glans

See also: gläns

English

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin glāns (“an acorn”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡlænz/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ænz

Noun

glans (plural glandes or (rare) glans)

1. (anatomy) A structure at the extremity of the penis and of the clitoris in humans and other mammals.

   Synonyms: balanus, (archaic) nut

   Hyponyms: glans penis or penile glans, glans clitoridis or clitoral glans

   1. Ellipsis of glans penis or penile glans.

      Synonyms: see Thesaurus:glans penis

   2. Ellipsis of glans clitoridis or clitoral glans.
2. The acorn or mast of the oak and similar fruits.
3. (medicine) Synonym of goiter.
4. (gynaecology) Synonym of pessary.

Derived terms

• clitoral glans
• penile glans

Related terms

• gland
• glans clitoridis, glans clitoris
• glans penis

Translations

structure at the extremity of the penis and of the clitoris

• Arabic: حَشَفَة f (ḥašafa)
• Belarusian: гало́ўка f (halóŭka)
• Catalan: gland (ca) m
• Dutch: eikel (nl) m
• French: gland (fr) m
• German: Eichel (de) f
• Hindi: मुंड (hi) (muṇḍ), सुपारी (hi) (supārī), टोपा (hi) (ṭopā), टोपी (hi) (ṭopī) (colloquial), मणि (hi) (maṇi), लिंगाग्र (hi) (liṅgāgra) (rare), हशफ़ा (haśfā) (rare)
• Italian: glande (it) m
• Ottoman Turkish: حشفه (haşefe)
• Portuguese: glande (pt) f
• Romanian: gland (ro) n
• Russian: голо́вка (ru) f (golóvka)
• Spanish: glande (es) m
• Swedish: ollon (sv) n
• Turkish: haşefe (tr)
• Ukrainian: голі́вка f (holívka)

glans penis — see glans penis

clitoral glans — see clitoral glans

acorn or mast of the oak

• Bulgarian: дъбов жълъд m (dǎbov žǎlǎd)
• Czech: žalud (cs) m
• Dutch: eikel (nl) m
• Finnish: terho (fi)
• French: gland (fr) m
• German: Eichel (de) f
• Ido: glano (io)
• Korean: 도토리 (ko) (dotori)
• Swedish: ekollon (sv) n

goiter — see goitre

pessary — see pessary

See also

• balanic
• balano-

Further reading

• “glans”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “glans”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.

Anagrams

• langs, slang

Catalan

Noun

glans

1. plural of gla

Danish

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Middle High German glanz, from Old High German glanz (“brilliance”). Cognate with modern German Glanz, Swedish glans.

Noun

glans

1. the quality of being shiny
2. glamour, magnificence

Etymology 2

Learned borrowing from Latin glāns.

Noun

glans

1. the head of the penis

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɣlɑns/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑns

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch glans (ca. 1400), from Middle High German glanz (“shine, lustre”), whence Modern German Glanz.

Noun

glans m (uncountable, diminutive glansje n)

1. lustre, shine, shimmer, gloss, glistening
2. (optics) gloss

Derived terms

• glanskop
• glansrijk
• glanzen
• glanzig

 

Descendants

• Afrikaans: glans

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

glans

1. inflection of glanzen:
   1. first-person singular present indicative
   2. (in case of inversion) second-person singular present indicative
   3. imperative

Further reading

• van der Sijs, Nicoline, editor (2010), “glans1”, in Etymologiebank, Meertens Institute

Anagrams

• langs, slang

Icelandic

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle High German glanz, from Old High German glanz (“brilliance”). Cognate with modern German Glanz, Swedish glans.

Noun

glans m (genitive singular glans, no plural)

1. shine, lustre, sheen

Declension

Declension of glans
m-s1	singular
	indefinite	definite
nominative	glans	glansinn
accusative	glans	glansinn
dative	glans	glansinum
genitive	glans	glansins

Related terms

• glansa

Latin

Alternative forms

• glandō (post-classical)

Etymology

From Proto-Italic *glānts, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷelh₂- (“acorn”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ɡlans/, [ɡɫ̪ä̃ːs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ɡlans/, [ɡläns]

Noun

glāns f (genitive glandis); third declension

1. (literal) an acorn, nut; any acorn-shaped fruit; a beechnut, chestnut
2. (transferred sense)
   1. (weaponry) an acorn-shaped ball of lead or clay, hurled at the enemy
   2. (New Latin, firearms) a bullet
   3. (anatomy) the glans penis

Inflection

Third-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	glāns	glandēs
genitive	glandis	glandum
dative	glandī	glandibus
accusative	glandem	glandēs
ablative	glande	glandibus
vocative	glāns	glandēs

Derived terms

• glandārius
• glandifer
• glandium
• glandula
• iūglāns

 

Descendants

See also glandula.

