Etymology
Cp.
glyfte; the etymology of this word is very uncertain and some commentators simply declare it 'unknown' (e.g. GDS). (1) By comparison of the ME variant spellings (in<ei, ay> and <e> as well as <yʒ> etc.),
OED deduces an ‘orig. ME.
glēʒen’ (>
glīʒen and hence
glī) 'of obscure origin'. Apparently taking <ʒ> in
Pe 245 <aglyʒte> as a fricative, however, Holthausen (1923: 135; cited by McGee 333) suggests that it (and presumably
Gaw <glyʒt>) is a mixture of
gly (presumably
OED’s glee, gley (v.)) and
lihte ‘to shine’. (2) The ON v. represented by OIcel
gljá ‘to glitter’ has been suggested as a possible source (thus Kullnick 15, Gollancz Pearl,
MED and cited as a comparison by TGD). The OIcel v. is related to Norw
glå,
gljå, Sw dial
glia, Far
glíggja and probably OFris
glīa with the same sense, which are normally derived < a PGmc
*glīw-. However, even assuming loss of /w/ had already occurred, a VAN
*glī-a- does not make for a very compelling etymon of the extant ME forms, which (as
OED notices; see (1) above) seem to require an early ME */ɡle:jan/ with mid-high vowel. The ME stem-final /j/ (<ʒ>) is moreover unaccounted for by this theory.
PGmc Ancestor
(2) *glīw-
Proposed ON Etymon (OIcel representative)
gljá ‘to glitter’
(ONP gljá (vb.))
Other Scandinavian Reflexes
Far glíggja, Icel gljá, Norw glå, gljå, Sw dial glia
OE Cognate
Phonological and morphological markers
Summary category
DD1c