Etymology dictionary

gladden (v.) — gloom (n.)

gladden (v.)

c. 1300, "to be glad;" 1550s, "to make glad;" see glad (adj.) + -en (1). Earlier in both senses was simply glad (v.), from Old English gladian, Mercian gleadian "be glad; make glad." Related: Gladdened; gladdening.

glade (n.)

"clear, open space in a woods," late 14c., of uncertain origin, perhaps from Middle English glode (c. 1300), from Old Norse glaðr "bright" (see glad). If so, the original meaning could be "bright (because open) space in a wood" (compare French clairière "glade," from clair "clear, bright;" German Lichtung "clearing, glade," from Licht "light"). American English sense of "tract of low, marshy grassland" (as in Everglades) recorded by 1789, perhaps 1724 in place names (in Maryland).

glad hand (v.)

also gladhand, 1903, from verbal phrase to give the glad hand "extend a welcome" (1895); see glad (adj.). Often used cynically. Related: Glad-handed; glad-handing.

Gladys

fem. proper name, Welsh Gwladys, probably a Brythonified form of Latin Claudia (q.v.).

gladiator (n.)

mid-15c., "Roman swordsman," from Latin gladiator (fem. gladiatrix) "fighter in the public games; swordsman," from gladius "sword" (there is no verb *gladiare), which probably is from Gaulish (compare Welsh cleddyf, Cornish clethe, Breton kleze "sword;" see claymore). Old Irish claideb is from Welsh.

gladiatorial (adj.)

1712, from Latin gladiatorius (see gladiator) + -al (1). Earlier was gladiatory (c. 1600), from French gladiatoire, from Latin gladiatorius.

gladiolus (n.)

"wild iris," c. 1000, from Latin gladiolus "wild iris, sword-lily," literally "small sword," diminutive of gladius "sword" (see gladiator); the plant so called by Pliny in reference to its sword-shaped leaves. The Old English form of the word was gladdon. Form gladiol is attested from mid-15c.; the modern use perhaps represents a 1560s reborrowing from Latin.

gladly (adv.)

Old English glædlice "joyfully, kindly, willingly" (also "bright, shining; pleasant, agreeable"); see glad (adj.) + -ly (2).

gladsome (adj.)

late 14c., gladsum "glad, joyful, cheerful;" see glad (adj.) + -some (1).

Glagolitic (n.)

1861, with -itic + Serbo-Croatian glagolica "Glagolitic alphabet," from Old Church Slavonic glagolu "word," from PIE *gal-gal-, reduplicated form of root *gal- "to call, shout." The older of the two Slavic writing systems (Cyrillic is the other), used in Istria and Dalmatia, it was designed by Cyrillus c.863 C.E.

glair (n.)

white of an egg (used as a varnish), c. 1300, from Old French glaire "white of egg, slime, mucus" (12c.), from Vulgar Latin *claria (ovi) "white part (of an egg)," from Latin clarus "bright, clear" (see clear (adj.)). Related: Glaireous.

glaive (n.)

late 13c., used in Middle English of various weapons, especially ones with a long shaft ending in a point or an attached blade, from Old French glaive "lance, spear, sword" (12c.), also figuratively used for "violent death," probably from Latin gladius "sword" (see gladiator); influenced by Latin clava "knotty branch, cudgel, club," related to clavus "nail."

glam (adj.)

slang shortening of glamorous, first attested 1936. Glam rock ("characterized by male performers dressed in glamorous clothes, with the suggestion of androgyny or sexual ambiguity" - OED), attested by 1974. Glamazon "glamourous, dominant woman" attested by 1985 (based on amazon).

glamorize (v.)

1901, from glamour + -ize, with typical dropping of the -u- in derivatives (see -or). Related: Glamorized; glamorizing.

glamor

an alternative spelling of glamour (q.v.), chiefly in U.S., but it defies the usual pattern by not being the predominant spelling of the word there.

glamorous (adj.)

1875, from glamour + -ous, with typical dropping of the -u- in derivatives (see -or). Related: Glamorously.

glamour (v.)

