glance English · revision 14957

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=borrowing|attested=1441|origins=fro glace}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ɡlɑːns/, US /ɡlæns/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|glauncen|t=to glide off at a slant]], probably a variant of earlier [[m|enm|glacen|t=to graze, strike a glancing blow]] (about 1300),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) [[bor|fro|glacier|t=to slip, make slippery]], from [[m|fro|glace|t=ice]] (see [[glacier]]).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) The n and the sense of looking quickly were probably influenced by [[m|enm|glenten|t=to look askance]] (see [[glint]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) and perhaps by [[m|fro|gancir|t=to turn aside, swerve]].^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Of a weapon, to glide off at a slant without striking fully: 1441 in Barnhart, about 1450 in the OED, the mid-15th century in Etymonline.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The noun, a sudden movement producing a flash, is from 1503,^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) and a swift oblique movement from 1570.^(OED 1989) The sense to look quickly is not recorded until 1583,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) and a brief look from 1591.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) An allusion is an obsolete sense of 1602,^(OED 1989) and in cricket a glance is a stroke that deflects the ball (1883).^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1300 – glacen, to graze.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1441 – to glance off.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1503 – a flash (noun).^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1583 – to look quickly.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1591 – a brief look.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To look briefly or hastily.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To read or look through quickly, with ''over'' or ''through''.^(Collins 2023)

+ # To gleam or [[glint]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To strike at an angle and bounce off, often with ''off''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To touch briefly on a subject.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A brief or hasty look.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A quick flash of light; a gleam.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # An oblique, deflected movement.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[glancer]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[glint]]

+ * [[glacier]]

+ * [[glacial]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Glance, a lustrous ore (1457–8), is a separate word, from [[de|Glanz|t=lustre]].^(MWU 2024)^(OED 1989)^(AHD)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}