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Glib vs Witty - What's the difference?

glib | witty |

As adjectives the difference between glib and witty

is that glib is having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding; superficial; shallow while witty is (label) wise, having good judgement.

As a verb glib

is to make glib or glib can be (obsolete) to castrate; to geld; to emasculate.

As a noun glib

is (historical) a mass of matted hair worn down over the eyes, formerly worn in ireland.

glib

English

Etymology 1

Probably modification of Low German glibberig'' (slippery) or a shortening of English ''glibbery (slippery).

Adjective

(glibber)
  • Having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding; superficial; shallow.
  • Smooth or slippery.
    • a sheet of glib ice
  • Artfully persuasive in nature.
    • a glib''' tongue; a '''glib speech
  • * Shakespeare
    • I want that glib and oily art, / To speak and purpose not.
    Derived terms
    * glibly * glibness

    Verb

    (glibb)
  • To make glib.
    • (Bishop Hall)

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) glib.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (historical) A mass of matted hair worn down over the eyes, formerly worn in Ireland.
  • *1596 , (Edmund Spenser), The Faerie Queene , IV.8:
  • *:Whom when she saw in wretched weedes disguiz'd, / With heary glib deform'd and meiger face, / Like ghost late risen from his grave agryz'd, / She knew him not […].
  • * Spenser
    • The Irish have, from the Scythians, mantles and long glibs , which is a thick curled bush of hair hanging down over their eyes, and monstrously disguising them.
  • * Southey
    • Their wild costume of the glib and mantle.

    Etymology 3

    Compare Old English and dialect (lib) to castrate, geld, Danish dialect (live), Low German and Old Dutch lubben.

    Verb

    (glibb)
  • (obsolete) To castrate; to geld; to emasculate.
  • * 1623 : , Act II Scene 1
    • Fourteen they shall not see
    To bring false generations. They are co-heirs;
    And I had rather glib myself than they
    Should not produce fair issue.
    (Webster 1913) ---- ==Serbo-Croatian==

    Noun

  • mud, mire

    • Declension

    {{sh-decl-noun , gl?b, glíbovi , gliba, glibova , glibu, glibovima , glib, glibove , glibe, glibovi , glibu, glibovima , glibom, glibovima }}

    witty

    English

    Adjective

    (er)
  • (label) Wise, having good judgement.
  • *, Bk.VIII, Ch.viij:
  • *:Then cam there a lady that was a wytty lady, and she seyde playnly unto the Kyngthat he sholde never be hole but yf that Sir Trystrames wente into the same contrey than the venym came fro, and in that contrey sholde he be holpyn, other ellys never.
  • (label) Possessing a strong intellect or intellectual capacity; intelligent, skilful, ingenious.
  • *, II.7:
  • *:It hath beene a witty invention.
  • Clever; amusingly ingenious.
  • :
  • Full of wit.
  • :
  • Quick of mind; insightful; in possession of wits.
  • :

    • Synonyms

    * facetious * humorous * jocose * jocular * quick * See also