1814, "to enchant, charm, bewitch," from glamour (n.). Related: Glamoured; glamouring.

glamour (n.)

1715, glamer, Scottish, "magic, enchantment" (especially in phrase to cast the glamour), a variant of Scottish gramarye "magic, enchantment, spell," said to be an alteration of English grammar (q.v.) in a specialized use of that word's medieval sense of "any sort of scholarship, especially occult learning," the latter sense attested from c. 1500 in English but said to have been more common in Medieval Latin.

It was popularized in English by the writings of Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832). The sense of "magical beauty, alluring charm" is recorded by 1840. As that quality of attractiveness especially associated with Hollywood, high-fashion, celebrity, etc., by 1939.

Jamieson's 1825 supplement to his "Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language" has glamour-gift "the power of enchantment; metaph. applied to female fascination." Jamieson's original edition (1808) looked to Old Norse for the source of the word. Zoëga's Old Icelandic dictionary has glám-sýni "illusion," probably from the same root as gleam.

glans (n.)

head of the penis or clitoris, 1640s, from Latin glans "acorn," also used of acorn-shaped things (see gland).

glance (n.)

c. 1500, "a sudden movement producing a flash," from glance (v.). Meaning "brief or hurried look" is from 1590s.

glance (v.)

mid-15c., of weapons, "strike obliquely without giving full impact," a nasalized form of glacen "to graze, strike a glancing blow" (c. 1300), from Old French glacier "to slip, make slippery" (compare Old French glaciere "part of a knight's armor meant to deflect blows"), from glace "ice" (see glacial). Sense of "look quickly" (first recorded 1580s) probably was by influence of Middle English glenten "look askance" (see glint (v.)), which also could account for the -n-. Related: Glanced; glancing.

gland (n.)

1690s, from French glande (Old French glandre "a gland," 13c.), from Latin glandula "gland of the throat, tonsil," diminutive of glans (genitive glandis) "acorn, nut; acorn-shaped ball," from PIE root *gwele- (2) "acorn" (source also of Greek balanos, Armenian kalin, Old Church Slavonic zelodi "acorn;" Lithuanian gilė "acorn"). Earlier English form was glandula (c. 1400); Middle English also had glandele "inflamed gland" (c. 1400). Extended from tonsils to glands generally.

glanders (n.)

"horse disease characterized by glandular swelling," early 15c., from Old French glandres "swollen glands," plural of glandre "gland," from Latin glandula (see gland).

glandular (adj.)

1740, from French glandulaire, from glandule "small gland" (16c.), from Latin glandula (see gland). Earlier was glandelous (late 14c.), from Latin glandulosus.

glaring (adj.)

late 14c., "staring fiercely," present-participle adjective from glare (v.). From 1510s of colors, etc., "vivid, dazzling;" meaning "obtrusively conspicuous" is from 1706. Related: Glaringly.

glare (n.)

c. 1400, "bright light, dazzling glitter," from glare (v.); especially in reference to light reflected off some surface (17c.). From 1660s in sense of "fierce look." Old English glær (n.) meant "amber."

glare (v.)

late 13c., "to shine brightly," from or related to Middle Dutch, Middle Low German glaren "to gleam," from Proto-Germanic *glaz-, from PIE root *ghel- (2) "to shine." Sense of "stare fiercely" is from late 14c. Related: Glared; glaring.

Glasgow

city in Scotland, from Gaelic, literally "green hollow," from glas "green, verdant" + cau "hollow."

glasnost (n.)

1972 (in reference to a letter of 1969 by Solzhenitsyn), from Russian glasnost "openness to public scrutiny," literally "publicity, fact of being public," ultimately from Old Church Slavonic glasu "voice," from PIE *gal-so-, from root *gal- "to call, shout." First used in a socio-political sense by Lenin; popularized in English after Mikhail Gorbachev used it prominently in a speech of March 11, 1985, accepting the post of general secretary of the CPSU.

glass (v.)

late 14c., "to fit with glass;" 1570s, "to cover with glass," from glass (n.). Related: Glassed; glassing.

glassful (n.)

