A glimpse is a very quick, partial look at something. To glimpse something means to see it only for a moment or only a small part of it.
“Glimpse” comes from Middle English “glimsen,” meaning to glisten or appear faintly, and may be related to “glimmer.” Over time, the sense shifted from a faint light to a brief appearance, then to a quick look.
A glimpse is like the visual version of a ‘hint’—you don’t get the whole picture, just enough to know something is there. Writers love this word because it lets them show mystery: the reader sees only what the character glimpses.
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