In his poem “After the Winter,” Jamaican-born poet and novelist Claude McKay writes of a “summer isle / Where bamboos spire to shafted grove / And wide-mouthed orchids smile,” declaring that “… we will build a cottage there / Beside an open glade …” It’s a serene, joyous vision offered to the speaker’s beloved, and it may shine a bit of light on the etymological connection between glade and the adjective glad, besides. Glade, which has been part of the English language since the early 1500s, was originally used not just to indicate a clearing in the woods but often specifically to refer to one filled with sunlight (note that McKay specifies that his glade is “open,” as glades can be in full or partial shade). It’s this sunniness that has led some etymologists over the years to suggest a connection with glad, which in Middle English also meant “shining.” To further the intrigue, a now-obsolete sense of glade once referred to a clear or bright space in the sky, or to a flash of light or lightning.
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For those seeking extra thrills, the Backside offers mile-long runs of bumps and glades that test even experienced skiers.—Shelby Knick, Forbes.com, 11 Apr. 2025 There were long, grassy glades all around and the tiger would have a hard time trying to return to the kill unseen.—Cyril E. Holland, Outdoor Life, 8 May 2025 The light turned from orange to dull gray, and then Joe nudged my aching ribs — the tiger was standing in a glade 60 yards downhill.—Cyril E. Holland, Outdoor Life, 8 May 2025 Or Frank Lloyd Wright, with his long, often low-slung homes of concrete and red tidewater cypress, designed to harmonize with their surroundings (Fallingwater, one of his most famous works, is perched over a creek in a quiet glade outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania).—Nick Remsen, CNN Money, 7 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for glade
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