Old English glæsful "as much as a glass will hold;" see glass (n.) + -ful.

glass (n.)

Old English glæs "glass; a glass vessel," from Proto-Germanic *glasam "glass" (source also of Old Saxon glas, Middle Dutch and Dutch glas, German Glas, Old Norse gler "glass, looking glass," Danish glar), from PIE root *ghel- (2) "to shine," with derivatives denoting bright colors or materials. The PIE root also is the ancestor of widespread words for gray, blue, green, and yellow, such as Old English glær "amber," Latin glaesum "amber" (which might be from Germanic), Old Irish glass "green, blue, gray," Welsh glas "blue."

Restricted sense of "drinking glass" is from early 13c. and now excludes other glass vessels. Meaning "a glass mirror" is from 14c. Meaning "glass filled with running sand to measure time" is from 1550s; meaning "observing instrument" is from 1610s.

glasses (n.)

"spectacles," 1660s, from plural of glass (n.).

glass (adj.)

Old English glæs, from glass (v.). Middle English also had an adjective glazen, from Old English glæsen. The glass snake (1736, actually a limbless lizard) is so called for the fragility of its tail. The glass slipper in "Cinderella" perhaps is an error by Charles Perrault, translating in 1697, mistaking Old French voir "ermine, fur" for verre "glass." In other versions of the tale it is a fur slipper. The proverb about people in glass houses throwing stones is attested by 1779, but earlier forms go back to 17c.:

Glass-house is from late 14c. as "glass factory," 1838 as "greenhouse."

glass-blower (n.)

1510s, from glass (n.) + blower. Related: Glass-blowing.

glassy (adj.)

late 14c., from glass (n.) + -y (2). From early 15c. in reference to the eye, etc., "fixed and expressionless."

glassware (n.)

1745, from glass (adj.) + ware (n.).

Glastonbury

town in Somersetshire, famous as a prehistoric site, Old English Glestingabyrig, Glastingburi (725), "Stronghold (Old English byrig, dative of burh) of the people (Old English -inga-) living at Glaston," a Celtic name, possibly meaning "woad place."

glaucoma (n.)

1640s (cataracts and glaucoma not distinguished until c. 1705), from Latinized form of Greek glaukoma "cataract, opacity of the lens," perhaps from glaukommatos "gray-eyed," with omma "the eye" + glaukos, an adjective of uncertain origin (see glaucous).

glaucous (adj.)

"dull bluish-green, gray," 1670s, from Latin glaucus "bright, sparkling, gleaming," also "bluish-green," from Greek glaukos, a word used in Homer of the sea as "gleaming, silvery" (apparently without a color connotation); used by later writers with a sense of "greenish" (of olive leaves) and "blue, gray" (of eyes). Beekes says it is probably a substratum word from Pre-Greek.

Homer's glauk-opis Athene probably originally was a "bright-eyed," not a "gray-eyed" goddess. Greek for "owl" was glaux, perhaps from its bright, staring eyes, but this, too, might be an unrelated Pre-Greek word. Middle English had glauk "bluish-green, gray" (early 15c.).

glaze (v.)

late 14c. variant of Middle English glasen "to fit with glass," also "to make shine," from glas (see glass (n.)). The form probably influenced or reinforced by glazier. Of pottery, etc., "cover with a shiny or glossy substance," from c. 1400. Related: Glazed; glazing.

glaze (n.)

"substance used to make a glossy coating," 1784, from glaze (v.). In reference to a thin coating of ice from 1752.

glazier (n.)

"one who fits window glass into frames," early 15c. variant of late 14c. glasier (late 13c. as a surname, glasyer, from glass (v.) + -er (1). Influenced by French words in -ier. Alternative glazer recorded from c. 1400 as "one who applies coatings to earthenware."

gleam (v.)

"to throw rays of light; appear suddenly and clearly," early 13c., from gleam (n.). Related: Gleamed; gleaming.

gleam (n.)

