Past tense of glitter; shone brightly with a sparkling light or reflected flashes.
From Old Norse glitra (to glitter) + -ed (past tense marker). The word entered English in the 15th century, originally describing the way metal or jewels caught the light.
The verb 'glitter' became especially popular in English Romantic poetry—think Keats and Coleridge using 'glittered' to describe moonlight on water or frost on grass. It's an onomatopoeia-adjacent word where the 'tt' sound itself mimics the sparkling.
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