English
glister
Glister comes from Middle English glisteren ‘to glisten, gleam’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰley- ‘to shine’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰley-‘to shine’root as named · steps between not traced
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500glisteren‘to glisten, gleam’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1598glister
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰley-‘to shine’root as named · steps between not traced
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500glisteren‘to glisten, gleam’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1598glister
Earliest quotation: c. 1596–1598, William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice: “All that gliſters is not gold.”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰley- ‘to shine’
Today it means
verb To gleam, glisten, or coruscate.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰley- / glister