Old English glæm "a brilliant light; brightness; splendor, radiance, beauty," from Proto-Germanic *glaimiz (source also of Old Saxon glimo "brightness;" Middle High German glim "spark," gleime "glow-worm;" German glimmen "to glimmer, glow;" Old Norse glja "to shine, glitter, glisten"), from PIE root *ghel- (2) "to shine." Figurative or transferred gleam in (someone's) eye (n.) "barely formed idea" is from 1959.

gleaning (n.)

mid-14c., verbal noun from glean (n.). Related: Gleanings.

glean (v.)

early 14c., "to gather by acquisition, scrape together," especially grains left in the field after harvesting, but the earliest use in English is figurative, from Old French glener "to glean" (14c., Modern French glaner) "to glean," from Late Latin glennare "make a collection," of unknown origin. Perhaps from Gaulish (compare Old Irish do-glinn "he collects, gathers," Celtic glan "clean, pure"). Figurative sense was earlier in English than the literal one of "gather grain left by the reapers" (late 14c.). Related: Gleaned; gleaning.

gleaner (n.)

mid-15c., agent noun from glean (v.).

glebe (n.)

late 14c., "soil of the earth; cultivated land;" also "a piece of land forming part of a clergyman's benefice," from Old French glebe, from Latin gleba, glaeba "clod, lump of earth," possibly from a PIE *glem- or *glom-, which might mean "contain, embrace" or "ball," or might be two different roots. Possible cognates include Old English clamm "a tie, fetter;" Old High German klamma "trap, gorge;" Old Irish glomar "gag, curb;" Latin globus "sphere," gleba, glaeba "clod, lump of earth;" Old English clyppan "to embrace;" Lithuanian glėbys "armful," globti "to embrace, support."

glee (n.)

Old English gliu, gliw, gleow "entertainment, mirth (usually implying music); jest, play, sport," also "music" and "mockery," presumably from a Proto-Germanic *gleujam but absent in other Germanic languages except for the rare Old Norse gly "joy;" probably related to the group of Germanic words in gl- with senses of "shining; smooth; radiant; joyful" (compare glad), from PIE root *ghel- (2) "to shine." A poetry word in Old English and Middle English, obsolete c. 1500-c. 1700, it somehow found its way back to currency late 18c. In Old English, an entertainer was a gleoman (female gleo-mægden).

Glee club (1814) is from the secondary sense of "musical composition for three or more solo voices, unaccompanied, in contrasting movement" (1650s), a form of musical entertainment that flourished 1760-1830.

gleeful (adj.)

1580s, from glee + -ful. Related: Gleefully. Alternative gleesome attested from c. 1600.

gleek (n.)

old three-person card game, 1530s, from French glic, ghelicque (15c.), perhaps from Middle Dutch ghelic (Dutch gelijk) "like, alike" because one of the goals of the game is collecting three cards of the same rank.

gleen (n.)

"gleam of sunlight," 1650s, probably from a Scandinavian dialectal word; compare Swedish dialectal glena, Danish dialectal glene "clear patch of sky."

gleet (n.)

mid-14c., "slime, greasy filth," from Old French glete "clay, loam; slime, mud, filth" (12c., Modern French glette), from Latin glitem (nominative glis) "sticky, glutinous ground," back-formation from glittus "sticky."

glen (n.)

"narrow valley," late 15c., from Scottish, from Gaelic gleann "mountain valley" (cognate with Old Irish glenn, Welsh glyn). Common in place names such as Glenlivet (1822), a kind of whiskey, named for the place it was first made (literally "the glen of the Livet," a tributary of the Avon); and Glengarry (1841) a kind of men's cap, of Highland origin, named for a valley in Inverness-shire.

*gleubh-

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to tear apart, cleave."

It forms all or part of: cleave (v.1) "to split, part or divide by force;" cleft; clever; clevis; clove (n.2) "slice of garlic;" glyptodon; hieroglyphic; petroglyph.

It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Greek glyphe "a carving," glyphein "to hollow out, cut out with a knife, engrave, carve;" Latin glubere "to peel, shell, strip;" Old High German klioban, Old English cleofan, Old Norse kljufa "to cleave," Old Norse klofi, Middle Dutch clove "a cleft."

glib (adj.)

