Etymologically
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glitch

Etymology and origin of the English word glitch

History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈɡlɪt͡ʃ/[1]

Etymology

Probably borrowed from Yiddish גליטש (glitsh, “a slip; a slippery place”),[2][3][4][5] from glitshn “to slip, slide”,[2][3][6][4] which comes from German glitschen[3][6] and is related to Old High German glītan “to glide”.[2][4] Etymonline allows that it may come directly from German.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Technical slang for a spurious electrical signal or a brief surge of voltage.[6][7][2]

Semantic evolution

Said to have been radio jargon since the early 1940s,[6] it was popularized around 1962 by the US space programme,[6] whose astronauts used it for any hitch or malfunction;[2][7] John Glenn's 1962 account is the first record in the American Heritage Dictionary.[2] It now covers minor malfunctions and mishaps of all kinds, especially in computing.[2][5][1]

Timeline

  • early 1940s – said to be in radio broadcasting jargon.[6]
  • 1953 – in an RCA advertisement for a television camera.[6]
  • 1962 – astronauts' slang for a hitch or malfunction;[2][7][3][4] RHWU dates the word 1960–65.[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A minor malfunction or problem; a snag.
  2. A false electronic signal or brief surge of voltage.
  3. (computing) An error or bug.
  4. (astronomy) A sudden change in the rotation rate of a neutron star.

Verb

  1. To cause a glitch in.
  2. To malfunction unexpectedly.

Word family

  • glitchy

References

  1. [1] [2] Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. [1] [2] [3] [4] Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. [1] [2] [3] [4] Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. [1] [2] [3] Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  6. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. [1] [2] [3] Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
Cite this entry

“Glitch.” Etymologically, 7 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/glitch. Accessed 7 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on .