glim

Meanings

nounglim (countable and uncountable, plural glims)

countableobsoleteuncountableBrightness; splendour.
archaiccountableslanguncountableA light; a candle; a lantern; a fire.
'Sure enough, they left their glim here,' said the fellow from the window.
1883, Robert Louis Stevenson, chapter 5, in Treasure Island
2 more examples
'Let's have a glim,' said Sikes, 'or we shall go breaking our necks, or treading on the dog. Look after your legs if you do!'
1837, Charles Dickens, chapter 16, in Oliver Twist
"Come along here, I'll give ye a glim in a jiffy;" and so saying he lighted a candle and held it towards me, offering to lead the way.
1851, Herman Melville, chapter 3, in Moby-Dick
archaiccountableslanguncountableAn eye.
archaiccountableslanguncountableA pair of glasses or spectacles.
archaiccountableslanguncountableA look; a glimpse.
archaiccountableslanguncountableGonorrhea.
archaiccountableslanguncountableFake documents claiming the loss of property by fire (for use in begging).
1 more example
Tayler Tom lent me a shillin wish I send inklosed and yu must porn sumthing for anuther shilling and get Joe the Loryer to rite a fake for William not a glim (loss by fire) but a brakd say as e ad a hors fell downe with the mad staggurs an broke all is plates and dishes an we are starvin you can sa that the children is got the mesuls[…]
1851, Henry Mayhew, “Of the 'Screevers,' or Writers of Begging-Letters and Petitions”, in London Labour and the London Poor, volume 1, page 312

verbglim (third-person singular simple present glims, present participle glimming, simple past and past participle glimmed)

present singular third person glims · participle present glimming · participle past glimmed · past glimmed

obsoletetransitiveTo brand on the hand.
Profligate women were glimm'd for that villany.
1714, Memoirs of the Right Villainous John Hall
datedslangTo illuminate.
datedslangTo see; to observe.
About 9 o'clock he showed up and he knew me the moment he glimmed me.
1918, Tommy West, The Long, Long Trail in the World of Sport
1 more example
Heibers further states he glimmed the following on Maxwell Street on a Sunday morning[…]
1943 December 11, “Pipes for Pitchmen”, in Billboard, page 55

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see

eye

Origin

Proto-Indo-European*ǵʰley-“to gleam, shimmer, glow”
Proto-Germanic*glimō
Old Norse*glim
Old Englishgleomu“splendor”
Middle Englishglim
Englishglim

From Middle English glim, glimme (“radiance; shining brightness”), of uncertain further origin. Perhaps from Old English gleomu (“splendor”) and/or Old Norse *glim, *glima, both apparently from Proto-Germanic *glimō, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰley- (“to gleam, shimmer, glow”). Compare Norwegian Nynorsk glim, dialectal Old Swedish glim, glimma.

More words from Middle English, Old English, Old Norse

Full word history & related roots →