glimmer

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B2 — Upper-Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a flash of light (especially reflected light)
  2. noun a slight suggestion or vague understanding
  3. verb shine brightly, like a star or a light

Etymology

From Middle English glimeren, glemeren (“to glimmer”), equivalent to glim (“to shine”) + -er (frequentative suffix). Cognate with German Low German glimmern (“to glimmer”), German glimmern (“to glimmer”), Danish glimre (“to glimmer”), Swedish glimra (“to glimmer”). Doublet of glimpse. Sense 5 was coined in the 2020s in analogy to trigger.

In classic literature

Synonyms

gleam, gleaming

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