I. ˈglīd verb
( glided -də̇d ; or archaic glid ˈglid ; also archaic glode ˈglōd ; glided or archaic glid also archaic glode ; gliding ˈglīdiŋ ; glides )
Etymology: Middle English gliden, from Old English glīdan; akin to Old High German glītan to glide, Old Norse gleithr standing with legs far apart, and probably to Old English geolu yellow — more at yellow
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to move smoothly, continuously, and effortlessly
a canoe gliding over the still lake
silvery fish gliding about in the depths of the pool
snowy gulls glided through the blue of the sky
: move with a quiet smoothness marked by little or no perceptible or distracting extraneous motion
began gliding about with a tray full of glasses — Willa Cather
watched the skiers glide swiftly and silently down the slope
: move lightly and silently
glided out of the room as noiselessly as she had entered
b. : to move stealthily : move cautiously and furtively : slip , steal , creep
gliding along the wall until they were out of sight
2.
a. : to elapse gradually and imperceptibly
hours gliding tranquilly by
b. : to pass or taper off into something different gradually and imperceptibly by slight progressive changes : merge
feelings of hostility … glide into those of peculiar courtesy — Archibald Alison
: slip gradually into something
glided into telling you the secret — Charles Dickens
3. of an airplane : to descend at a normal angle of attack with little or no thrust
4. of the tongue : to change position in the articulation of a glide
5. : glance vi 1b (2)
transitive verb
1. : to cause to glide
gliding the airplane to a safe place to land
gliding the boat over the water
2. : to fly over in or as if in a glider
wondered whether, if I got up enough momentum, I could … glide the Atlantic — Richard Joseph
II. noun
( -s )
1. : the action of gliding : a gliding movement ; specifically : the flight of a gliding aircraft
saw the long glide of the airplane
2. : a calm stretch of shallow water flowing smoothly and gently
fishing in the glides of a stream
3.
a. : portamento 1
b. : a nonsignificant sound produced by the passing of the vocal organs to or from the articulatory position of a speech sound ; specifically : the less prominent vowel or sound like a vowel in the articulation of two consecutive vowel sounds unequal in prominence (as the very brief ē or i sound of y in ˈyel yell ) — see off-glide , on-glide
4.
a. : a fencing attack in which the forte of the weapon is pressed against the foible of the antagonist's weapon and the point then slid along his blade
b. : glance 2c
5. : a circular typically dome-shaped usually metal button attached to the bottom of furniture legs or supports so as to provide a low-friction surface for easy movement of the furniture