[syn: color, colour, gloss]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Gloss \Gloss\ (gl[o^]s), n. [Cf. Icel. glossi a blaze, glys
finery, MHG. glosen to glow, G. glosten to glimmer; perh.
akin to E. glass.]
1. Brightness or luster of a body proceeding from a smooth
surface; polish; as, the gloss of silk; cloth is
calendered to give it a gloss.
[1913 Webster]
It is no part . . . to set on the face of this cause
any fairer gloss than the naked truth doth afford.
--Hooker.
[1913 Webster]
2. A specious appearance; superficial quality or show.
[1913 Webster]
To me more dear, congenial to my heart,
One native charm than all the gloss of art.
--Goldsmith.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Gloss \Gloss\ (gl[o^]s), v. t.
1. To render clear and evident by comments; to illustrate; to
explain; to annotate.
[1913 Webster]
2. To give a specious appearance to; to render specious and
plausible; to palliate by specious explanation.
[1913 Webster]
You have the art to gloss the foulest cause.
--Philips.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Gloss \Gloss\, v. i.
1. To make comments; to comment; to explain. --Dryden.
[1913 Webster]
2. To make sly remarks, or insinuations. --Prior.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Gloss \Gloss\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Glossed; p. pr. & vb. n.
Glossing.]
To give a superficial luster or gloss to; to make smooth and
shining; as, to gloss cloth.
[1913 Webster]
The glossed and gleamy wave. --J. R. Drake.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Gloss \Gloss\, n. [OE. glose, F. glose, L. glossa a difficult
word needing explanation, fr. Gr. ? tongue, language, word
needing explanation. Cf. Gloze, Glossary, Glottis.]
[1913 Webster]
1. A foreign, archaic, technical, or other uncommon word
requiring explanation. [Obs.]
[1913 Webster]
2. An interpretation, consisting of one or more words,
interlinear or marginal; an explanatory note or comment; a
running commentary.
[1913 Webster]
All this, without a gloss or comment,
He would unriddle in a moment. --Hudibras.
[1913 Webster]
Explaining the text in short glosses. --T. Baker.
[1913 Webster]
3. A false or specious explanation. --Dryden.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
gloss
n 1: an explanation or definition of an obscure word in a text
[syn: gloss, rubric]
2: an alphabetical list of technical terms in some specialized
field of knowledge; usually published as an appendix to a
text on that field [syn: glossary, gloss]
3: the property of being smooth and shiny [syn: polish,
gloss, glossiness, burnish]
4: an outward or token appearance or form that is deliberately
misleading; "he hoped his claims would have a semblance of
authenticity"; "he tried to give his falsehood the gloss of
moral sanction"; "the situation soon took on a different
color" [syn: semblance, gloss, color, colour]
v 1: give a shine or gloss to, usually by rubbing
2: provide interlinear explanations for words or phrases; "He
annotated on what his teacher had written" [syn: gloss,
comment, annotate]
3: provide an interlinear translation of a word or phrase
4: give a deceptive explanation or excuse for; "color a lie"
[syn: color, colour, gloss]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
407 Moby Thesaurus words for "gloss":
abuse of terms, acting, affectation, afterglow, air glow, alibi,
allowance, amplification, analysis, annotate, annotation, apology,
apparatus criticus, appearance, apply paint, attitudinizing,
bedaub, bedizen, begild, belie, besmear, bilingual text,
biographical dictionary, blind, bluff, bluffing, brightness,
brush on paint, buff, burnish, butter, calcimine, camouflage,
candescence, catachresis, cheating, chemical dictionary, clavis,
cloak, coat, color, coloring, comment, comment upon, commentary,
commentate, commentation, complexion, conceal, contort, contorting,
cover, cover story, cover up, cover-up, creamy, crib,
critical review, criticism, criticize, critique, cursoriness, dab,
