English
glaze
Glaze comes from Middle English glas ‘glass’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *glasą.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*glasą‘amber, glass’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*glasreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150glæs‘glass’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500glas‘glass’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500glasen
- Englishearliest quotation 1865glaze
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*glasą‘amber, glass’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*glasreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150glæs‘glass’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500glas‘glass’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500glasen
- Englishearliest quotation 1865glaze
Earliest quotation: 1865, Walt Whitman, When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d: “[…] In the distance the flowing glaze, the breast…”
The story
In the sense of "overcompliment", originated in November 2021 and popularized throughout 2022, and may suggest either the spattering of semen on the complimented person, following "the visual of a donut being glazed", or sugarcoating without sexual connotation. The noun is from the verb.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *gʰel- ‘to call’
yell, gale, yelp, gloat, geld, 15 more
through Proto-Germanic *glasą ‘amber, glass’
through Old English glæs ‘glass’
through Middle English glas ‘glass’
through Middle English glasen
Today it means
noun The vitreous coating of pottery or porcelain; anything used as a coating or color in glazing.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *glasą / glaze