Meanings
comparative gliskier · comparative more glisky · superlative gliskiest · superlative most glisky
- Cumbrian dialect wordshining, shimmering; bright or flashing (of the sky after rain, particularly in summer)
Origin
- Norwegian Nynorskglisa“to gleam, flash, glisten”
- Old Norse*gliskr“shimmering”
- Old Englishglisian“to glitter”
- Scotsglisk“to glance, glimpse; to give a transient gleam”
- Englishglisky
Related to Scots glisk (“to glance, glimpse; to give a transient gleam”), and Shetlandic dialect of English glisk (“gleam of sunlight through cloud; a glow of heat from a fire”). Also Northern English glissy (“shiny, glistening”). Further etymology unclear: either from Old English glisian (“to glitter”) with diminutive suffix -ky, and cognate with English glitter and glisten, or hypothetical loan word from Old Norse *gliskr (“shimmering”), cf: Norwegian Nynorsk glisa (“to gleam, flash, glisten”), but note neither Cleasby & Vigfusson nor Zoëga list any such word. Shetlandic glisk possibly inherited from Norn (hence Old Norse), or from Scots (hence Old English).
More words from Scots, Old English, Old Norse
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
glisky. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/glisky
“glisky.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/glisky. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “glisky,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/glisky.
Source: glisky on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.