*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of gloss

Probably from a North Germanic language, compare Icelandic glossi (“spark, flame”), glossa (“to flame”); or perhaps from dialectal Dutch gloos (“a glow, flare”), related to West Frisian gloeze (“a glow”), Middle Low Germ

3 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 3 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
verb

To give a gloss or sheen to. · To make (something) attractive by deception · To become shiny. · Used in a phrasal verb: gloss over (“to cover up a mistake or crime, to treat something with less care than it deserves”).

noun

A surface shine or luster. · A superficially or deceptively attractive appearance.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Probably from a North Germanic language, compare Icelandic glossi (“spark, flame”), glossa (“to flame”); or perhaps from dialectal Dutch gloos (“a glow, flare”), related to West Frisian gloeze (“a glow”), Middle Low German glȫsen (“to smoulder, glow”), German glosen (“to smoulder”); ultimately from Proto-Germanic *glus- (“to glow, shine”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰel- (“to flourish; be green or yellow”). More at glow.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Cognate mentionglossiis · spark, flame
  • Borrowed-form mentiongloosnl · a glow, flare
  • Cognate mentiongloezefy · a glow
  • Cognate mentionglȫsengml · to smoulder, glow
  • Cognate mentionglosende · to smoulder
  • Derivation mention*glus-gem-pro · to glow, shine
  • Derivation mention*ǵʰel-ine-pro · to flourish; be green or yellow
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "shine"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
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        "2": "gmq",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "North Germanic"
    },
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        "1": "is",
        "2": "glossi",
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      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic glossi (“spark, flame”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "nl",
        "3": "gloos",
        "t": "a glow, flare"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch gloos (“a glow, flare”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fy",
        "2": "gloeze",
        "t": "a glow"
      },
      "expansion": "West Frisian gloeze (“a glow”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "gml",
        "2": "glȫsen",
        "t": "to smoulder, glow"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle Low German glȫsen (“to smoulder, glow”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "glosen",
        "t": "to smoulder"
      },
      "expansion": "German glosen (“to smoulder”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*glus-",
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      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *glus- (“to glow, shine”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*ǵʰel-",
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      },
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    }
  ],
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    [
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      "glossi#Icelandic"
    ],
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      "glossa",
      "glossa#Icelandic"
    ],
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      "gloos",
      "gloos#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "gloeze",
      "gloeze#West_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "glȫsen",
      "glosen#Middle_Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "glosen",
      "glosen#German"
    ],
    [
      "*glus-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/glus-"
    ],
    [
      "*ǵʰel-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/ǵʰel-"
    ],
    [
      "glow",
      "glow#English"
    ]
  ],
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        "To give a gloss or sheen to.",
        "To make (something) attractive by deception",
        "To become shiny.",
        "Used in a phrasal verb: gloss over (“to cover up a mistake or crime, to treat something with less care than it deserves”)."
      ],
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}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

A brief explanatory note or translation of a foreign, archaic, technical, difficult, complex, or uncommon expression, inserted after the original, in the margin of a document, or between lines of a text. · Synonym of glossary, a collection of such notes. · An expression requiring such explanatory treatment. · An extensive commentary on some text.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English glosse, alteration of glose, from Old French glose, from Late Latin glōssa (“obsolete or foreign word requiring explanation”), from Ancient Greek γλῶσσα (glôssa, “language”). Doublet of glossa and gloze.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

This page abbreviates 2 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "comment"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "glosse"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English glosse"
    },
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      "args": {
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        "2": "fro",
        "3": "glose"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French glose"
    },
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        "3": "glōssa",
        "4": "",
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    },
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        "2": "grc",
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        "4": "",
        "5": "language"
      },
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    },
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      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "glossa",
        "3": "gloze"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of glossa and gloze"
    }
  ],
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      "glosse",
      "glosse#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "glose",
      "glose#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "glose",
      "glose#Old_French"
    ],
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      "glōssa",
      "glossa#Latin"
    ],
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      "γλῶσσα",
      "γλῶσσα#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
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      "glossa#English"
    ],
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      "gloze#English"
    ]
  ],
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        "An expression requiring such explanatory treatment.",
        "An extensive commentary on some text."
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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
verb

To add a gloss to (a text).

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

An alteration of Middle English glosen after Etymology 2, from Old French gloser; compare Medieval Latin glossāre.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "name": "etymid",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
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      },
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    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "gloser"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French gloser"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
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        "2": "glossāre"
      },
      "expansion": "Medieval Latin glossāre"
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  ],
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      "glossare#Latin"
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for gloss →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
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Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-Z2xvc3M