Glass
/ɡlæs/noun
A hard, brittle, usually transparent material made by fusing sand with other substances at high heat.
Did you know?The English word *glass* comes from Proto-Germanic *gla-z*, a term some scholars connect to the idea of shining or amber-like material, and it spread through Germanic languages long before modern window glass became common.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
ghel-
“to shine; to be yellow or green”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
glasam
“glass; amber; shiny substance”
Old English
OE
glæs
“glass; a transparent or translucent substance”
Old High German
OHG
glas
“glass”
Middle English
ME
glas
“glass; the material used for vessels and windows”
Modern English
English
glass
“hard, usually transparent material; a drinking vessel”