Gloria
name, noun ·Uncommon ·College level
Definitions
- 1 A lightweight fabric used for umbrellas and dresses. countable, uncountable
- 2 A doxology. countable
"The glorias, canticles, and some translations of popular hymns are admirably sung; I do not know that I ever heard congregational singing more effective."
- 1 A female given name from Latin, popular during the first half of the 20th century.
"Miss Flax, the little thin sister, and Miss Gloria, the stout able-bodied sister, lifted up their hands and eyes in horror at the mere hint of a wet nurse."
- 2 The Gloria in excelsis Deo, a hymn sung during the liturgy of many churches.
"“What did the priest, and all of you, keep on saying when we first went in?” / “Our Fathers, Hail Maries, and Glorias; couldn’t you hear?” asked Emily, laughing. / “No, I should think not, you rattled on so fast- What are Hail Maries and Glorias?” / “The Gloria you know well enough, my dear, because you say it in your church at the end of every psalm,” replied Miss Horton; “the Hail Mary is a prayer to our Blessed Lady,” and she repeated it."
Example
More examples"Gloria was easily the best singer of that evening."
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin gloria. Doublet of glory.
From Latin gloria (“glory”), first used as a name in 19th-century literature.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.