www.alphadictionary.com

• glower •

Pronunciation: glaw-êr • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Verb, intransitive

Meaning: To stare menacingly (at), to glare (at) intensively.

Notes: This verb is intransitive, which means it may not be used with a direct object (you can't glower anyone); rather, you must use the preposition at with it, to glower at someone. At often indicates aggressive action toward: "to run to" simply indicates direction but "to run at" implies an attack. The same is true of "to fly at", "to throw at", and "to glower at".

In Play: Glowering is generally used when we are displeased at something that we cannot control but must control our tempers: "You don't have to glower like that, mom, just because I dropped one bite of spaghetti on my new pants!" In the motion picture world glowering is known as "the slow burn," an expression of barely contained fury with the eyes

Word History: Today's word may well be an old blend of of glow in the sense of a hot coal glowing + glare under the influence of glore "to glow, to stare with eyes wide open". It more probably is a variant pronunciation of glore "to stare intently (at)", an old word probably borrowed from a Norwegian dialect. The basic root here, ghol- (with an [o] that often trades places with the [l]) shows up in many Indo-European languages referring to things that shine or burn. Evidence indicates that English gold, found in most Germanic languages, comes from the same source. Gh(o)l- is probably related to gol- "hot coal", which made it to English as coal. It is the figurative sense of burning with anger that came to rest on glower.[/quote]

My father had two 'glowers' : anger and disgust.
As a kid his anger would send shivers through me.
His 'disgust' one meant 'end of discussion".

An angry god glowers.

On the lighter side, "Glow little glow-worm, glower, glower...."

We could also play with aglow.

aglow, aglower, aglowest.

Rex Stout created his famous fat, home-bound detective Nero Wolfe, who perpetually glowered, but I still liked him.

Three cheers for the glowering Nero Wolfe, with orchidaceae
and Archie to boot.

In old, or possibly ancient welsh there was a word "goleuad", and a name for a favourite sword was possibly "goleuad caledwlch" -- Wondering if this factored into the derivation of the word "excaliber" ( King Arthur's sword.) Goleuad caledwlch meant "shining hard belly" -- and a person with a hard belly, was a great warrior.Obviously a metal sword, kept sharpened and polished would shine.

narh: You have posted on the Agora a few times but I have not welcomed you. Welcome to the Agora.

Thank you for this query. "I speak no Welsh," to paraphrase Caxton's innkeeper's wife who said, "I speke no Frenshe," when a patron ordered "eggys". She asked if "eyren" would do just as well. I hope "excaliber" derives from the Welsh for "hard belly". Perhaps we have a Welsh speaker who can put us aright.

First, just to be picky, the sword's title is "Excalibur." That done with, it looks like the connection is correct:

King Arthur's sword, c.1300, from O.Fr. Escalibor, corruption of Caliburn, in Geoffrey of Monmouth (c.1140) Caliburnus, probably a variant of the legendary Ir. sword name Caladbolg, which may be lit. "hard-belly," i.e. "voracious."

I can't comment on the "shining" part, but the "hard-belly" I would say, especially about a sword, refers to voracity for blood.

Does this help?

Thanks for the Excalibur, Slava. Wikipedia, if you trust it, gives even more detail along this line.

I know we make fun of Wikipedia, but it is really pretty good considering how it is put together. There is nothing else in the World like it. However, when they make a mistake, they won't budge, come Hell or high water. I have tried to reason with them.