Etymology

This v. does not appear in OE or ON, but a possible ON etymon is sometimes postulated (in the few cases any comment is offered at all). (1) MED and Anderson cp. Norw dial glome (glaama) 'to stare with large eyes', which is related perhaps to OIcel glámr, a moon heiti and personal name (LP, Gordon 230). This allows for a plausible sense development in English to 'look sullen'. (2) Perhaps more plausibly, the source might be a wk. v. derived on PGmc *glūm-. Orel suggests *glum(ō)jan-, cp. Norw gluma 'to become dark'  (and OED reconstructs an OE *glūmian). Cp. further (< *glum(ō)jan) Norw glȳma 'to stare sullenly', EFris, MLG glūmen.

PGmc Ancestor

(2) *glūm-

Proposed ON Etymon (OIcel representative)

(1) ?cp. glámr (n.) 'moon'
(ONP (1) cp. glámr (sb.))

Other Scandinavian Reflexes

(1) ?Norw dial glome, glaama; (2) Norw gluma

OE Cognate

Phonological and morphological markers

Summary category

DD1c

Attestation

First attested in Pat; citations in MED and OED come predominantly, but not exclusively, from N texts.

Occurrences in the Gersum Corpus

Pat 94; WA 4142

Bibliography

MED gloumen (v.) , OED gloom (v.1) , HTOED ; HTOED (1) Falk-Torp Glaame, Bj-L glo (2); (2) Orel *ʒlumōjanan, Kroonen *glūnēn-, Torp NnEO glȳma