glob

English

Etymology

This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

Possibly a blend of blob +‎ gob or a clipping of globule. An element of sound symbolism is clearly involved: compare such phonetically and semantically similar words as glop, gop, blob, clump and clod. (Still, globe, clump and clod may be related via the Proto-Indo-European root *gel-; compare clew.[1])

In the programming sense, originates from the early (c. 1970) Unix command glob; short for global.

In the biological sense, proposed by Bevil R. Conway and Doris Y. Tsao, by analogy with the cytochrome-oxidase "blobs" of V1, an earlier stage in the hierarchical elaboration of colour. (Can this(+) etymology be sourced?)

Pronunciation
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • (US) IPA(key): /ɡlɑb/
  • (UK) IPA(key): /ɡlɒb/
  • Rhymes: -ɑb, -ɒb

Noun

glob (plural globs)

  1. A round, shapeless or amorphous lump, as of a semisolid substance.
    He put a glob of paint into the cup and went on painting.
  2. (programming) A limited pattern matching technique using wildcards, less powerful than a regular expression.
  3. (biology) A millimeter-sized colour module found beyond the visual area V2 in the brain's parvocellular pathway.

See also

Verb

glob (third-person singular simple present globs, present participle globbing, simple past and past participle globbed)

  1. To stick in globs or lumps.
    Paint was globbing off the wall.
  2. (programming) To carry out pattern matching using a glob.

References
  1. Pokorny, Julius (1959) Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch [Indo-European Etymological Dictionary] (in German), volume 2, Bern, München: Francke Verlag, page 359

Further reading

Anagrams

Polish

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin globus. Doublet of gleba and globus.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ɡlɔp/
  • Audio(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɔp
  • Syllabification: glob

Noun

glob m inan

  1. planet, globe
    Synonym: ziemia

Declension
Declension of glob
singular plural
nominative glob globy
genitive globu globów
dative globowi globom
accusative glob globy
instrumental globem globami
locative globie globach
vocative globie globy

Further reading
  • glob in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
  • glob in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French globe, from Latin globus.

Noun

glob n (plural globuri)

  1. globe (all senses)

Declension
Declension of glob
singular plural
indefinite articulation definite articulation indefinite articulation definite articulation
nominative/accusative (un) glob globul (niște) globuri globurile
genitive/dative (unui) glob globului (unor) globuri globurilor
vocative globule globurilor

Swedish

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

glob c

  1. a globe

Declension
Declension of glob 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative glob globen glober globerna
Genitive globs globens globers globernas
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