glitten

glit·ten
G2L1I1T1T1E1N1
US, UK/ˈɡlɪtn̩/

noun

A cross between a glove and a mitten, often in the form of a fingerless glove with an attached mitten-like flap that can be used to cover the fingers.

Scrabble 8

Meanings

glitten1

nounglitten (plural glittens)

plural glittens

  1. A cross between a glove and a mitten, often in the form of a fingerless glove with an attached mitten-like flap that can be used to cover the fingers.

    [T]he Glen Ridge Farm Huacaya alpacas who grew the wool from which my glittens were knit.

    2014, Kelly Kittel, “Acknowledgements”, in Breathe: A Memoir of Motherhood, Grief, and Family Conflict, Berkeley, Calif.: She Writes Press, →ISBN
    2 more examples

    These glittens are perfect for winter walks with a spunky dog. They keep you warm and, hopefully, give you the control you need to let her know who's in charge.

    2009 April 8, Barbara Hurd, “Dog-walking Glittens”, in Not Now, I'm Knitting: Sweaters, Shawls, Vests, and Other Patterns in Classic and Contemporary Styles, Bloomington, Ind.: AuthorHouse, →ISBN, page 43

    Glittens / Is that a word? It probably is. A combination of both gloves and mittens, glittens claim to have the best of both worlds. But is it possible to find a cute pair? We took to the streets. And by that, we mean we emailed our friends that were known mitten/glove/glitten enthusiasts (it's cold out there!) […]

    2012 January 16, Meghan O'Neill, “Mittens VS Gloves: The Battle Continues”, in The Gloss, archived from the original on 19 Dec 2016

glitten2

verbglitten (third-person singular simple present glittens, present participle glittening, simple past and past participle glittened)

present singular third person glittens · participle present glittening · participle past glittened · past glittened

  1. archaicto glisten, to reflect, to shimmer.

    At one of the river landings I passed, there was something white glittening in the moonlight.

    1880, George Chittenden Benham, A Year of Wreck: A True Story, by a Victim, page 439
    4 more examples

    Oh, yes, there were a hundredfold more beggars and swaggerers among the docks than upon the granite mount, but there was too much diversion to heed the tricks of sharpers in the crush of the myriad craft and the throngs of sailors on duty on the merchantmen, the hordes of poor panting human toilers loading and unloading the trading vessels locked in the basins, and the care-free troops of seamen off duty, with full pockets and light hearts, whose gold was soon to vanish in the seduction of the glittening casinos and their black-eyed sweethearts.

    1881, Annie S. Wolf, Pictures and Portraits of Foreign Travel, page 224

    Presently a purple curtain that hung between two massive pillars, was withdrawn, and two female slaves, whose dark limbs, glittened with bracelets of gold, appeared in the hall, holding torches in their hands.

    1854, George Lippard, The Nazarene; Or, The Last of the Washingtons

    And then he ponders, in his trance, - On Mary's love-inspiring glance, On Chloe's eye of glittening fire, And Laura's look of fond desire.

    1865, Derwent Coleridge, The Poems of Winthrop Mackworth Praed, page 13

    Glete, gleit, vb, to glitter. Douglas, I, 33; II, 88, 16; Montg. C. and S., 1288; Dunbar, G. T., 66, O. N. glita, to glitter, Dan. glitte, Cp. Shetland glid, a glittering object. O. E. glitnian > M. E. glitenien, as O. E. glisnian > M. E. glistnian, N. Eng. glisten. The M. E. glitenian (N. Eng. *glitten) was replaced by the Scand. glitter.

    c. 1900, George Tobias Flom, Scandinavian Influence on Southern Lowland Scotch

Origin

glitten · verb

  1. Proto-Germanic*-inōną
  2. Proto-Germanic*glitinōną
  3. Old Englishglitnian
  4. Middle Englishglitenen
  5. Englishglitten

From Middle English glitenen, from Old English glitnian, perhaps from Proto-Germanic *glitinōną, from a root cognate with Old Norse glitra + Proto-Germanic *-inōną. Ultimately from *ǵʰel- (“to shine, shimmer, glow”). Related to Old English glisnian (“to glisten”), Old English glīdan (“to glide”). Largely displaced by glitter.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with glitten

All rhymes →

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

glitten. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/glitten

MLA

“glitten.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/glitten. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “glitten,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/glitten.

Source: glitten on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.