glib

Etymology 1

A shortening of either English glibbery (“slippery”) or its source, Low German glibberig, glibberich (“slippery”) / Dutch glibberig (“slippery”).

adj

1. Having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding; superficial; shallow.
2. (dated) Smooth or slippery.
   a sheet of glib ice
3. Artfully persuasive but insincere in nature; smooth-talking, honey-tongued, silver-tongued.
   a glib tongue; a glib speech
4. (US) Snarky or unserious in a disrespectful way.
   When Mr. Franco called Mr. McCarthy and asked why he had written a book about such a repellent character, he was glib. "He said, verbatim, 'I don't know, James, probably some dumb-ass reason,'" Mr. Franco recalled. 13-10-11, Alexandra Alter, “Literary Giant Obsessed by Movies”, in Wall Street Journal
   Let me apologize for my off-the-cuff remarks. I was making a point about the jobs market, not the value of art history. … So please pass on my apology for the glib remark to the entire department, and understand that I was trying to encourage young people who may not be predisposed to a four year college experience to be open to technical training that can lead them to an honorable career. 2014 February 12, Barack Obama, letter to Ann Collins Johns, quoted in Juliet Eilperin (2014-02-18), “Obama apologizes to art historian for public quip”, in Washington Post

verb

1. (transitive) To make smooth or slippery.
   1628, Joseph Hal, “Christian Liberty Laid Forth,” in The Works of the Right Reverend Father in God, Joseph Hall, D.D., Volume V, London: Williams & Smith, 1808, p. 366, https://books.google.ca/books?id=8iUBAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false There is a drunken liberty of the Tongue; which, being once glibbed with intoxicating liquor, runs wild through heaven and earth; and spares neither him that is God above, nor those which are called gods on earth.
   They are good internally in Fits of the Stone in the Kidneys, by glibbing the Ureters, and making even a large Stone pass with ease […] 1730, Edward Strother, Dr. Radcliffe’s Practical Dispensatory, London: C. Rivington, page 342
   We were having one of our bitterest cold snaps. Wind due north, shrieking over stiff land; two feet of snow, all substances glibbed with ice and granite-hard. 1944, Emily Carr, “Gran’s Battle”, in The House of All Sorts

Etymology 2

From Irish glib.

noun

1. (historical) A mass of matted hair worn down over the eyes, formerly used in Ireland.
   Their wild costume of the glib and mantle. 1829, Robert Southey, Sir Thomas More, or, Colloquies on the Progress and Prospects of Society

Etymology 3

Compare Old English and dialectal English lib (“to castrate, geld”), dialectal Danish live, Low German and Old Dutch lubben.

verb

1. (obsolete) To castrate; to geld; to emasculate.