• Balkan Romance:
  • Aromanian: gljindã
  • Romanian: ghindă
• Italo-Romance:
  • Italian: ghianda, ajjanna (Reati)
  • Sicilian: ghianna

    Calabrian: aghianda

• Padanian:
  • Friulian: gland, glant
  • Ladin: gian
  • Piedmontese: giand, agian, gianda
  • Romansch: glogn, glonda, galonda, glanda
• Northern Gallo-Romance:
  • Franco-Provençal: glland, agllan, allan, llan

    Valdôtain: llande, llan

  • Old French: glant, glande
    • French: gland, glande
• Southern Gallo-Romance:
  • Aragonese: glan

    Belsetán: lan

    Ribagorçan: llan

  • Old Catalan: glan, aglan
    • Catalan: gla, aglá
  • Old Occitan: glan, aglan
    • Occitan: agland (silent ⟨d⟩)

      Gascon: gland

      Vivaro-Alpine: gland, alhand

• Ibero-Romance:
  • Asturian: llande
  • Portuguese: lande
  • Spanish: lande (Álava), llande (regional?)
• Insular Romance:
  • Sardinian:

    Campidanese: landi

    Logudorese: lande, landa

    Nuorese: grande, lande, lanne

• Vulgar Latin: glandinis
  • Neapolitan: ghialne (Andria)
  • Piedmontese: giandr
  • Sardinian: landiri (Campidanese)
  • Spanish: landre
• Borrowings:
  • → Catalan: gland
  • → English: gland, glans
  • → French: glande
  • → Galician: glande
  • → Italian: glande
  • → Portuguese: glande
  • → Romanian: gland
  • → Russian: гла́нды (glándy)
  • → Spanish: glande

References

• “glans”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “glans”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• glans in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• “glans”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• For the descendants:

  Joan Coromines, José A[ntonio] Pascual (1984) “landre”, in Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico (in Spanish), volume III (G–Ma), Madrid: Gredos, →ISBN, page 574

  Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002) “glans, -andem”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, volume 4: G H I, page 147

  Wagner, Max Leopold (1960–1964) “gránde”, in Dizionario etimologico sardo, Heidelberg

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From German Glanz (sense 1), and Latin glans (sense 3).

Noun

glans m (definite singular glansen, indefinite plural glanser, definite plural glansene)

1. gloss, lustre (UK) or luster (US), sheen, brilliance
2. (short form of glansbilde) a glossy print or picture
3. (anatomy) glans

Derived terms

• glansfull

Further reading

• “glans” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡlɑns/

Etymology 1

From German Glanz.

Noun

glans m (definite singular glansen, uncountable)

1. gloss, lustre (UK) or luster (US), sheen, brilliance, sparkle, the quality of being shiny
2. a glossy print or picture (short form of glansbilde or glansbilete)
3. glory, magnificence

Derived terms

• glansfull

Etymology 2

From Latin glans (“acorn”).

Noun

glans m (definite singular glansen, indefinite plural glansar, definite plural glansane)

1. (anatomy) glans

Further reading

• “glans” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from German Glanz, from Middle High German glanz, from Old High German glanz, from Proto-Germanic *glantaz, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰlond-o-, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰlend-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡlans/
• Rhymes: -ans
• Syllabification: glans

Noun

glans m inan

1. (colloquial) gleam, lustre, shine

   Synonyms: blask, glanc, połysk

Declension

Declension of glans

	singular
nominative	glans
genitive	glansu
dative	glansowi
accusative	glans
instrumental	glansem
locative	glansie
vocative	glansie

Derived terms

adverb

• na glans

 

verb

• glansować impf

 

Further reading

• glans in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• glans in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Swedish

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle High German glanz, from Old High German glanz (“brilliance”). Cognate with modern German Glanz.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

glans c

1. shine, gloss, sheen

   Vilken glans! Du har städat jätteväl.

   What a shine! You've cleaned really well.

2. radiance (of for example the moon)
3. (figuratively) splendor, glory, sheen

   att sola sig i glansen av någon

   to bask in the glory of someone

Declension

Declension of glans

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	glans	glans
	definite	glansen	glansens
plural	indefinite	—	—
	definite	—	—

Derived terms

• glansig (“shiny, glossy”)

Related terms

• glänsa

Further reading

• Etymology and the European Lexicon - Proceedings of the 14th Fachtagung der Indogermanischen Gesellschaft, 17–22 September 2012, Copenhagen, p. 98

Anagrams

• slang