Definition of "glass"

The ability of a segment of a glass sphere to magnify whatever is placed before it was known around the year 1000, when the spherical segment was called a reading stone, essentially what today we might term a frameless magnifying glass or plain glass paperweight.

2013 September-October, Henry Petroski, “The Evolution of Eyeglasses”, in American Scientist

Here was my chance. I took the old man aside, and two or three glasses of Old Crow launched him into reminiscence.

1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter II, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd.

At half-past nine on this Saturday evening, the parlour of the Salutation Inn, High Holborn, contained most of its customary visitors. […] In former days every tavern of repute kept such a room for its own select circle, a club, or society, of habitués, who met every evening, for a pipe and a cheerful glass.

1892, Walter Besant, chapter III, in The Ivory Gate […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […]

[…] for what lady can abide to love a spruce silken-face courtier, that stands every morning two or three hours learning how to look by his glass, how to speak by his glass, how to sigh by his glass, how to court his mistress by his glass? I would wish him no other plague, but to have a mistress as brittle as glass.

1599, Thomas Dekker, Old Fortunatus, Act III, Scene 1, J.M. Dent & Co., 1904, p. 67

As of old, he took down his portable glass hanging on a nail, and carefully wiping it, replaced it in its case.

1907, Barbara Baynton, edited by Sally Krimmer and Alan Lawson, Human Toll (Portable Australian Authors: Barbara Baynton), St Lucia: University of Queensland Press, published 1980, page 216

Haviers, or stags which have been gelded when young, have no horns, as is well known, and in the early part of the stalking season, when seen through a glass, might be mistaken for hummels […]

1912, The Encyclopædia of Sport & Games

The glass is falling hour by hour, the glass will fall for ever / But if you break the bloody glass you won’t hold up the weather.

1938, Louis MacNeice, “Bagpipe Music”, in The Earth Compels‎, page 59

Were my Wiues Liuer / Infected (as her life) ſhe would not liue / The running of one Glaſſe.

c. 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act I, scene ii]

[N]o sooner had we entered Holbourn than letting down one of the Front Glasses I enquired of every decent-looking Person that we passed ‘If they had seen my Edward?’

1790, Jane Austen, “Love and Freindship”, in Juvenilia

As Iewels in Christall for some Prince to buy. / Who tendring their own worth from whence they were glast,

c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Loues Labour’s Lost”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act II, scene i]

And to ſatisfie my ſelf, that the diverſity came not from the Paper, vvhich one might ſuſpect capable of imbibing the Liquor, and altering the Colour, I made the Tryal upon a flat piece of purely VVhite Glaſs'd Earth, […]

1664, Robert Boyle, “Experiment XLIV”, in Experiments and Considerations Touching Colours. […], 2nd edition, London: […] Henry Herringman […], published 1670, part III (Containing Promiscuous Experiments about Colours), page 333

JUDD. Any trouble last night? / LES. Usual. Couple of punks got glassed.

1987, John Godber, Bouncers page 19

I often mused on what the politicians or authorities would say if they could see for themselves the horrendous consequences of someone who’d been glassed, or viciously assaulted.

2002, Geoff Doherty, A Promoter's Tale page 72

One night he was in this nightclub in Sheffield and he got glassed by this bloke who’d been just let out of prison that day.

2003, Mark Sturdy, Pulp page 139

“The Covenant don’t ‘miss’ anything when they glass a planet,” the Master Chief replied.

2012, Halo: First Strike,, page 190

Andy took his binoculars and glassed the area below.

2000, Ben D. Mahaffey, 50 Years of Hunting and Fishing, page 95

One of the keys to glassing effectively is supporting your binoculars. Advanced glassers who scan lots of country for long periods of time, or who use binoculars of 10X power or more, often use a lightweight camera tripod […]

2000, Field & Stream, volume 105, number 6, page 87

Happy to glass themselves in so brilliant a mirror.

1856, John Lothrop Motley, The Rise of the Dutch Republic. A History. […], volumes (please specify |volume=I to III), New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […]

Where the Almighty's form glasses itself in tempests.

1818, Lord Byron, “Canto IV”, in Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. Canto the Fourth, London: John Murray, […], stanza LXXXIII

Not only were his eyes averted from mine, but they were glassed to an uncanny degree.

2018, Harry Leon Wilson, Ruggles of Red Gap, page 199

Bourez had timed it perfectly: a wind that was forecast for the morning began to stir just after his arrival and the sea glassed off for a brief period before the waves grew bigger and bigger.

2012, Keith Duggan, Cliffs Of Insanity: A Winter On Ireland's Big Waves, page 32