1590s, "smooth and slippery," a dialect word, possibly a shortening of obsolete glibbery "slippery," which is perhaps from Low German glibberig "smooth, slippery," from Middle Low German glibberich, from or related to glibber "jelly," all part of the Germanic group of gl- words for "smooth, shining, joyful," from PIE root *ghel- (2) "to shine." Of words, speakers, etc., from c. 1600. Related: Glibly; glibness.

glide (n.)

1580s, from glide (v.). From 1835 as a term in music; from 1889 as a step in dancing or a type of dance.

glide (v.)

Old English glidan "move along smoothly and easily; glide away, vanish; slip, slide" (class I strong verb, past tense glad, past participle gliden), from Proto-Germanic *glidan "to glide" (source also of Old Saxon glidan, Old Frisian glida, Old High German glitan, German gleiten), probably part of the large group of Germanic words in gl- involving notions of "smooth; shining; joyful," from PIE root *ghel- (2) "to shine." Related: Glided; gliding. Strong past tense form glid persisted into 20c.

glider (n.)

mid-15c., "person or thing that glides," agent noun from glide. Meaning "motorless airplane" is c. 1897.

glim (n.)

in 18c. slang, "a light, candle, lantern" (1700); in 19c. slang "an eye" (1820), probably a back-formation from glimmer (n.) or in some cases glimpse (n.). Related: Glims.

glimmer (n.)

1580s, "a faint, wavering light," from glimmer (v.).

glimmer (v.)

late 14c., "to shine brightly;" early 15c., "to shine dimly," perhaps from or related to Middle Dutch glimmen, Middle Low German glimmern, from an extended (frequentative?) form of Proto-Germanic *glim-, which also is the base of Old English glæm "brightness" (see gleam (n.)). Sense shifted 15c. to "shine faintly." Compare Dutch glimmeren, German glimmeren "to shine dimly." Related: Glimmered; glimmering.

glimpse (v.)

c. 1400, "to glisten, be dazzling," probably from Old English *glimsian "shine faintly," part of the group of Germanic words in *gl- having to do with "smooth; shining; joyous," from PIE root *ghel- (2) "to shine." If so, the unetymological -p- would be there to ease pronunciation. From mid-15c. as "to glance with the eyes;" from 1779 as "catch a quick view." Related: Glimpsed; glimpsing.

glimpse (n.)

1530s, "faint or transient appearance," from glimpse (v.). From 1570s as "a brief and imperfect view." Earlier was the verbal noun glimpsing "imperfect vision" (late 14c.).

glint (v.)

1787 (intransitive), from Scottish, where apparently it survived as an alteration of glent, from Middle English glenten "gleam, flash, glisten" (mid-15c.), from a Scandinavian source (compare Norwegian gletta "to look," dialectal Swedish glinta "to shine"), from the group of Germanic *gl- words meaning "smooth; shining; joyous," from PIE root *ghel- (2) "to shine," with derivatives referring to bright materials and gold. Reintroduced into literary English by Burns. Related: Glinted; glinting.

glint (n.)

"a gleam," 1826 (with a possible isolated use from 1540s in OED), from glint (v.).

glioma (n.)

type of brain tumor, 1870, medical Latin, literally "glue tumor," from Greek glia "glue" (from PIE root *glei- "clay," also forming words with a sense of "to stick together;" see clay) + -oma. Related: Gliomatosis; gliomatous.

glissade (n.)

in dancing, 1843, from French glissade, from glisser "to slip, slide" (13c.), from Frankish *glidan or some other Germanic source (cognate with Dutch glissen), from Proto-Germanic *glidan "to glide" (see glide (v.)). Earlier in English as a verb (1832).

glissando

in music, "glidingly, flowingly" (1842), also, as a noun, "a gliding from one note to the next," an Italianized form of French glissant, present participle of glisser "to slide" (see glissade). Related: Glissato; glissicando; glissicato.

glistening (adj.)

late 14c., present-participle adjective from glisten (v.).

glisten (v.)

