gleam

Gleam is a word used in English as both a noun and a verb. As a noun, it denotes a small, faint, or short-lived light, such as a glimmer or sparkle. As a verb, gleam means to shine briefly or faintly, or to show a brief onset of light, often used metaphorically as in a gleam of hope.

Etymology: The term derives from Old English gleam and has cognates in other Germanic languages, reflecting a long history of describing light. The sense broadened to include metaphorical brightness in vision or prospects.

In usage, gleam appears in phrases like a gleam in his eye and a gleam of sunlight. It is commonly used in literature and journalism to convey momentary brightness or a hint of possibility.

Computing: Gleam is also the name of a statically typed functional programming language that compiles to the BEAM virtual machine, the runtime used by Erlang and Elixir. Gleam emphasizes safety and productivity, offering a strong type system with type inference, algebraic data types, and a module system designed for interoperation with existing BEAM code. It is intended to be readable and approachable, with interoperability allowing developers to call into Erlang and Elixir libraries from Gleam.

Other uses: As a proper noun, Gleam may refer to brands, projects, or organizations that have adopted the name, independent of the common noun meaning.