glosses

Noun (1)

gloss (usually uncountable, plural glosses)

1. (usually) A surface shine or luster.

   Synonyms:

   brilliance, gleam, luster, sheen, shine

2. (figuratively, usually) A superficially or deceptively attractive appearance.
   • .

   Synonyms:

   façade, front, veneer

Noun (2)

gloss (plural glosses)

1. (countable) A brief explanatory note or translation of a foreign, archaic, technical, difficult, complex, or uncommon expression, inserted after the original, in the margin of a document, or between lines of a text.
   • All this, without a gloss or comment, / He would unriddle in a moment.1684, Samuel Butler, Hudibras

   Synonyms:

   gloze, annotation

2. (countable) Synonym of glossary, a collection of such notes.

   Synonyms:

   glossary

3. (countable, obsolete) An expression requiring such explanatory treatment.
4. (countable) An extensive commentary on some text.

   Synonyms:

   commentary, discourse, discussion

See all 13 meanings of gloss