gloss

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noun

1. A radiant brightness or glow, usually due to light reflected from a smooth surface: burnish, glaze, luster, polish, sheen, shine, sleekness. See light/darkness.
2. A deceptive outward appearance: cloak, color, coloring, cover, disguise, disguisement, façade, face, false colors, front, guise, mask, masquerade, pretense, pretext, semblance, show, veil, veneer, window-dressing. Slang put-on. See show/hide.

verb

1. To give a gleaming luster to, usually through friction: buff¹, burnish, furbish, glaze, polish, shine, sleek. See light/darkness.
2. To give a deceptively attractive appearance to. color, gild, gloze (over), sugarcoat, varnish, veneer, whitewash. Idioms: paper over, put a good face on. See true/false.

phrasal verb - gloss over

To conceal or make light of a fault or offense: explain away, extenuate, gloze (over), palliate, sleek over, whitewash. See show/hide.

Definition: definition
Antonyms: misinformation

n

Definition: shine, sheen
Antonyms: dullness

v

Definition: conceal truth
Antonyms: clear up, exaggerate, explain, overemphasize, reveal

v

Definition: define
Antonyms: misinform

v

Definition: make shiny
Antonyms: dull

gloss, an explanation or translation of a difficult word or phrase, usually added to a text by a later copyist or editor, as in many modern editions of Chaucer. When placed between the lines of a text, it is known as an ‘interlinear gloss’, but it may appear in the margin, or as a footnote, or in an appendix, and may form an extended commentary. A rare example of a poem that includes the author's own marginal glosses is Coleridge's ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ (1798; glosses added 1817). A glossary is a list of difficult words and phrases with accompanying explanations.

Verb: gloss.

The degree of surface luster; ranges from a matte surface practically without sheen to an almost mirror-like glossy finish; intermediate conditions (in increasing order of glossiness) are: flat, eggshell, semigloss, and full gloss or high gloss.

glosses, remarks and additions written between the lines and in the margins of medieval manuscripts containing, usually, Latin texts which they explain, either in Latin or in the vernacular. The most important collections of glosses compiled by early Irish commentators can be found in manuscripts presently kept in Würzburg, Milan, and St Gallen. They are a major source for our knowledge of Old Irish.

An annotation, explanation, or commentary on a particular passage in a book or document, which is ordinarily placed on the same page or in the margin to elucidate or amplify the passage.

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• Devices, Techniques, and Elements - gloss: brief marginal explanation of difficult or obscure passage; continuous commentary accompanying text; interlinear translation
• Falsehood, Pretense, and Exaggeration - gloss: deceptively appealing appearance

This article is about the literary term. For other uses, see Gloss (disambiguation).

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2007)

A gloss (from Latin: glossa, from Greek: γλῶσσα glóssa "tongue") is a brief marginal notation of the meaning of a word or wording in a text. It may be in the language of the text, or in the reader's language if that is different.

A collection of glosses is a glossary. A collection of medieval legal glosses, made by so-called glossators, is called an apparatus. The compilation of glosses into glossaries was the beginning of lexicography, and the glossaries so compiled were in fact the first dictionaries. In modern times a glossary, as opposed to a dictionary, is typically found in a text as an appendix of specialized terms that the typical reader may find unfamiliar. Also, satirical explanations of words and events are called glosses. The German Romantic movement used the expression of gloss for poems commenting on a given other piece of poetry, often in the Spanish Décima style.

Glosses were originally notes made in the margin or between the lines of a text in a Classical language, in which the meaning of a word or passage is explained. As such, glosses vary in thoroughness and complexity, from simple marginal notations of words one reader found difficult or obscure, to interlinear translations of a text with cross references to similar passages.

Contents 1 In theology 2 In law 3 In literature 4 In philology 5 In linguistics 5.1 Glossing signed languages 6 Bibliography 7 References

In theology

Main article: Glosses to the Bible

Glosses and other marginal notes were a primary format used in medieval Biblical theology, and were studied and memorized for their own merit. Many Biblical passages came to be associated with a particular gloss, whose truth was taken to be scriptural.

In law

See also: Glossator

In the medieval legal tradition, the glosses on Roman law and Canon law created standards of reference, so-called sedes materiae (literally: seat of the matter). In common law countries, the term "judicial gloss" refers to what is considered an authoritative or "official" interpretation of a statute or regulation by a judge.^[1] Judicial glosses are often very important in avoiding contradictions between statutes, and determining the constitutionality of various provisions of law.

In literature

A gloss, or glosa, is a verse in traditional Iberian literature and music which follows and comments on a refrain (the "mote"). See also villancico.

In philology

The Glosas Emilianenses are glosses added to this Latin codex that are now considered the first phrases written in the Castilian language.

Glosses are of some importance in philology, especially if one language—usually, the language of the author of the gloss—has left few texts of its own. The Reichenau glosses, for example, gloss the Latin Vulgate Bible in an early form of one of the Romance languages, and as such give insight into late Vulgar Latin at a time when that language was not often written down. A series of glosses in the Old English language to Latin Bibles give us a running translation of Biblical texts in that language; see Old English Bible translations. Glosses of Christian religious texts are also important for our knowledge of Old Irish. Glosses frequently shed valuable light on the vocabulary of otherwise little attested languages; they are less reliable for syntax, because many times the glosses follow the word order of the original text, and translate its idioms literally.

In linguistics

Main article: Interlinear gloss

In linguistics, a simple gloss in running text may be marked by quotation marks and follow the transcription of a foreign word. For example:

• A Cossack longboat is called a chaika ‘seagull’.
• The moose gains its name from the Algonquian mus or mooz (‘twig eater’).

