"gliff" meaning in English

See gliff in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

IPA: /ɡlɪf/ Forms: gliffs [plural], glift [alternative]
Rhymes: -ɪf Etymology: Compare Middle English glyffen (“to give a glancing look; to become startled or frightened”). Etymology templates: {{cog|enm|glyffen|t=to give a glancing look; to become startled or frightened}} Middle English glyffen (“to give a glancing look; to become startled or frightened”) Head templates: {{en-noun}} gliff (plural gliffs)
  1. (Scotland, archaic) A quick glance. Tags: Scotland, archaic
    Sense id: en-gliff-en-noun-mgw5ebzm Categories (other): Scottish English, English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 2 entries, Pages with entries Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 20 16 22 20 23 Disambiguation of Pages with 2 entries: 19 17 22 19 23 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 20 16 21 20 23
  2. (Scotland, archaic) An unexpected view of something startling. Tags: Scotland, archaic
    Sense id: en-gliff-en-noun-00Wq0uaj Categories (other): Scottish English, English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 2 entries, Pages with entries Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 20 16 22 20 23 Disambiguation of Pages with 2 entries: 19 17 22 19 23 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 20 16 21 20 23
  3. (Scotland, archaic) A sudden fright. Tags: Scotland, archaic
    Sense id: en-gliff-en-noun-7JYUTJvu Categories (other): Scottish English, English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 2 entries, Pages with entries, Fear Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 20 16 22 20 23 Disambiguation of Pages with 2 entries: 19 17 22 19 23 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 20 16 21 20 23 Disambiguation of Fear: 18 14 29 18 21
  4. (Scotland, archaic) A short moment. Tags: Scotland, archaic
    Sense id: en-gliff-en-noun-NSLT5IMb Categories (other): Scottish English, English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 2 entries, Pages with entries Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 20 16 22 20 23 Disambiguation of Pages with 2 entries: 19 17 22 19 23 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 20 16 21 20 23
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Related terms: giffle [East-Anglia]
Categories (other): Time, Vision Disambiguation of Time: 0 0 0 0 0 Disambiguation of Vision: 0 0 0 0 0

Verb

IPA: /ɡlɪf/ Forms: gliffs [present, singular, third-person], gliffing [participle, present], gliffed [participle, past], gliffed [past], glift [alternative]
Rhymes: -ɪf Etymology: Compare Middle English glyffen (“to give a glancing look; to become startled or frightened”). Etymology templates: {{cog|enm|glyffen|t=to give a glancing look; to become startled or frightened}} Middle English glyffen (“to give a glancing look; to become startled or frightened”) Head templates: {{en-verb}} gliff (third-person singular simple present gliffs, present participle gliffing, simple past and past participle gliffed)
  1. (archaic, Scotland, transitive) To glimpse. Tags: Scotland, archaic, transitive
    Sense id: en-gliff-en-verb-aqyIHX3y Categories (other): Scottish English, English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 2 entries, Pages with entries Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 20 16 22 20 23 Disambiguation of Pages with 2 entries: 19 17 22 19 23 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 20 16 21 20 23
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Categories (other): Time, Vision Disambiguation of Time: 0 0 0 0 0 Disambiguation of Vision: 0 0 0 0 0

Inflected forms

Alternative forms

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    },
    {
      "_dis": "0 0 0 0 0",
      "kind": "other",
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      "name": "Vision",
      "orig": "en:Vision",
      "parents": [],
      "source": "w+disamb"
    }
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  "etymology_templates": [
    {
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        "1": "enm",
        "2": "glyffen",
        "t": "to give a glancing look; to become startled or frightened"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English glyffen (“to give a glancing look; to become startled or frightened”)",
      "name": "cog"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Compare Middle English glyffen (“to give a glancing look; to become startled or frightened”).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "gliffs",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "glift",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
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  "head_templates": [
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      "args": {},
      "expansion": "gliff (plural gliffs)",
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  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0",
      "tags": [
        "East-Anglia"
      ],
      "word": "giffle"
    }
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  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Scottish English",
          "parents": [],
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        },
        {
          "_dis": "20 16 22 20 23",
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      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A quick glance."
      ],
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      "links": [
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      "raw_glosses": [
        "(Scotland, archaic) A quick glance."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Scotland",
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          "kind": "other",
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          "source": "w+disamb"
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          "kind": "other",
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      ],
      "glosses": [
        "An unexpected view of something startling."
      ],
      "id": "en-gliff-en-noun-00Wq0uaj",
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      "raw_glosses": [
        "(Scotland, archaic) An unexpected view of something startling."
      ],
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          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "19 17 22 19 23",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 2 entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "20 16 21 20 23",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "18 14 29 18 21",
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Fear",
          "orig": "en:Fear",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
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      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A sudden fright."
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      "id": "en-gliff-en-noun-7JYUTJvu",
      "links": [
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      "raw_glosses": [
        "(Scotland, archaic) A sudden fright."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Scotland",
        "archaic"
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    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Scottish English",
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        {
          "_dis": "20 16 22 20 23",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "19 17 22 19 23",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 2 entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "20 16 21 20 23",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
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          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              36,
              41
            ],
            [
              109,
              114
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1816, Jedadiah Cleishbotham [pseudonym; Walter Scott], chapter IX, in Tales of My Landlord, […], volume I (The Black Dwarf), Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for William Blackwood, […]; London: John Murray, […], →OCLC, page 207:",
          "text": "[W]ill ye come out and speak just a gliff to ane that has mony thanks to gi'e ye?— […] Wad ye but come out a gliff, man, or but say ye're listening?— […]",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A short moment."
      ],
      "id": "en-gliff-en-noun-NSLT5IMb",
      "links": [
        [
          "short",
          "short"
        ],
        [
          "moment",
          "moment"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(Scotland, archaic) A short moment."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Scotland",
        "archaic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ɡlɪf/"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɪf"
    },
    {
      "homophone": "glyph"
    }
  ],
  "word": "gliff"
}

