Etymology

This word has no clear etymology, but there are a number of comparable verbs: (1) Analogues include (probably originally imitative) verbs in English and other Gmc languages with root-initial /gl/ and -final labial referring to slipping or sloping, such as Du glipp(er)en ‘to slip, slide’ and the set of glib- forms including PDE glib adj., glibbery adj. ‘slippery; fig. shifty, untrustworthy’, Du glibberen ‘to slip, slide’. Du glip- is usually referred to a PGmc str. I v. *glīpan-, while ME glyfte could conceivably originate in a PGmc *gliƀ- (assuming an OE wk. vb. of class 1, with pret. 1/3 sg. *glifede?), such as might also lie behind the Du glib- words and PDE glib etc. Alternatively, the glib- words could be explained as more recent ideophonic variants of the glip- family (or other semantically similar verb(s)). (2) More problematically, Kullnick (15) is alone in citing instead a  Sw gliff ‘erschrecken’ (i.e. ‘to be startled’) and its  meaning is not very close to the ME senses attested for glyfte. 

PGmc Ancestor

(1) *gliƀ-

Proposed ON Etymon (OIcel representative)

(ONP )

Other Scandinavian Reflexes

 (2) ?Sw gliff

OE Cognate

Phonological and morphological markers

Summary category

DD1c

Attestation

MED has only a handful of attestations; the majority are N/EM, but there are some important exceptions (including Ancrene Wisse MS A). OED reports the v. as ‘Now only Sc. or north.’, and EDD records gliff (sb. and v.) as belonging to ‘Sc. and n. counties to Chs. Stf. and Lin.; also Nhp.’.

Occurrences in the Gersum Corpus

Gaw 2265; Cl 849; WA *4599

At WA 4599 the MS reads <gerlyffe>, but this is always emended.

Bibliography

MED gliffen (v.) , OED gliff (v.) , HTOED , EDD gliff (sb. and v.), Dance glyfte; (1) de Vries gleipa, Mag. gleipa, Torp NnEO glīp, Falk-Torp glib; glippe (II), Heid. glaipa-, Orel *ʒlaipjanan; *ʒlīpanan, Lloyd and Lühr gleif; gleifen, de Vries and de Tollenaere glibberen; glippen, OED glibbery (adj.)