gloss
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gloss¹
- /ɡlɒs/ UK
- /ɡlɔs/ US
- /ɡlɑs/ cot caught merger
Rhymes with -ɒs, -ɔːs
Where it comes from
Probably from a North Germanic language, compare Icelandic glossi (“spark, flame”), glossa (“to flame”); or perhaps from dialectal Dutch gloos (“a glow, flare”), related to West Frisian gloeze (“a glow”), Middle Low German glȫsen (“to smoulder, glow”), German glosen (“to smoulder”); ultimately from Proto-Germanic *glus- (“to glow, shine”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰel- (“to flourish; be green or yellow”). More at glow.
noun glosses
verb glosses · glossing · glossed
gloss²
- /ɡlɒs/ UK
- /ɡlɔs/ US
- /ɡlɑs/ cot caught merger
Rhymes with -ɒs, -ɔːs
Where it comes from
From Middle English glosse, alteration of glose, from Old French glose, from Late Latin glōssa (“obsolete or foreign word requiring explanation”), from Ancient Greek γλῶσσα (glôssa, “language”). Doublet of glossa and gloze.
noun glosses
-
A brief explanatory note or translation of a foreign, archaic, technical, difficult, complex, or uncommon expression, inserted after the original, in the margin of a document, or between lines of a text.
All this, without a gloss or comment, / He would unriddle in a moment.
Similar: gloze, annotation
-
Synonym of glossary, a collection of such notes.
Similar: glossary
- An expression requiring such explanatory treatment.
-
An extensive commentary on some text.
Similar: commentary, discourse, discussion
- An interpretation by a court of a specific point within a statute or case law. This volume is thus not a narrowly defined treatment of the Code of Professional Responsibility but rather represents a "common law" gloss on it.
- A definition or explanation of a word sense. Dictionary entries comprise two essential parts, the headword ('lemma') and the author's explanation ('gloss').
gloss³
- /ɡlɒs/ UK
- /ɡlɔs/ US
- /ɡlɑs/ cot caught merger
Rhymes with -ɒs, -ɔːs
Where it comes from
An alteration of Middle English glosen after Etymology 2, from Old French gloser; compare Medieval Latin glossāre.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: glossiness, burnish, color, rubric, comment, glossary, polish, luster, glossy, glittering, sheen, sparkling, lustre, scintillating, sparkle, brilliant
Translations
Every language
noun surface shine
| Español | brillo, lustre |
|---|---|
| Português | lustre, lustro, brilho |
| Français | brillant |
| Deutsch | Glanz, Schimmer, Glitzern |
| Русский | блеск blesk, гля́нец gljánec |
| العربية | بَرِيق barīq |
noun superficially or deceptively attractive appearance
| Deutsch | Fassade, Schönfärberei, Politur, Retusche, Blendfassade, Schaufassade |
|---|---|
| Русский | блеск blesk, лоск losk |
verb give a gloss or sheen to
| Deutsch | polieren, glanzpolieren |
|---|---|
| Русский | наводи́ть гля́нец navodítʹ gljánec |
verb make (something) attractive by deception
| Deutsch | schönfärben, verbrämen, beschönigen, vertuschen, bemänteln, überspielen |
|---|---|
| Русский | наводи́ть лоск navodítʹ losk |
verb become shiny
| Português | brilhar |
|---|---|
| Русский | лосни́ться losnítʹsja |
noun brief explanatory note or translation of a difficult or complex expression
| Español | glosa |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | グロス gurosu, 注解 chūkai |
| Português | glosa |
| Français | glose |
| Deutsch | Glosse, Glossem, Erläuterung, Randbemerkung, Randnotiz, Fußnote |
| Italiano | glossa, chiosa |
| Русский | гло́сса glóssa |
| עברית | פירוש perúsh |
noun extensive commentary on some text
| Deutsch | Erläuterung |
|---|
verb to add a gloss to (a text)
| Español | glosar |
|---|---|
| Português | glosar |
| Deutsch | kommentieren, beschriften, annotieren, mit einer Randnotiz versehen, mit Anmerkungen versehen |
Talk about this word "gloss." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/gloss. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. gloss. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/gloss "gloss." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/gloss.Cite this
@misc{gloss_2026,
title = {gloss},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/gloss},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
