In a glancing manner; with a quick or passing glance; briefly or superficially.
Combination of 'a-' (on, in, or at) + 'glance.' The prefix 'a-' is Old English and creates adverbial or prepositional phrases, while 'glance' comes from Old French 'glancer' meaning 'to strike at an angle.'
The prefix 'a-' appears in many older English phrases like 'aflame,' 'asleep,' and 'afoot'—it's largely disappeared from modern English except in frozen expressions, making 'aglance' feel like a linguistic fossil.
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