Gleam Meaning
/ɡliːm/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounAn appearance of light, especially one which is indistinct or small, or short-lived.
nounAn indistinct sign of something; a glimpse or hint.
Sentence Examples
We saw the gleam of a distant lighthouse.
The lady looked quickly up, with an angry gleam in her hazel eyes.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The polished floor will ____ under the bright lights of the room.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I could see a faint ____ of light from a distant lighthouse reflecting off the surface of the dark ocean.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English glem, gleam, gleme (“shaft of light; part of a comet’s tail; reflected sparkle; dawn; daylight; radiance (physical or spiritual); something fleeting”), from Old English glǣm (“gleam”), from Proto-Germanic *glaimiz (“brightness; splendour”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰley- (“to shine”). Cognates * German Low German Gleem (“shine, luster, gloss”) * Faroese glæma (“gleam, glimmer”) * Old High German glīmen (“to glow, shine”); gleimo, glīmo (“glowworm”) (Middle High German glīme, gleime) * Old Saxon glīmo (“brightness”)
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Is not yon gleame, the ſhuddering morne that flakes, / VVith ſiluer tinctur, the eaſt vierge of heauen?"
— c. 1599 (date written), I. M. [i.e., John Marston], The History of Antonio and Mellida. The First Part. […], London: […] [Richard Bradock] for Mathewe Lownes, and Thomas Fisher, […], published 1602, →OCLC, Act III, signature D4, verso:
"Sailing between Madagaſcar and Zeyloon (at or Near this place) in a dark night ſuddenly there happened a gleam of light, ſo bright that he could eaſily read by it. Amazed he vvas at this alteration; but at length perceived it vvas occaſioned by a number of Fiſh, vvhoſe glittering ſhells made that artificial light in the night, and gave the Sea a vvhite repercuſſion: […]"
— 1677, Tho[mas] Herbert, Some Yeares Travels into Divers Parts of Africa, and Asia the Great. […], 4th edition, London: […] R. Everingham, for R. Scot, T. Basset, J[ohn] Wright, and R. Chiswell, →OCLC, page 30:
"VVhat a gloom hangs all around! the dying lamp feebly emits a yellovv gleam, no ſound is heard but of the chiming clock, or the diſtant vvatch-dog."
— 1760, Oliver Goldsmith, “Letter CXIV. To the Same [From Lien Chi Altangi, to Fum Hoam, First President of the Ceremonial Academy at Pekin, in China].”, in The Citizen of the World; or Letters from a Chinese Philosopher, […], volume II, London: […] [F]or the author; and sold by J. Newbery and W. Bristow, […]; J. Leake and W. Frederick, […]; B. Collins, […]; and A. M. Smart and Co. […], published 1762, →OCLC, page 210:
"Ah! then, if mine had been the Painter's hand, / To express what then I saw; and add the gleam, / The light that never was, on sea or land, / The consecration, and the Poet's dream; // I would have planted thee, thou hoary Pile! / Amid a world how different from this!"
— 1807, William Wordsworth, “Elegiac Stanzas, […]”, in Poems, in Two Volumes, volume II, London: […] Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, […], →OCLC, page 142:
"But a faint and partial gleam of sunshine broke through the aperture, and made yet more cheerless the dreary aspect and gloomy appurtenances of the cell."
— 1838, [Edward Bulwer-Lytton], “The Novice”, in “Leila; or, The Siege of Granada”, in Leila; or, The Siege of Granada: And Calderon, the Courtier. […], London: Longman, Orme, Brown, Green, and Longmans; Paris: Delloy and Co., →OCLC, book V, page 238:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The polished floor will ____ under the bright lights of the room.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I could see a faint ____ of light from a distant lighthouse reflecting off the surface of the dark ocean.