daub, deception, decipherment, decoding, decontamination, deep-dye,
define, definition, delicate, delusion, desk dictionary, device,
dialect dictionary, dictionary, dictionary of quotations, dip,
disguise, dissemblance, dissembling, dissimulation, distemper,
distort, distortion, double-dye, dress up, dye, edit, editorial,
eggshell, eisegesis, electronics dictionary, elucidate,
elucidation, embellish, emblazon, embroider, enamel, engild,
epidermis, error, etymological dictionary, excuse, exegesis,
explain, explanation, explicate, explication,
extenuating circumstances, extenuation, extenuative, exteriority,
facade, face, faithful translation, fakery, faking, false air,
false appearance, false front, false show, falsify, falsity,
fast-dye, feigning, feint, finish, flat, flush, footnote,
foreign-language dictionary, four-flushing, fraud,
free translation, fresco, front, fudge, furbish, garble, garbling,
gazetteer, general dictionary, geological dictionary,
get one wrong, get wrong, gild, gilding, gilt, glance, glaze,
gleam, glint, gloss, gloss over, glossary, glossiness, glow,
gradus, grain, guise, handle, hide, hue, humbug, humbuggery,
illuminate, imbue, imposture, incandescence, ingrain, interlinear,
interlinear translation, interpret, interpretation, iridescent,
japan, key, lacquer, lame excuse, lay on, lay on color, leader,
leading article, lexicon, light, locus standi, loose translation,
luster, make an edition, malentendu, malobservation, mask,
masquerade, mellow, mere scratch, meretriciousness, metaphrase,
misapplication, misapply, misapprehend, misapprehension,
miscitation, miscite, miscolor, misconceive, misconception,
misconstruction, misconstrue, misdeem, misexplain, misexplanation,
misexplicate, misexplication, misexposition, misexpound,
misintelligence, misinterpret, misinterpretation, misjudge,
misjudgment, misquotation, misquote, misread, misreading,
misrender, misrendering, misreport, misrepresent, misstate,
mistake, mistranslate, mistranslation, misunderstand,
misunderstanding, misuse of words, mitigation, mother-of-pearl,
nacreous, no depth, no water, nomenclator, notation, note,
note of explanation, notice, onomasticon, opalescent,
ostensible motive, ostentation, outward show, overstate, paint,
pale, palliation, palliative, paraphrase, parget, pastel, patina,
patinaed, pearly, perversion, pervert, phrase book, pigment,
pinprick, playacting, polish, polyglot dictionary, pony,
poor excuse, pose, posing, posture, pretense, pretension, pretext,
prime, protestation, public motive, put-off, qualification, quiet,
refuge, remark, remark upon, report, representation, restatement,
review, rewording, rhyming dictionary, rind, rub,
running commentary, sad, scholium, science dictionary, scour,
scratch, screen, seeming, semblance, semigloss, shade, shadow,
shallowness, sham, sheen, shellac, shine, shininess, shining light,
shoaliness, show, silkiness, simple, simulacrum, simulation, skin,
skylight, slang dictionary, slant, slap on, slather, sleek,
sleekness, slick, slick down, slickness, slightness, slop on paint,
smear, smear on, smoke screen, smooth over, sober, soft,
soft-colored, soft-hued, softened, softening, somber,
specialized dictionary, speciousness, spread on, spread with,
squeeze, squeezing, stain, stalking-horse, stipple, strain,
strain the sense, stratagem, subdued, subterfuge, subtle,
sunset glow, superficiality, superficies, surface, sweet,
synonym dictionary, synonymy, tar, tender, thesaurus, tinct,
tincture, tinge, tint, titivate, tone, torture, torturing,
transcription, translate, translation, transliteration,
treasury of words, trick, trick out, triviality, trot, twist,
twist the words, twisting, unabridged dictionary, undercoat,
understate, varnish, veil, veneer, vocabulary, wash, wax,
whitewash, whitewashing, window dressing, word of explanation,
wordbook, wrench, wrenching, write-up
Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856):
GLOSS. Interpretation, comment, explanation, or remark, intended to
illustrate the text of an author.