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definitions

glim

[glim]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR glim ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a light or lamp.
Scot. a little bit; small portion; scrap.

RELATED WORDS

twinkle, glint, flicker, glimmer, sheen, glow, stare, glare, gape, snoop, gawk, peep, squint, peer, beam, look, flash, glitz, gloss, brilliance

Origin of glim

First recorded in 1690–1700; see origin at glimpse, glimmer
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for glim

Historical Examples of glim

  • What was a "glim," and what did the fellow suggest by silver plate?

    Visionaries

    James Huneker

  • Them hot-headed Kentuckians, y' know, they'd dowse a feller's glim for less 'n that.

    The Magnetic North

    Elizabeth Robins (C. E. Raimond)

  • The carriage light was feeble, and the faces I saw above me drooped under the glim, wilted and dingy.

    Waiting for Daylight

    Henry Major Tomlinson

  • Rokeby looked at her with an astonished respect and a glim of his saving humour.

    Married Life

    May Edginton

  • "Sure enough, they left their glim here," said the fellow from the window.

    Treasure Island

    Robert Louis Stevenson

British Dictionary definitions for glim

glim

noun slang

a light or lamp
an eye

Word Origin for glim

C17: probably short for glimmer; compare glimpse
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for glim
n.

18c. slang, "a light, candle, lantern;" 19c. slang "an eye," probably a back-formation from glimmer.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper