English
glib
Glib comes from Dutch glibberig ‘slippery’.
- Dutchc. 1500–presentglibberig‘slippery’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1603–1606glib
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Dutchc. 1500–presentglibberig‘slippery’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1603–1606glib
Earliest quotation: c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of King Lear: “I want that glib and oily art, / To…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰelh₃- ‘to shine’
gold, fell, yellow, chlorine, gall, cholera, felon, yolk, gullible, gild, choline, zloty, chlorella, 28 more
Another origin of glib
- Irishc. 1200–presentglib‘forelock’
- Englishtodaysame form
Today it means
adj Having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding; superficial; shallow.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Dutch glibberig / glib