Glossed

Glossed is the past tense and past participle of gloss, a term with several related but distinct meanings across disciplines. In general use, glossed describes something that has been given a gloss—either a surface finish that adds shine or a brief explanatory note—or a figurative act of interpreting or smoothing over details. As an adjective, glossed items are those that have received a gloss or highlight.

In materials science and publishing, gloss refers to a shiny or lustrous surface finish. A glossed surface is coated with lacquer, varnish, or a resin to achieve high reflectivity. Glossed paper has a smooth, reflective surface, and gloss finishes on wood, leather, or plastics are chosen for appearance as well as durability.

In textual studies and linguistics, a gloss is an explanatory annotation or a translated rendering aligned with the original text. A glossed text includes these annotations, often in interlinear form, to show grammatical structure or meaning. The verb gloss can also mean to provide such an annotation or translation.

In rhetoric and editing, gloss is used in the phrase gloss over, meaning to downplay, obscure, or omit problematic details. This figurative use contrasts with the literal sense of adding an explanatory note or a surface finish. The term’s origins lie with the old practice of supplying marginal notes that clarify a text or illuminate its meaning.