gloss

gloss
\ \ English has two words gloss. The one meaning ‘shining surface’ [16] is of unknown origin, although no doubt it belongs ultimately to the general nexus of words beginning gl- which mean broadly ‘bright, shining’. Forms such as Icelandic glossispark’ and Swedish dialect glossaglow’ suggest a Scandinavian origin. Glossexplanation, definition’ [16] goes back to Greek glossatongue’, source also of English epiglottis [17]. This developed the secondary sense ‘language’ (as English tongue itself has done), and was borrowed by Latin as glōssa meaning ‘foreign word needing an explanation’, and eventually the ‘explanation’ itself. It passed into English via medieval Latin glōsa and Old French glose as gloze in the 14th century, and was reformulated as gloss on the basis of classical Latin glōssa in the 16th century. Glossary [14] comes from the Latin derivative glossārium.
\ \ Cf.EPIGLOTTIS, GLOSSARY

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • gloss- — gloss(o) , glosse ♦ Éléments, du gr. glôssa « langue ». glosse, gloss(o) éléments, du gr. glôssa, langue . ⇒GLOSS(O) , GLOSSO , GLOSS , (GLOSS , GLOSSO ), élém. formant Élém. formant issu du gr. (att. ) « langue », servant, av …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • gloss — gloss·ist; gloss·less; gloss·me·ter; gloss·odyn·ia; gloss; iso·gloss; pan·gloss·ian; semi·gloss; iso·gloss·al; …   English syllables

  • Gloss — (gl[o^]s), n. [Cf. Icel. glossi a blaze, glys finery, MHG. glosen to glow, G. glosten to glimmer; perh. akin to E. glass.] 1. Brightness or luster of a body proceeding from a smooth surface; polish; as, the gloss of silk; cloth is calendered to… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Gloss — Primera aparición DC Comics Información Nombre original Xiang Po Afiliaciones actuales Guardianes Globales Gloss (Xiang Po), un personaje ficticio …   Wikipedia Español

  • gloss´i|ly — gloss|y «GLS ee, GLOS », adjective, gloss|i|er, gloss|i|est, noun, plural gloss|ies. –adj. 1. smooth and shiny; highly polished; lustrous: » …   Useful english dictionary

  • gloss|y — «GLS ee, GLOS », adjective, gloss|i|er, gloss|i|est, noun, plural gloss|ies. –adj. 1. smooth and shiny; highly polished; lustrous: » …   Useful english dictionary

  • gloss — [n1] shine, sheen appearance, brightness, brilliance, burnish, facade, finish, front, glaze, gleam, glint, glossiness, luster, polish, shimmer, silkiness, sleekness, slickness, surface, varnish, veneer; concepts 611,620 Ant. dullness gloss [n2]… …   New thesaurus

  • gloss — Ⅰ. gloss [1] ► NOUN 1) the shine on a smooth surface. 2) (also gloss paint) a type of paint which dries to a bright shiny surface. 3) a superficially attractive appearance or impression. ► VERB 1) give a glossy appearance to …   English terms dictionary

  • Gloss — Gloss, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Glossed}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Glossing}.] To give a superficial luster or gloss to; to make smooth and shining; as, to gloss cloth. [1913 Webster] The glossed and gleamy wave. J. R. Drake. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • gloss# — gloss n sheen, *luster, glaze Analogous words: sleekness, slickness, glossiness (see corresponding adjectives at SLEEK) gloss vb gloze, *palliate, extenuate, whitewash, whiten Analogous words: *disguise, cloak, mask, dissemble, camouflage:… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • Gloss — Gloss, n. [OE. glose, F. glose, L. glossa a difficult word needing explanation, fr. Gr. ? tongue, language, word needing explanation. Cf. {Gloze}, {Glossary}, {Glottis}.] [1913 Webster] 1. A foreign, archaic, technical, or other uncommon word… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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