Definition of gleam

< Glazunov, Aleksandr Konstantinovich

glean >

gleam    (glm) KEY 

NOUN:

1. A brief beam or flash of light: saw gleams of daylight through the cracks.
2. A steady but subdued shining; a glow: the gleam of burnished gold.
3. A brief or dim indication; a trace: a gleam of intelligence.

VERB:
gleamed, gleam·ing, gleams
VERB:
intr.

1. To emit a gleam; flash or glow: "It shone with gold and gleamed with ivory" (Edith Hamilton). See Synonyms at flash.
2. To be manifested or indicated briefly or faintly.

VERB:
tr.

To cause to emit a flash of light.

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ETYMOLOGY:
Middle English glem, from Old English glm; see ghel-² in Indo-European roots

OTHER FORMS:
gleamer(Noun)