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Today it means

glint

a small, brief flash of light or brightness

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Where does the word "glint" come from? It comes from Scandinavian glinta, and was adopted directly into English (1300s).

Read the full story

Where does the word "glint" come from? It comes from Scandinavian glinta, and was adopted directly into English (1300s).

Glint’s story begins in Scandinavian: glinta meant “to shine briefly.” Related to Swedish dialect 'glinta', to slip or shine. It reached English by 1300s as glint. Settled as the English word for a brief flash of light. Today, glint means a small, brief flash of light or brightness.

  1. Stage 1 · Scandinavian · medieval glinta "to shine briefly", related to Swedish dialect 'glinta', to slip or shine.
  2. Stage 2 · English · 1300s glint "a brief flash of light", settled as the English word for a brief flash of light.

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