# glimpse

Pronunciation: say "GLIMPS" /ɡlɪm(p)s/

## Noun

1. A brief, incomplete look at someone or something, typically caught in passing.
   - Simple: A quick, partial look at someone or something.
   - _She caught a glimpse of the actor as his car sped past._
   - _Through the gap in the curtains he caught only a glimpse of the room beyond._
4. A faint or imprecise idea about something; a vague inkling of how matters stand.
   - Simple: A small, unclear idea or feeling about something.
   - _The report gives readers a glimpse of how the decision was reached._
   - _After the meeting I finally had a glimpse of where the company was heading._

## Verb

2. To see a person or physical thing only briefly and not completely.
   - Simple: To see someone or something for a very short time, not fully.
   - _Through the trees she glimpsed the roof of the old farmhouse._
   - _Passengers can glimpse the city skyline as the plane begins its descent._
3. To perceive something abstract or intangible briefly and incompletely, as a fleeting realization.
   - Simple: To start to understand something hidden or unclear, but only a little and briefly.
   - _Reading his letters, she glimpsed the depth of his loneliness._
   - _Only near the end of the talk did the audience glimpse the speaker's real intent._
5. To look briefly and incompletely at or upon something; to glance in passing.
   - Simple: To look quickly at something, only for a short time.
   - _He glimpsed at the headlines before folding the newspaper away._
   - _Travelers often glimpse upon the ruins from the road without stopping._
6. To glimmer or shimmer, giving out light that is weak and wavering.
   - Simple: To shine with a weak, shaky light.
   - _Harbor lights were glimpsing through the fog as the boat came in._
   - _Far-off campfires glimpse along the ridge at dusk._

## Verb

7. To provide a brief and incomplete look, often onto a view beyond. *(rare)*
   - Simple: To offer a quick, partial view of something.
   - _A row of slits in the tower wall glimpse out across the plain._
   - _The basement window glimpsed out onto a narrow strip of sky._
10. To come into view or begin to do so, especially dimly or indistinctly; to dawn. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: To begin to appear, faintly or unclearly.
   - _As the fog lifted, the far shore began to glimpse into view._
   - _Morning glimpsed over the silent fields._

## Noun

8. A brief, unspecified stretch of time; a fleeting moment that passes almost at once. *(rare)*
   - Simple: A very short period of time, a passing moment.
9. A brief, sudden flash of light; a momentary glimmer in the darkness. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: A short, sudden flash of light.
   - _A glimpse from the lighthouse cut through the fog._
   - _Now and then a glimpse of flame showed where the camp lay._
11. A faint and often temporary appearance of something; a tinge or passing trace. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A faint, often brief sign or trace of something.
   - _A glimpse of green had crept into the winter hedgerows._
   - _There was a glimpse of warmth in his otherwise cold reply._

## Origin

The verb comes from the earlier (now obsolete) 'glimse', from Middle English 'glimsen' ("to dazzle; to glisten; to glance with the eyes"), possibly from Old English *glimsian and ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European root *ǵʰley- ("to shine"); it is a doublet of 'glimmer'. The noun is derived from the verb.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/glimpse (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).