glassed

Glassed is the past tense and past participle of the verb glass, and it has several related but distinct uses in English. In a technical or manufacturing context, to glass a surface or object means to coat it with glass or to fuse glass onto a substrate, creating a glassy coating or finish. This sense is common in discussions of glass production, glazing processes, and the application of glass coatings to protect or seal materials.

In more everyday language, glassed can describe items that have been encased in glass or finished with a glass coating, such as a glassed-over surface or a piece that has been treated to have a glassy exterior. The noun form glass and the adjective glassy are more frequently used for describing appearance, texture, or composition.

Glassed also appears in slang as the past tense of the verb to glass, meaning to strike someone with a glass bottle or other glass vessel, typically in a violent incident. This usage is informal and often restricted to reporting on assaults or describing incidents in bars or street settings. It carries strong connotations and can be considered offensive or inflammatory in some contexts.

Etymology traces glass to the Old English glæs, with the verb sense developing from the broader semantic field of coating or covering with a glassy material. The term remains specialized; in most technical literature and everyday writing, more precise terms like glaze, coating, or glassy are preferred for clarity.

See also: glass, glazing, glassy, vitreous.