glass

Reading level: medium

Estimated CEFR level: A2 — Elementary

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a brittle transparent solid with irregular atomic structure
  2. noun a container for holding liquids while drinking
  3. noun the quantity a glass will hold

Etymology

From Middle English glas, from Old English glæs, from Proto-West Germanic *glas, from Proto-Germanic *glasą, possibly related to Proto-Germanic *glōaną (“to shine”) (compare glow), and ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root *ǵʰleh₁- (“to shine, shimmer, glow”). Cognate with West Frisian glês, Low German and German Glas, Danish, Dutch, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish glas, Norwegian Bokmål glass, Icelandic gler.

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