The Jargon File (version 4.4.7, 29 Dec 2003):
glass tty
/glas T?T?Y/, /glas ti'tee/, n.
[obs.] A terminal that has a display screen but which, because of hardware
or software limitations, behaves like a teletype or some other printing
terminal, thereby combining the disadvantages of both: like a printing
terminal, it can't do fancy display hacks, and like a display terminal, it
doesn't produce hard copy. An example is the early ?dumb? version of
Lear-Siegler ADM 3 (without cursor control). See tube, tty; compare
dumb terminal. See TV Typewriters (Appendix A) for an interesting true
story about a glass tty.
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (30 December 2018):
glass tty
/glas T-T-Y/ or /glas ti'tee/ A terminal that has a display
screen but which, because of hardware or software limitations,
behaves like a teletype or some other printing terminal,
thereby combining the disadvantages of both: like a printing
terminal, it can't do fancy display hacks, and like a display
terminal, it doesn't produce hard copy. An example is the
early "dumb" version of Lear-Siegler ADM 3 (without cursor
control). See tube, tty; compare dumb terminal, smart
terminal. See "TV Typewriters" for an interesting true
story about a glass tty.