Old English glisnian "to glisten, gleam," from Proto-Germanic *glis- (source also of Old English glisian "to glitter, shine," Old Frisian glisa "to shine," Middle High German glistern "to sparkle," Old Danish glisse "to shine"), from PIE root *ghel- (2) "to shine," with derivatives referring to bright materials and gold. Related: Glistened; glistening.

glister (v.)

late 14c., "to glitter, sparkle," probably from or related to Low German glisteren, Middle Dutch glisteren, frequentative forms ultimately from the large group of Germanic gl- words for "smooth; shining; joyful," from PIE root *ghel- (2) "to shine." Related: Glistered; glistering. As a noun, from 1530s.

glitch (n.)

by 1953, said to have been in use in radio broadcast jargon since early 1940s, American English, possibly from Yiddish glitsh "a slip," from glitshn "to slip," from German glitschen, and related gleiten "to glide" (see glide (v.)). Perhaps directly from German. Apparently it began as technical jargon among radio and television engineers, but was popularized and given a broader meaning c. 1962 by the U.S. space program.

glitter (v.)

c. 1300, glideren (late 14c. as gliteren), from an unrecorded Old English word or from a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse glitra "to glitter," from Proto-Germanic *glit- "shining, bright" (source also of Old English glitenian "to glitter, shine; be distinguished," Old High German glizzan, German glitzern, Gothic glitmunjan), from PIE *ghleid- (source also of Greek khlidon, khlidos "ornament"), from root *ghel- (2) "to shine," with derivatives referring to bright materials and gold. With Germanic verbal suffix indicating repeated or diminutive action (see -er (4)). Related: Glittered; glittering. Other Middle English words for "to glitter" include glasteren and glateren.

glitter (n.)

c. 1600, "sparkling or scintillating light," from glitter (v.). As "sparkling powdery substance" used in ornamentation, by 1956. Glitter rock is from 1972.

glitterati (n.)

1956, from glitter, with a play on literati.

glitz (n.)

"showiness without substance," 1977, a back-formation from glitzy.

glitzy (adj.)

"tawdry, gaudy, showy but in bad taste," 1966, from Yiddish glitz "glitter," from German glitzern "sparkle" (see glitter (v.)).

gloaming (n.)

Old English glomung "twilight, the fall of evening," found but once (glossing Latin crepusculum), and formed (probably on model of æfning "evening") from glom "twilight," which is related to glowan "to glow" (hence "glow of sunrise or sunset"), from Proto-Germanic *glo- (see glow (v.)). Fell from currency except in Yorkshire dialect, but preserved in Scotland and reintroduced by Burns and other Scottish writers after 1785.

gloam (n.)

1821 (Keats, "La Belle Dame sans Merci"), a back-formation from gloaming that consciously or not revives the Old English noun.

gloat (v.)

1570s, "to look at furtively," probably a variant of earlier glout "gaze attentively, stare, scowl, look glum, pout" (mid-15c.), from a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse glotta "grin, smile scornfully and show the teeth," Swedish dialectal glotta "peep;" or from Middle High German glotzen "stare, gape." These are among the Germanic *gl- words, also including glower, that are derived from PIE root *ghel- (2) "shine."

Johnson didn't recognize the word, and OED writes that it was probably "taken up in the 16th c. from some dialect."

The sense of "look at with malicious satisfaction, ponder with pleasure something that satisfies an evil passion" is recorded by 1748. Related: Gloated; gloating.

As a noun, it is attested from 1640s in a sense of "side-glance;" by 1899 as "act of gloating."

glob (n.)

1900, perhaps suggested by blob, gob, etc. Also compare glop.

global (adj.)

1670s, "spherical," from globe + -al (1). Meaning "worldwide, universal, pertaining to the whole globe of the earth" is from 1892, from a sense development in French. Global village first attested 1960, popularized, if not coined, by Canadian educator Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980).

globalize (v.)

from 1953 in various senses; the main modern one, with reference to global economic systems, emerged 1959. See global + -ize. Related: Globalized; globalizing.

globalization (n.)