A longer or more complex transcription requires an interlinear gloss. Such a gloss may be placed between a text and its translation when it is important to understand the structure of the language being glossed, and not just the overall meaning of the passage.

Glossing signed languages

Sign languages are typically transcribed word-for-word by means of an English gloss written in all capitals. Prosody is often glossed as superscript English words, with its scope indicated by brackets.

[I LIKE]^NEGATIVE [WHAT?]^RHETORICAL, GARLIC.
"I don't like garlic."

Pure fingerspelling is usually indicated by hyphenation. Fingerspelled words that have been lexicalized (that is, fingerspelling sequences that have entered the sign language as linguistic units and that often have slight modifications) are indicated with a hash. For example, W-I-K-I indicates a simple fingerspelled word, but #JOB indicates a lexicalized unit, produced like J-O-B, but faster and with a barely perceptible O.

Bibliography

• Meinolf Schumacher: "…der kann den texst und och die gloß. Zum Wortgebrauch von 'Text' und 'Glosse' in deutschen Dichtungen des Spätmittelalters." In 'Textus' im Mittelalter. Komponenten und Situationen des Wortgebrauchs im schriftsemantischen Feld, edited by Ludolf Kuchenbuch and Uta Kleine, 207-27, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2006.

References

1. ^ Black's Law Dictionary, 7th ed.

Look up gloss in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
1.
n. - glans, fernis, skin, højglans, skønmaleri
v. tr. - fernisere

idioms:

• gloss over    dække over, tilsløre, besmykke

2.
n. - note, kommentar, glossar, interlinearoversættelse
v. tr. - forsyne med kommentar, kommentere, glossere, bortforklare
v. intr. - kommentere på

Nederlands (Dutch)
glans(verf), valse schijn, glos, foute/valse weergave, verklarende woordenlijst, vertaling tussen de regels, glanzend maken, glosseren, wegredeneren, commentaar leveren

Français (French)
1.
n. - lustre, brillant (un papier), éclat, (fig) clinquant (péj), (fig) vernis, glose, (US) fausse interprétation (péj), laque (brillante)
v. tr. - faire briller

idioms:

• gloss over    glisser sur, dissimuler

2.
n. - glose (d'un texte)
v. tr. - gloser, résumer
v. intr. - critiquer

Deutsch (German)
1.
n. - Glanz, Schimmer, Anstrich
v. - polieren, glänzend machen

idioms:

• gloss over    beschönigen, vertuschen

2.
n. - Glosse, Erklärung, (Interlinear)übersetzung, Kommentar
v. - glossieren, kommentieren, Glossen oder Erklärungen schreiben

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - στιλπνότητα, λούστρο, γυαλάδα, επίφαση, επιφανειακή ομορφιά, ακτινοβολία, παρασημείωση, ερμηνεία ή σχόλιο σε κείμενο, μετάφραση
v. - γυαλίζω, στιλβώνω, λουστράρω, προσδίδω εσφαλμένη ερμηνεία

idioms:

• gloss over    συγκαλύπτω

Italiano (Italian)
glossa, glossario, lucentezza

idioms:

• gloss over    dissimulare, nascondere, minimizzare

Português (Portuguese)
n. - brilho (m), aparência (f) falsa ou enganosa, glosa (f), glossário (m)
v. - polir, glosar, explicar, sofismar

idioms:

• gloss over    tornar atrativo ou aceitável através de engano ou tratamento superficial

Русский (Russian)
лоск, подстрочник, комментарий, глосса, глоссарий, толкование, наводить лоск, лосниться, снабжать подстрочником, снабжать комментарием, превратно истолковывать

idioms:

• gloss over    истолковывать благоприятно, замалчивая недостатки

Español (Spanish)
1.
n. - glosa, brillo, fulgor, lustre
v. tr. - dar brillo o lustre a

idioms:

• gloss over    encubrir, disfrazar, disculpar, pasar por alto, restar importancia a

2.
n. - glosa, comentario
v. tr. - glosar, comentar
v. intr. - glosar, comentar (generalmente desfavorable)

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - glans, sken, glossa, vilseledande framställning, kommentar
v. - göra glansig, förgylla, glossera, bortförklara, skriva glossor

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
1. 光泽, 色泽, 虚饰, 假像, 上光, 掩盖, 使有光泽, 掩饰, 发光, 作注释

idioms:

• gloss over    掩饰, 掩盖

2. 注解, 评注, 在...上作注解

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
1.
n. - 光澤, 色澤, 虛飾, 假像
v. tr. - 上光, 掩蓋, 使有光澤, 掩飾
v. intr. - 發光, 作注釋

idioms:

• gloss over    掩飾, 掩蓋

2.
n. - 注解, 評注
v. tr. - 在...上作注解

한국어 (Korean)
1.
n. - 빛남
v. tr. - 광택제를 바르다

idioms:

• gloss over    광택 나게 하다

2.
n. - 설명
v. tr. - 설명을 덧붙이다
v. intr. - 해석을 달다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - つや, 光沢, 見せかけ, 注釈, 注解, 用語集
v. - …につやを付ける, 注釈を付ける

idioms:

• gloss over    のうわべを飾る

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) لمعان, بريق, مسرد (فعل) يعلق, يشرح‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮פירוש, הסבר, הערה, רשימת מונחים והסבריהם, הצגה לא נכונה של דברי אחר, תרגום או הערה בין השורות‬
v. tr. - ‮הוסיף פירושים‬
v. intr. - ‮כתב הערות ופירושים‬
n. - ‮ברק חיצון, מסווה, שטח חלק, העמדת פנים, הופעה נאה מטעה‬
v. tr. - ‮עשה לחלק, חתר להסתיר מאחורי הופעה כוזבת, התחמק או הסתיר במלים קצרות ומתעות‬

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