen near sunset or sunrise on the summits of mountains
Dutch alpengloed, alpengloeien
- alpengloeda reddish glow seen near sunset or sunrise on the summits of mountains
- alpengloeiena reddish glow seen near sunset or sunrise on the summits of mountains
Estonian alpikuma, alpihelendus
- alpikumaa reddish glow seen near sunset or sunrise on the summits of mountains
- alpihelendusa reddish glow seen near sunset or sunrise on the summits of mountains
Finnish alpenglühen, alppihohto
- alpenglühena reddish glow seen near sunset or sunrise on the summits of mountains
- alppihohtoa reddish glow seen near sunset or sunrise on the summits of mountains
French alpenglow
- alpenglowa reddish glow seen near sunset or sunrise on the summits of mountains
German Alpenglühen
- Alpenglühena reddish glow seen near sunset or sunrise on the summits of mountains
Italian enrosadira
- enrosadiraa reddish glow seen near sunset or sunrise on the summits of mountains
Japanese 山頂光, アルペングロー
- 山頂光 (sanchōkō)a reddish glow seen near sunset or sunrise on the summits of mountains
- アルペングロー (arupengurō)a reddish glow seen near sunset or sunrise on the summits of mountains
Norwegian Bokmål alpeglød
- alpegløda reddish glow seen near sunset or sunrise on the summits of mountains
Russian альпи́йское сия́ние
- альпи́йское сия́ние (alʹpíjskoje sijánije)a reddish glow seen near sunset or sunrise on the summits of mountains
Swedish alpglöd
- alpglöda reddish glow seen near sunset or sunrise on the summits of mountains
Cite this entry
APA
alpenglow. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/alpenglow
MLA
“alpenglow.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/alpenglow. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “alpenglow,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/alpenglow.
Source: alpenglow on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.