glint

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A quick flash of light reflected from a shiny surface.

   I saw the glint of metal as he raised the knife.

2. 2
   verb

   To flash or shine briefly.

   A wedding ring glinted on her finger.

3. 3
   noun

   A brief expression in someone's eyes.

   There was a playful glint in his eye as he spoke.

15th century. Borrowed from Scots glint, from Middle English glenten (“to shine, gleam; flash”), probably from Old Norse *glenta, from Proto-Germanic *glantijaną, causitive of Proto-Germanic *glintaną (“to gleam, shine”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰley- (“to shine”). Cognate with Danish glente, Swedish glänta, Norwegian Nynorsk gletta (“to peep, look”), Middle High German glinzen; compare also Swedish glinta (“to slip, slide, gleam, shine”), Swedish glimt (“flash, glint, glimpse”), Norwegian Nynorsk glanta, gletta (“to glide, slip”). Reintroduced into literary English by Robert Burns.

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