A faint, unsteady light, or a small sign of something such as hope or understanding; to shine weakly or flicker.
Probably from Middle English *glimeren* “to shine faintly,” related to a Germanic root for weak or intermittent light. It has long been used both for physical light and metaphorical signs. Poets often use it to describe fragile or distant hopes.
A ‘glimmer of hope’ borrows light language to talk about emotion — we picture hope as a tiny flickering lamp in the dark. Our brains constantly steal from the world of sight to describe inner life, which is why light, dark, and color words show up in our feelings.
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