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In his poem “After the Winter,” Jamaican-born poet and novelist Claude McKay writes of a “summer isle / Where bamboos spire to shafted grove / And wide-mouthed orchids smile,” declaring that “… we will build a cottage there / Beside an open glade …” It’s a serene, joyous vision offered to the speaker’s beloved, and it may shine a bit of light on the etymological connection between glade and the adjective glad, besides. Glade, which has been part of the English language since the early 1500s, was originally used not just to indicate a clearing in the woods but often specifically to refer to one filled with sunlight (note that McKay specifies that his glade is “open,” as glades can be in full or partial shade). It’s this sunniness that has led some etymologists over the years to suggest a connection with glad, which in Middle English also meant “shining.” To further the intrigue, a now-obsolete sense of glade once referred to a clear or bright space in the sky, or to a flash of light or lightning.
Examples of glade in a Sentence
Caroline Tell, CNN Money, 25 Feb. 2026
No colonial power had ever controlled the swamps and savannas of the interior—an alien land of lagoons, glade marshes, prairies, and hardwood thickets.
—Literary Hub, 23 Feb. 2026
Compared with other snow-rich, glade-heavy resorts, Sutton remains refreshingly affordable.
—Claire Sibonney, Travel + Leisure, 23 Feb. 2026
Saturday Night Live alum Bobby Moynihan voices King George, head beaver overseeing the glade.
—Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 9 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for glade
Cite this Entry
“Glade.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/glade. Accessed 8 Mar. 2026.
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glade
noun
