glim
/ɡlɪm/verb
glim is spelled G-L-I-M: 4 letters. It appears about once in every 27 million words in written English, the 157,761st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, glim means “To illuminate” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in glim?
| Letters | 4: G-L-I-M |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 27 million words; the 157,761st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is glim?
Glim appears about once in every 27 million words in written English, the 157,761st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce glim?
- UK /ɡlɪm/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-glim.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of glim
- glims present, singular, he/she/it
- glimming participle, present
- glimmed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does glim mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
obsoleteTo brand on the hand.
- 2
datedslangTo illuminate.
- 3
datedslangTo see; to observe.
noun
- 1
obsoleteBrightness; splendour.
- 2
archaicslangA light; a candle; a lantern; a fire.
- 3
archaicslangAn eye.
- 4
archaicslangA pair of glasses or spectacles.
- 5
archaicslangA look; a glimpse.
- 6
archaicslangGonorrhea.
- 7
archaicslangFake documents claiming the loss of property by fire (for use in begging).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does glim come from?
From Middle English glim, glimme (“radiance; shining brightness”), of uncertain further origin. Perhaps from Old English gleomu (“splendor”) and/or Old Norse *glim, *glima, both apparently from Proto-Germanic *glimō, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰley- (“to gleam, shimmer, glow”). Compare Norwegian Nynorsk glim, dialectal Old Swedish glim, glimma.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).