glance

Etymology 1

The verb is derived from Late Middle English glenchen (“of a blow: to strike obliquely, glance; of a person: to turn quickly aside, dodge”) [and other forms], a blend of: * Old French glacier, glachier, glaichier (“to slide; to slip”) (whence also Middle English glacen (“of a blow: to strike obliquely, glance; to glide”)), from glace (“frozen water, ice”) (from Vulgar Latin *glacia, from Latin glaciēs (“ice”), from Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“to be cold; to freeze”)) + -ier (suffix forming infinitives of first-conjugation verbs); and * Old French guenchir, ganchir (“to avoid; to change direction; to elude, evade”) [and other forms], from Proto-West Germanic *wankijan (“to move aside; to stagger, sway; to wave”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weng- (“to bend”). The noun is derived from the verb.

verb

1. (transitive)
   1. To turn (one's eyes or look) at something, often briefly.
   2. To look briefly at (something).
   3. To cause (light) to gleam or sparkle.
   4. (also figurative) To cause (something) to move obliquely.
      1. (ball games) To hit (a ball) lightly, causing it to move in another direction.
         Doncaster paid the price two minutes later when [Kevin] Doyle sent [Stephen] Hunt away down the left and his pinpoint cross was glanced in by Fletcher for his sixth goal of the season. 18 January 2011, “Wolverhampton 5 – 0 Doncaster”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 2023-04-09
      2. (cricket) To hit (a ball) with a bat held in a slanted manner; also, to play such a stroke against (the bowler).
   5. (figurative) To communicate (something) using the eyes.
   6. (obsolete)
      1. To touch (something) lightly or obliquely; to graze.
      2. To make an incidental or passing reflection, often unfavourably, on (a topic); also, to make (an incidental or passing reflection, often unfavourable).
2. (intransitive)
   1. (also figurative) To strike and fly off in an oblique direction; to dart aside.
      1. (cricket) To hit a ball with a bat held in a slanted manner.
      2. (ichthyology) Of certain juvenile fish, chiefly of the Cichlidae family: to rapidly touch the side of its parent's body, usually to feed on mucus.
         [Page 493] [G]eneral impressions of glancing frequency in Acanthochromis juveniles have suggested that the glancing off parents occurs most often in young juveniles and appears to diminish in frequency as juveniles age […] [Page 494] The unusually high variance in lagoon stage-3 juveniles was caused by one relatively small brood (14) that glanced 36 times in one 30-min observation period. 1 May 1988, Kathryn Kavanagh, “Notes on the Frequency and Function of Glancing in Juvenile Acanthochromis (Pomacentridae)”, in Michael E. Douglas, editor, Copeia, number 2, Lawrence, Kan.: American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, →ISSN, →JSTOR, →OCLC, pages 493 and 494
   2. Of light, etc.: to gleam, to sparkle.
      She watched the spring sunlight glancing on the water of the pond.
      [T]hou [God] didſt call, thou didſt cry, thou didſt break my Deafneſs, thou glancedſt, thou didſt ſhine, thou chaſeſt avvay my Darkneſs. 1678, Robert Barclay, An Apology for the True Christian Divinity, as the Same is Held Forth, and Preached, by the People, Called in Scorn, Quakers:[…], 4th edition, London: […] T. Sowle,[…], published 1701, →OCLC, page 195
   3. Of a thing: to move in a way that catches light, and flash or glitter.
   4. (figurative)
      1. Often followed by at: of the eyes or a person: to look briefly.
         She glanced at her reflection as she passed the mirror.
         Hither come—thou once of men, / Blest with pure science from above; / Thy spirit now returns again / To its native realms of love. / […] / And as thou glancest hence to there, / Remember that it gave thee birth, / And still illumine it from here. 1796 July, “Selected Poetry. To the Memory of Dr. [David] Rittenhouse.”, in The New-York Magazine, or Literary Repository, volume I (New Series), New York, N.Y.: […] T[homas] and J[ames] Swords,[…], →OCLC, page 386
      2. Often followed by at: of a topic: to make an incidental or passing reflection on, often unfavourably; to allude to; to hint at.
   5. (obsolete)
      1. Followed by by: to pass near without coming into contact.
      2. To move quickly; to dart, to shoot.

noun

1. (also figurative) A brief or cursory look.
   But Richmond, his grandfather's darling, after one thoughtful glance cast under his lashes at that uncompromising countenance, appeared to lose himself in his own reflections. 1959, Georgette Heyer, chapter 1, in The Unknown Ajax, 1st Australian edition, London, Melbourne, Vic.: William Heinemann, →OCLC, page 3
2. (also figurative) A quick movement that catches light, and causes a flash or glitter; also, the flash or glitter.
3. (cricket) A stroke in which the ball is hit with a bat held in a slanted manner.
4. (ichthyology) Of certain juvenile fish, chiefly of the Cichlidae family: an act of rapidly touching the side of its parent's body, usually to feed on mucus.
5. (obsolete)
   1. An act of striking and flying off in an oblique direction; a deflection.
   2. (figurative) An incidental or passing allusion or thought, often unfavourable, expressed on a topic.

Etymology 2

From Late Middle English glaunce (compare glaunce-ore (“type of ore; lead ore used for glazing pottery (?)”)), borrowed from Middle High German glanz (“(adjective) gleaming, glittering, sparkling; (noun) a gleam, glitter, sparkle”), from Old High German glanz (“bright”, adjective), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʰlend-.

noun

1. Short for glance coal (“any hard, lustrous coal such as anthracite”).
2. (obsolete except in the names of certain minerals) Any of various sulphides, mostly dark-coloured, which have a brilliant metallic lustre.
   copper glance    silver glance