Meanings
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1
verb
To give off a soft, steady light without flames.
The fireflies were glowing in the dark garden.
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2
verb
To give off heat and light, often without a flame.
The coals were still glowing after several hours.
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3
verb
To have warm, healthy or happy colour in your face.
Our faces glowed when we came out of the sauna.
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4
noun
A soft, steady light, or a warm feeling.
She felt a warm glow of pride at her son's success.
Thesaurus
Etymology
The verb is derived from Middle English glouen, glowen (“to give off heat and light without flame; of a thing: to be heated until red hot; to be brightly coloured; to shine brightly; (figurative) to be filled with emotion; of the face, etc.: to turn red, flush; etc.”), and then either: * from Old English glōwan (“to glow”) (a strong verb), from Proto-West Germanic *glōan (“to glow”); or * because the Middle English and modern English words are weak verbs, possibly from Old Norse *glówa, thought to be a variant of glóa (“to glow”), also a weak verb; both from Proto-Germanic *glōaną (“to glow”),…