I. ˈglōrē, -ȯrē, -ri noun
( -es )
Etymology: Middle English glorie glory, vainglory, from Middle French & Latin; Middle French glorie, gloire glory, from Latin gloria glory, vainglory
1. obsolete : vainglory
2.
a. : lofty praise, honor, or admiration extended by common consent : high renown
the glory and riches they expect may never come — R.L.Stevenson
b. : worshipful praise, honor, and thanksgiving
giving glory to God
3.
a. : something that merits or secures lofty praise, honor, or admiration
the glory of a brilliant career
: a cause for or occasion of jubilant pride and boasting
her children were a glory to her
: a source of intense joy or satisfaction
pianissimos that were a glory to hear — Winthrop Sargeant
b. : a highly distinguished, splendid, or renowned quality, attribute, possession, or action
a place to visit … for the sake of its ancient glories — John Buchan
: a resplendent asset or ornamentation
the intellectual glories of the time — H.O.Taylor
a glory to the medical profession — Carson McCullers
4.
a.
(1) : great beauty or splendor : resplendence , magnificence
the grandeur of the wild wintry seas is matched only by the glory of the summer combination of blue sea, golden-sanded bay, and purple cliffs — L.D.Stamp
(2) : something marked by great beauty or resplendence
a grand, red, rosy, crimson day — a perfect glory of a day — John Muir †1914
b. : the splendor and beatific happiness of heaven : eternal life in heaven
thou dost guide me with thy counsel, and afterward thou wilt receive me to glory — Ps 73:24 (Revised Standard Version)
broadly : eternity
5. : a condition of supreme exaltation or splendor
an epoch of glory for all the arts
: a state of unhindered gratification, self-satisfaction, or enjoyment
when he's teaching, he's in his glory
: height of prosperity, power, or achievement
ancient Greece in its glory
6.
a. : a ring of light: as
(1) : aureole , numbus
(2) : corona 2a
(3) : the head portion of a Brocken specter
(4) : a set of concentric colored rings of light (as often surrounding the head portion of a Brocken specter)
b. : an emanation or play of light : a luminous glow : radiance
the dying glories of evening — George Meredith
: a soft brightness
wild flowers made a glory on the hillside — Edith Hamilton
c.
(1) : a dazzling illumination : a burst or blaze of blindingly bright light
rockets rushed upward in a complete fiery encirclement and burst into glory against the night sky — L.C.Stevens
specifically : a representation (as in a painting) of dazzling light bursting from the opened heavens
(2) : shekinah
Synonyms: see fame
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-es )
Etymology: Middle English glorien, from Latin gloriari to boast, glory, from gloria, n.
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to rejoice proudly : exult
glorying in their strength
gloried in their country's success
b. : to experience intense delight or self-satisfaction : revel
glorying in this unaccustomed independence, she told herself that she intended … to have a wonderful time — Aurelia Levi
2. obsolete : boast
3. archaic : to shine radiantly or brilliantly
a low sea sunset glorying around her hair — Alfred Tennyson
transitive verb
archaic : to give glory to : make glorious
III. interjection
or glory be ˌ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ˈ ̷ ̷
Etymology: glory from glory (I) ; glory be from glory (I) + be, 3d person singular present subjunctive of be, v.; from the use of the words “glory” or “glory be” at the beginning of doxologies
— used to express surprise, wonder, or delight