• Original language: English
  • Original form and meaning: 1.) 'alluring or exciting beauty or charm', +2.) 'showy decoration or ornament; gaudiness', +3.) 'showiness' [+ stands for additional meanings that are not English in origin (semantic pseudo-anglicisms)]

"This word was firmly established through American films after 1945 - with significant exclusion of Eastern Europe. The negative connotation, found in some English contexts, is more conspicuous in the loanords." (DEA*, p. 133)


(Note: If the status is not specifically indicated then the word is stylistically neutral and generally used; if earlier meaning and status equals current use the former may be expressed by writing "dito". Cf. also the project guidelines.)


Language Form Date of Borrowing (and Obsolescence) Current Meaning and Status Earlier Meanings and Statusses Source
Catalan ... ... '...' '...' ...
Croatian glamour [glamur] mid20c meaning +2; status: restricted use DEA*
Czech ... ... '...' '...' ...
Danish ... ... '...' '...' ...
Dutch glamour [= Engl. pron.] 1950s meaning +2; status: restricted use, obsolescent DEA*
English glamour ['glæmə] 1720, 'magic, enchantment' (especially in phrase to cast the glamour), Scottish variant grammar 'magic, enchantment, magic spell', because occult practices were popularly associated with learning; popularized by the writings of Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832); sense of 'magical beauty, alluring charm' first recorded 1840; glamorous is 1882 (slang shortening glam first attested 1936); glamorize is 1936 'charm or allure, fascination'; 'fascinating or voluptuous beauty, often dependent on artifice'; (archaic) 'a magic spell', 'charm' Collins Engl. Dictionary (4th ed.); Etymonline [1]
Estonian ... ... '...' '...' ...
Finnish glamour [= Engl. pron.] 20c meaning +2; status: known mainly to bilinguals DEA*
French glamour [glamuR] 1970s meaning +2; status: restricted use, modish DEA*
Frisian ... ... '...' '...' ...
German Glamour [= Engl. pron.] 1950s meaning +2; status: restricted use, obslescent DEA*
Hungarian glamour [gle:mər] mid20c meaning +2; status: restricted use, technical DEA*
Irish ... ... '...' '...' ...
Italian glamour [glεmur/glamur] 1950s meaning 1; status: restricted use, less frequent than fascino, charme DEA*
Latvian ... ... '...' '...' ...
Lithuanian ... ... '...' '...' ...
Maltese ... ... '...' '...' ...
Norwegian glamour [= Engl. pron./glamu:r] 1950s meaning +2; status: restricted use DEA*
Polish ... ... '...' '...' ...
Portuguese ... ... '...' '...' ...
Rumantsch ... ... '...' '...' ...
Slovak ... ... '...' '...' ...
Slovenian ... ... '...' '...' ...
Spanish glamour [glamur] 1960s meanings 1 and +2; status: fully accepted but still marked as English DEA*
Swedish ... ... '...' '...' ...
  • Annotations: *DEA = Dictionary of European Anglicisms by Manfred Görlach (2001), Oxford: OUP.

Information on Other Languages

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  • Icelandic: glamúr [kla:mur]; end20c; meaning +2; status: restricted to colloquial use.
  • Greek: glamour [glamur]; end20c; meanings +2 and +3; status: fully accepted but still marked as English, modish, journalese.,