gloaming

/ˈɡləʊ.mɪŋ/

//ˈɡləʊ.mɪŋ// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"gloaming" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“gloaming” is uncommon English (frequency #98,167 among 2,313 “G” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#98,167
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Twilight, as at early morning (dawn) or (especially) early evening; dusk.

Corpus desk

Index EN-gloaming · gloaming · English

gloaming · rank #98,167 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #98,167
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH gluconate

Nearest frequency peer: gluconate (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “gloaming”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “gloaming” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for gloaming
PropertyValue
Headwordgloaming
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɡləʊ.mɪŋ/
Letters8
Frequency rank#98,167
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “gloaming” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).gloamingfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “gluconate” (#98,168), “glibly” (#98,165), “goalkicker” (#98,169). Among 2,313 “G” headwords, “gloaming” is #98,167. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

gloaming is uncommon English at frequency #98,167 among 2,313 “G” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈɡləʊ.mɪŋ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

gloaming doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From a dialectal variant of glooming, from Middle English *gloming, from Old English glōmung, from Old English glōm (“twilight”). By surface analysis, gloom + -ing. Related to glow. The OED notes: "The vowel of the modern gloaming is anomalous, as Old Engli… The correct English form is gloaming, spelled G-L-O-A-M-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    Twilight, as at early morning (dawn) or (especially) early evening; dusk.
  2. 2
    Sullenness; melancholy.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how gloaming appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Where in purple hue, the hieland hills we view / And the moon coming out in the gloaming.
  2. You may imagine the young people brushed up after the labours of the day, and making this novelty, as they would make any novelty, the excuse for walking together and enjoying a trivial flirtation. You may figure to yourself the hum of voices along the road in the gloaming[…]

Etymology

From a dialectal variant of glooming, from Middle English *gloming, from Old English glōmung, from Old English glōm (“twilight”). By surface analysis, gloom + -ing. Related to glow. The OED notes: "The vowel of the modern gloaming is anomalous, as Old English glōmung should normally become glooming. The explanation is probably that the ō was shortened in the compound ǣfen-glommung (as the spelling seems to show was actually the case), and that from this compound there was evolved a new subject glŏmung, which by normal phonetic development became Middle English glǭming, modern English gloaming."

This word in other languages

crepúsculo(Español)crépuscule(Français)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "gloaming"?
"gloaming" is spelled G-L-O-A-M-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɡləʊ.mɪŋ/.
What does "gloaming" mean?
As a noun, "gloaming" means: Twilight, as at early morning (dawn) or (especially) early evening; dusk.
How do you pronounce "gloaming"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "gloaming" is /ˈɡləʊ.mɪŋ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "gloaming"?
From a dialectal variant of glooming, from Middle English *gloming, from Old English glōmung, from Old English glōm (“twilight”). By surface analysis, gloom + -ing. Related to glow. The OED notes: "The vowel of the modern gloaming is anomalous, as... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "gloaming", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

heavyset#98,210flautist#98,123europium#98,090infotech#98,260

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list