glory

noun

1. (countable, uncountable)Great beauty and splendor.

   “He was thinking; but the glory of the song, the swell from the great organ, the clustered lights, […], the height and vastness of this noble fane, its antiquity and its strength—all these things seemed to have their part as causes of the thrilling emotion that accompanied his thoughts.”

   “One of the hidden glories of Victorian engineering is proper drains. Isolating a city’s effluent and shipping it away in underground sewers has probably saved more lives than any medical procedure except vaccination.”

2. (countable, uncountable)Honour, admiration, or distinction, accorded by common consent to a person or thing; high reputation; renown.

   “In this faire wize they traueild long yfere, Through many hard assayes, which did betide; Of which he honour still away did beare, And spred his glorie through all countries wide.”

3. (countable, uncountable)That quality in a person or thing which secures general praise or honour.

   “Deeme it no gloire to swell in tyrannie.”

   “As jewels lose their glory if neglected, So princes their renowns if not respected.”

   “Then he commenced to talk, really talk. and inside of two flaps of a herring's fin he had me mesmerized, like Eben Holt's boy at the town hall show. He talked about the ills of humanity, and the glories of health and Nature and service and land knows what all.”

   “He's the only person I know who's going to vote at all. Most people have given up on politicians. After all, politicians have been promising to return us to the glory, wealth, and order of the twentieth century ever since I can remember.”

4. (countable, uncountable)Worship or praise.

   “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

5. (countable, uncountable)An optical phenomenon, consisting of concentric rings and somewhat similar to a rainbow, caused by sunlight or moonlight interacting with the water droplets that compose mist or clouds, centered on the antisolar or antilunar point.
6. (countable, uncountable)Victory; success.

   “But, with United fans in celebratory mood as it appeared their team might snatch glory, they faced an anxious wait as City equalised in stoppage time.”

7. (countable, uncountable)An emanation of light supposed to shine from beings that are specially holy. It is represented in art by rays of gold, or the like, proceeding from the head or body, or by a disk, or a mere line.

   “How does the Luſtre of our Father’s Actions, Through the dark Cloud of Ills that cover him, Break out, and burn with more triumphant Brightneſs! His Suff’rings ſhine, and ſpread a Glory round him; […]”

   “Seen across the dim candle with his moistened eyes, she looked as if she had a glory shining round her head.”

8. (countable, uncountable)The manifestation of the presence of God as perceived by humans in Abrahamic religions.
9. (countable, obsolete, uncountable)Pride; boastfulness; arrogance.

   “[…] But if thou declare The Secrets, truth; and art so mad to dare (In glory of thy fortunes) to approue, That rich-crownd Venus, mixt with thee in loue; Ioue (fir’d with my aspersion, so dispred) Will, with a wreakefull lightning, dart thee dead.”

10. (countable, uncountable)Something glorious.

    “It was a woman’s clothing, beyond a doubt, […] The two men gazed at the heap of feminine glories, — it might have been the most wonderful sight they ever had seen.”

verb

1. To exult with joy; to rejoice.

   “In what the Apostle did glory?—He gloried in a Cross. ... [T]o the Ear of a Galatian, it conveyed much the same Meaning, as if the Apostle had gloried in a Halter; gloried in the Gallows; gloried in a Gibbet.”

   “He says he glories in what happened, and that good may be done indirectly; but I wish he would not so wear himself out now he is getting old, and would leave such pigs to their wallowing.”

   “When the passion is extreme, suffering may actually be gloried in, provided it be for the ideal cause, death may lose its sting, the grave its victory.”

2. To boast; to be proud.

   “For if in anything I have gloried to him on your behalf, I was not put to shame; but as we spake all things to you in truth, so our glorying also, which I made before Titus, was found to be truth.”

3. (archaic, poetic)To shine radiantly.

   “Down in a casement sat, A low sea-sunset glorying round her hair”

name

1. A female given name from English.

   “Glory said, “I think we should change the subject.” “Your mother wanted to call her Gloria, the usual spelling, but I couldn't see that, when all the other names are in English.””