All That Glitters Is Not Gold, and Shakespeare Wrote Glisters
Glitter is bright sparkling light, and the tiny plastic flakes named after it. The proverb everyone quotes has changed one word since 1596.
To glitter is to shine with many small flashes of light. The famous line in *The Merchant of Venice* is *all that glisters is not gold*; *glisters* was the ordinary word then, and later editors and speakers quietly replaced it with the one still in use.
- To shine with flashing light. *Frost glittered on the grass.*
- Sparkling light. *The glitter of the chandelier.*
- Tiny reflective flakes. *Craft glitter.*
- Superficial attractiveness. *All glitter and no substance.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | glitter | The lake glittered. |
| Past | glittered | It glittered briefly. |
| Noun | glitter | Gold glitter. |
| Adjective | glittering | A glittering career. |
| Related | glisten | Glistening with rain. |
How it is used in a sentence
- Snow glittered under the streetlight.Many small points of light.
- Her glittering career ended abruptly.Glittering means brilliant and admired.
- Some councils have banned plastic glitter.It is a microplastic.
Shining words, distinguished
- Glitter — many small bright flashes
- Glisten — a wet, soft shine
- Sparkle — bright points, often moving
- Shimmer — a soft trembling light
- Gleam — a single steady shine
From Old Norse *glitra*, to shine, part of a large Germanic family of *gl-* words about light: gleam, glow, glare, glisten, glimmer, glimpse.
Is the quotation glitters or glisters?
Shakespeare wrote glisters. Glitters is the form nearly everyone uses today, and both are recorded in dictionaries of quotations.
Glitter or glisten?
Glitter is hard and flashing, like frost or sequins. Glisten is soft and wet, like skin or a rain-covered road.