Advertisement

Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.

Origin and history of glove

glove(n.)

Old English glof "glove, covering for the hand having separate sheaths for the fingers," also "palm of the hand," from Proto-Germanic *galofo "covering for the hand" (source also of Old Norse glofi), probably [Watkins] from *ga- collective prefix + *lofi "hand" (source also of Old Norse lofi, Middle English love, Gothic lofa "flat of the hand"), from PIE *lep- (2) "be flat; palm, sole, shoulder blade" (source also of Russian lopata "shovel;" Lithuanian lopa "claw," lopeta "shovel, spade").

German Handschuh, the usual word for "glove," literally "hand-shoe" (Old High German hantscuoh; also Danish and Swedish hantsche) is represented by Old English Handscio (the name of one of Beowulf's companions, eaten by Grendel), but this is attested only as a proper name. Meaning "boxing glove" is from 1847. Figurative use of fit like a glove is by 1771.

glove(v.)

"to cover or fit with a glove," c. 1400, from glove (n.). Related: Gloved; gloving. Old English had adjective glofed. Glover as a surname is from mid-13c.

also from c. 1400

Entries linking to glove

luff(n.)

also loof, in sailing, c. 1200, "contrivance for altering a ship's course," also "part of a ship's bow where the sides begin to curve," from Old French lof "spar," or some other nautical device, "point of sail," also "windward side," of uncertain origin and sense development, probably ultimately from Germanic (compare Middle Dutch lof "windward side of a ship" (Dutch loef), which might also be the direct source of the English word).

This is from Proto-Germanic *lofo (source also of Old Norse lofi, Gothic lofa "palm of the hand," Danish lab, Swedish labb "paw"), from PIE *lep- (2) "to be flat" (see glove (n.)). As a verb, "bring the head of a sailing-ship nearer the wind," from late 14c., from the noun.

    Advertisement

    Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.

    Trends of glove

    adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

    More to explore

    mitt
    1765, shortened form of mitten (q.v.) in the fashionable sense of "glove without fingers or with very short fingers of black lace or knitted silk, worn by women." In the more general sense of "glove without a separate covering for each finger" by 1812. Baseball sense of "protecti
    mitten
    late 14c., mitain (from mid-13c. in surnames) "a glove, a covering for the hand," especially "a covering for the hand, differing...from a glove in not having a separate covering for each finger, the thumb only being separated," from Old French mitaine..."mitten, half-glove" (12c.) and from Medieval Latin mitta, both of uncertain origin; both perhaps from Middle High German...mittemo, Old High German mittamo "middle, midmost" (reflecting the notion of "half-glove"), or from Vulgar Latin *medietana...
    gauntlet
    "glove," early 15c., gantelet, from Old French gantelet (13c.)...The Old French word is a semi-diminutive or double-diminutive of gant "glove" (12c.), earlier wantos (7c.), from Frankish...*wanth-, from Proto-Germanic *wantuz "glove" (source also of Middle Dutch want "mitten," East Frisian want, wante, Old Norse...vöttr "glove," Danish vante "mitten"), which apparently is related to Old High German wintan, Old English windan "turn around...
    kid
    Hence kid glove "a glove made of kidskin leather" is from 1680s; sense of "characterized by wearing kid gloves," therefore...
    muffle
    early 15c., "to cover or wrap (something) to conceal or protect," perhaps from Old French moufle "thick glove, mitten;" see...
    cuff
    "bottom of a sleeve," mid-14c., cuffe "hand covering, mitten, glove," perhaps from Medieval Latin cuffia, cuphia "head covering...
    gantlet
    gatelope, but the current spelling (first attested 1660s, not fixed until mid-19c.) is from influence of gauntlet (n.1) "a glove...
    finger
    "terminal or digital member of the hand" (in a restricted sense not including the thumb), Old English finger, fingor "finger," from Proto-Germanic *fingraz (source also of Old Saxon fingar, Old Frisian finger, Old Norse fingr, Dutch vinger, German Finger, Gothic figgrs "finger"),
    fringe
    early 14c., "ornamental bordering; material for a fringe," from Old French frenge "thread, strand, fringe, hem, border" (early 14c.), from Vulgar Latin *frimbia, metathesis of Late Latin fimbria, from Latin fimbriae (plural) "fibers, threads, fringe," which is of uncertain origin
    thumb
    Old English þuma, from Proto-Germanic *thūman- (source also of Old Frisian thuma, Old Saxon, Old High German thumo, German Daumen, Dutch duim "thumb," Old Norse þumall "thumb of a glove"), literally "the stout or thick (finger)," from PIE *tum- "swell," from root *teue- "to swell

    Share glove

    Advertisement

    Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.

    Trending
    Dictionary entries near glove
    Advertisement

    Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.

    Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.