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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
Katie Walsh, Twin Cities, 5 Mar. 2026
That’s quite a leap of faith, given that Mayor Jerry is willing to blow up the beavers’ dam — the ecological fulcrum of the glade — and has installed tall metal trees with speakers that emit an intolerable noise only animals can hear.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 2 Mar. 2026
But in the present day, with the glade abandoned, the only hope for construction to stop is for Mabel to find a beaver — a keystone species — that can once again make the area inhabitable.
—Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 2 Mar. 2026
The terrain favors glades and varied pitches, and the compact base keeps logistics simple.
—Caroline Tell, CNN Money, 25 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 12 Mar. 2026.
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glade
noun
