glamour

Meanings

Noun

• Originally, enchantment; magic charm; especially, the effect of a spell that causes one to see objects in a form that differs from reality, typically to make filthy, ugly, or repulsive things seems beauteous.
• Alluring beauty or charm (often with sex appeal).
• Any excitement, appeal, or attractiveness associated with a person, place, or thing; that which makes something appealing.
• Any artificial interest in, or association with, objects, or persons, through which they appear delusively magnified or glorified.
• A kind of haze in the air, causing things to appear different from what they really are.
• An item, motif, person, image that by association improves appearance.

Verb

• To enchant; to bewitch.

Origin

• Some say from Scots glamer, supposedly from earlier Scots gramarye ("magic, enchantment, spell").
• The Scottish term may either be from Ancient Greek γραμμάριον ("gram"), the weight unit of ingredients used to make magic potions, or an alteration of the English word grammar.
• A connection has also been suggested with Old Norse glámr (poet. “moon,” name of a ghost) and glámsýni. From Grettir's Saga aka Grettis Saga, one of the Sagas of Icelanders, after the hero has been cursed by Glam, aka Glamr:
• "...he was become so fearsome a man in the dark, that he durst go nowhither alone after nightfall, for then he seemed to see all kinds of horrors.
• And that has fallen since into a proverb, that Glam lends eyes, or gives Glamsight to those who see things nowise as they are."
• Glamsight (glámsýni) is also referred to in the Icelandic collection Sturlunga saga.