{
  "categories": [
    {
      "_dis": "0 0 0 0 0",
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      "name": "Time",
      "orig": "en:Time",
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      "source": "w+disamb"
    },
    {
      "_dis": "0 0 0 0 0",
      "kind": "other",
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    }
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  "etymology_templates": [
    {
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        "t": "to give a glancing look; to become startled or frightened"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English glyffen (“to give a glancing look; to become startled or frightened”)",
      "name": "cog"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Compare Middle English glyffen (“to give a glancing look; to become startled or frightened”).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "gliffs",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
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    },
    {
      "form": "gliffing",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "gliffed",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "gliffed",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "glift",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "gliff (third-person singular simple present gliffs, present participle gliffing, simple past and past participle gliffed)",
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    }
  ],
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  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
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          "parents": [],
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        },
        {
          "_dis": "20 16 22 20 23",
          "kind": "other",
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          "_dis": "20 16 21 20 23",
          "kind": "other",
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          "parents": [],
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      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To glimpse."
      ],
      "id": "en-gliff-en-verb-aqyIHX3y",
      "links": [
        [
          "glimpse",
          "glimpse"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(archaic, Scotland, transitive) To glimpse."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Scotland",
        "archaic",
        "transitive"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ɡlɪf/"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɪf"
    },
    {
      "homophone": "glyph"
    }
  ],
  "word": "gliff"
}
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    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Compare Middle English glyffen (“to give a glancing look; to become startled or frightened”).",
  "forms": [
    {
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    {
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  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with archaic senses",
        "Scottish English"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A quick glance."
      ],
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        [
          "quick",
          "quick"
        ],
        [
          "glance",
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        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(Scotland, archaic) A quick glance."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Scotland",
        "archaic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with archaic senses",
        "Scottish English"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "An unexpected view of something startling."
      ],
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        ],
        [
          "view",
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        [
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        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(Scotland, archaic) An unexpected view of something startling."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Scotland",
        "archaic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with archaic senses",
        "Scottish English"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A sudden fright."
      ],
      "links": [
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          "fright",
          "fright"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(Scotland, archaic) A sudden fright."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Scotland",
        "archaic"
      ]
    },
    {
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        "English terms with archaic senses",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Scottish English"
      ],
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              36,
              41
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            [
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              114
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1816, Jedadiah Cleishbotham [pseudonym; Walter Scott], chapter IX, in Tales of My Landlord, […], volume I (The Black Dwarf), Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for William Blackwood, […]; London: John Murray, […], →OCLC, page 207:",
          "text": "[W]ill ye come out and speak just a gliff to ane that has mony thanks to gi'e ye?— […] Wad ye but come out a gliff, man, or but say ye're listening?— […]",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A short moment."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "short",
          "short"
        ],
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          "moment",
          "moment"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(Scotland, archaic) A short moment."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Scotland",
        "archaic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ɡlɪf/"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɪf"
    },
    {
      "homophone": "glyph"
    }
  ],
  "word": "gliff"
}

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    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English terms with homophones",
    "English verbs",
    "Pages with 2 entries",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Rhymes:English/ɪf",
    "Rhymes:English/ɪf/1 syllable",
    "en:Fear",
    "en:Time",
    "en:Vision"
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "glyffen",
        "t": "to give a glancing look; to become startled or frightened"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English glyffen (“to give a glancing look; to become startled or frightened”)",
      "name": "cog"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Compare Middle English glyffen (“to give a glancing look; to become startled or frightened”).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "gliffs",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "gliffing",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "gliffed",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "gliffed",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "glift",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "gliff (third-person singular simple present gliffs, present participle gliffing, simple past and past participle gliffed)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with archaic senses",
        "English transitive verbs",
        "Scottish English"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To glimpse."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "glimpse",
          "glimpse"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(archaic, Scotland, transitive) To glimpse."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Scotland",
        "archaic",
        "transitive"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ɡlɪf/"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɪf"
    },
    {
      "homophone": "glyph"
    }
  ],
  "word": "gliff"
}

Download raw JSONL data for gliff meaning in English (4.2kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2026-09-16 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-09-02 using wiktextract (d6fca27 and 65e1673). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.