Added 9 October 2026

glance

/ɡlɑːns/ verb

Latin root: glaciēs Wiktionary

verb Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about glance at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

To turn (one's eyes or look) at something, often briefly. To look briefly at (something). To cause (light) to gleam or sparkle. To cause (something) to move obliquely. To hit (a ball) lightly, causing it to move in another direction. To hit (a ball) with a bat held in a slanted manner; also, to play such a stroke against (the bowler). To communicate (something) using the eyes. To touch (something) lightly or obliquely; to graze. To make an incidental or passing reflection, often unfavourably, on (a topic); also, to make (an incidental or passing reflection, often unfavourable).
To turn (one's eyes or look) at something, often briefly.
To look briefly at (something).

The verb is derived from Late Middle English glenchen (“of a blow: to strike obliquely, glance; of a person: to turn quickly aside, dodge”) [and other forms], a blend of: * Old French glacier, glachier, glaichier (“to slide; to slip”) (whence also Middle English glacen (“of a blow: to strike obliquely, glance; to glide”)), from glace (“frozen water, ice”) (from Vulgar Latin *glacia, from Latin glaciēs (“ice”), of uncertain origin, + -ier (suffix forming infinitives of first-conjugation verbs); and * Old French guenchir, ganchir (“to avoid; to change direction; to elude, evade”) [and other forms], from Proto-West Germanic *wankijan (“to move aside; to stagger, sway; to wave”), ultimately from.