Gloss
/ɡlɒs/noun
A smooth, shiny surface or a brief explanatory note added to text.
Did you know?In medieval scholarship, a gloss was literally a marginal note explaining a text, and the same Greek root also gave us the idea of a language’s own “glossary.”
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*glei-
“to stick together; to be viscous or slippery”
Ancient Greek
GRK
γλῶσσα (glôssa)
“tongue; language; a foreign or obscure word”
Late Latin
LAT
glōssa
“a foreign or difficult word; explanatory note”
Old French
OFr
glosse
“an explanatory note on a text”
Middle English
ME
gloss
“a comment or explanation added to a text”
Modern English
EN
gloss
“a shiny surface; a polished appearance; an explanatory note”
Explore more surprising origins