1961, noun of action from globalize (q.v.).

globalism (n.)

used from c. 1946 in a variety of senses, both by those supporting and those opposed to whatever it was: American intervention in foreign conflicts, a global foreign policy; supremacy of global institutions over national ones; a worldwide extension of capitalist market systems; from global + -ism. Related: Globalist.

globally (adv.)

"throughout the whole world," by 1910, from global + -ly (2).

globalise (v.)

chiefly British English spelling of globalize (q.v.); for spelling, see -ize.

globalisation (n.)

chiefly British English spelling of globalization; for spelling, see -ize.

global warming (n.)

by 1983 as the name for a condition of overall rising temperatures on Earth and attendant consequences as a result of human activity. Originally theoretical, popularized as a reality from 1989.

globate (adj.)

"spherical," 1847, from Latin globatus, from globus "round mass, sphere, ball" (see globe (n.)). Globated in the same sense is attested from 1727.

globe (n.)

late 14c., "a large mass;" mid-15c., "spherical solid body, a sphere," from Old French globe (14c.) and directly from Latin globus "round mass, sphere, ball" (also, of men, "a throng, crowd, body, mass"), which is related to gleba "clod, lump of soil" (see glebe) and perhaps also to glomus "a ball, ball of yarn."

Sense of "the planet earth," also "map of the earth or sky drawn on the surface of an artificial sphere" are attested from 1550s. Meaning "globe-shaped glass vessel" is from 1660s. "A globe is often solid, a sphere often hollow. The secondary senses of globe are physical; those of sphere are moral." [Century Dictionary].

globe-trotter (n.)

also globetrotter, "world traveler," especially one who goes from country to country around the world with the object of covering ground or setting records, 1871, from globe + agent noun from trot (v.). As a verb, globetrot is recorded from 1883. Related: Globe-trotting.

globose (adj.)

"spherical, like or resembling a sphere," early 15c., "large and formless," from Latin globosus "round as a ball," from globus "round mass, sphere, ball" (see globe (n.)). Related: Globosity.

globule (n.)

"small, spherical body; little globe or sphere," 1660s, from French globule, from Latin globulus "a little ball," diminutive of globus "round mass, sphere, ball" (see globe (n.)).

globular (adj.)

"globe-shaped, round, spherical and compact," 1650s, from French globulaire or Medieval Latin globularis, or directly from Latin globus "round mass, sphere, ball" (see globe (n.)). Earlier in same sense was globical (1610s). Astronomical globular cluster attested from 1806.

glockenspiel (n.)

1825 as a type of organ-stop 1834 as a musical instrument consisting of small bells or metal bars struck by hammers, from German Glockenspiel, literally "play of bells," from plural of Glocke "bell" (see clock (n.1)) + Spiel "a play" (see spiel).

glom (v.)

1907, glahm "grab, snatch, steal," American English underworld slang, from Scottish glaum (1715), apparently from Gaelic glam "to handle awkwardly, grab voraciously, devour." Sense of "look at, watch" (1945) apparently is derived from the same source. Related: Glommed; glomming.

glomeration (n.)

"accumulation; ball," 1620s, from Latin glomerationem (nominative glomeratio), noun of action from past-participle stem of glomerare "to wind or form into a ball, roll together, collect," from glomus "ball of yarn, ball-shaped mass," from Proto-Italic *glemos-, from PIE *glem- or *glom-, perhaps originally "ball," but the reconstruction is uncertain (see glebe).

gloom (n.)

1590s, originally Scottish, "a sullen look," probably from gloom (v.) "look sullen or displeased" (late 14c., gloumen), of unknown origin; perhaps from an unrecorded Old English verb or from a Scandinavian source (compare Norwegian dialectal glome "to stare somberly"), or from Middle Low German glum "turbid," Dutch gluren "to leer." Not considered to be related to Old English glom "twilight" (see gloaming).

Sense of "darkness, obscurity" is first recorded 1629 in Milton's poetry; that of "melancholy, dejection, cloudiness or cheerless heaviness of mind" is from 1744; but gloomy with a corresponding sense is attested from 1580s.