a comment on the text of any author, to explain his sense more fully and at large, whether in the same language or any other. See the article COMMENTARY.—The word, according to some, comes from the Greek γλῶσσα, "tongue;" the office of a gloss being to explain the text, as that of the tongue is to discover the mind.

GLOSS is likewise used for a literal translation, or an interpretation of an author in another language word for word.

GLOSS is also used in matters of commerce, &c. for the lustre of a silk, fluff, or the like.