Glare
/ɡlɛər/noun
A strong, harsh, or dazzling light; also, an angry or fierce look.
Did you know?English glare comes through Old French from Latin glārēre, meaning “to shine brightly or stare,” so the word already had a double edge: light and a fixed, piercing look.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*gʰel-
“to shine, to be bright or yellow-green”
Latin
Latin
glārēre
“to shine, gleam, or stare fixedly”
Old French
Old French
glare
“a bright shine or glare”
Middle English
English
glaren
“to shine fiercely; to stare angrily”
Modern English
English
glare
“a harsh, dazzling light or an angry stare”