glimmen

Glimmen is a Dutch verb meaning to glimmer, glow faintly, or smoulder. It describes light or heat that persists at a low level, such as embers in a fire, a candle's glow, or a hearth that continues to shine in the evening. It can also be used to describe a soft, warm atmosphere in a room or in a person's appearance or mood when a subtle glow is visible.

Glimmen is often used metaphorically to denote faint or tentative phenomena, such as a glimmer of hope, a barely perceptible sign, or interest that flickers and then fades. The term emphasizes persistence and subtlety rather than a strong, bright emission.

The word is of Germanic origin and appears in related forms in other West Germanic languages, reflecting shared roots for words meaning light or glow. In Dutch, glimmen and its noun form glim (a gleam) are used in literary and everyday language.

Related terms include glimmer, shimmer, and gleam; they appear in discussions of light and warmth in Dutch literature and translation.