glisten

[glis-uh n] /ˈglɪs ən/
verb (used without object)
1.
to reflect a sparkling light or a faint intermittent glow; shine lustrously.
noun
2.
a glistening; sparkle.
Origin
before 1000; Middle English glis(t)nen (v.), Old English glisnian, derivative of glisian to glitter; see -en1
Related forms
glisteningly, adverb
unglistening, adjective
Synonyms
1. glimmer, gleam, glitter. Glisten, shimmer, sparkle refer to different ways in which light is reflected from surfaces. Glisten refers to a lustrous light, as from something sleek or wet, or it may refer to myriads of tiny gleams reflected from small surfaces: Wet fur glistens. Snow glistens in the sunlight. Shimmer refers to the changing play of light on a (generally moving) surface, as of water or silk: Moonbeams shimmer on water. Silk shimmers in a high light. To sparkle is to give off sparks or small ignited particles, or to send forth small but brilliant gleams, sometimes by reflection: A diamond sparkles with numerous points of light.
Examples from the web for glisten
  • Summer sunbathers glisten with tanning oil made from it.
  • The dragonfly's see-through wings glisten in the sunlight.
  • In winter, frost and ice may glisten on the branches.
  • Dry materials should be gradually wetted with a fine spray and mixed until they glisten with moisture.
  • The river valleys glisten with the leaves of huge cottonwoods, green in the summer and golden in the fall.
  • The surface should glisten, but have no standing water.
  • Dark, tea-colored waters glisten beneath overhanging branches of bald cypress.
  • When dry, large areas glisten due to evaporite minerals on the surface.
  • The mountains glisten with snow that, if we're lucky, will support stream flows come summer.
  • After the first wetting, pastes of these soils usually stiffen and lose the glisten on standing.
British Dictionary definitions for glisten

glisten

/ˈɡlɪsən/
verb (intransitive)
1.
(of a wet or glossy surface) to gleam by reflecting light: wet leaves glisten in the sunlight
2.
(of light) to reflect with brightness: the sunlight glistens on wet leaves
noun
3.
(rare) a gleam or gloss
Derived Forms
glisteningly, adverb
Word Origin
Old English glisnian; related to glisian to glitter, Middle High German glistern
Word Origin and History for glisten
v.

Old English glisnian "to glisten, gleam," from Proto-Germanic *glis- (cf. Old Frisian glisa "to shine," Middle High German glistern "to sparkle," Old Danish glisse "to shine"), from PIE *ghleis-, from root *ghel- "to shine, glitter, glow, be warm" (see glass). Related: Glistened; glistening.