glassie

glassie — noun

1. A small, round ball made of coloured glass that children shoot or roll in marble

1.nounB2
Definition

A small, round ball made of coloured glass that children shoot or roll in marble games, trying to hit other players' balls.

Example

Nathan won five glassies after beating Chen in the school marble tournament.

collocation: win + glassies

The children knelt on the dusty ground, aiming their glassies at the target circle.

Common collocations
  • shoot a glassie
  • win a glassie
  • lose a glassie
  • trade glassies
  • collect glassies
  • shiny glassie
  • coloured glassie
  • favourite glassie
  • lucky glassie
  • glassie collection
Synonyms
  • marble

    the general term for any small toy ball used in the game, whether glass, clay, or stone

  • aggie

    a marble made of agate rather than glass; more expensive and historically older

  • shooter

    a larger, heavier marble used to shoot at other marbles, not necessarily made of glass

Grammar Patterns

glassie + verb (singular/plural)

number + glassies

Usage Note

Frequently appears in the plural form (glassies) because the game involves multiple marbles. The singular (a glassie) is used when referring to one marble as a countable item.

Common Mistakes

I found a pretty glassy in the park.
I found a pretty glassie in the park.
'Glassy' is an adjective meaning 'like glass'; the marble is spelled 'glassie'.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words refer to small toy balls used in the game of marbles. 'Marble' is the umbrella term for any such ball, regardless of the material — clay, stone, agate, or glass. 'Glassie' is a narrower term meaning specifically a marble made of glass, prized for its bright colours and the way light passes through it. 'Aggie' originally referred to marbles carved from agate, a hard stone; today the word is sometimes used for any high-quality (often glass) marble. 'Shooter' describes a larger, heavier marble used as the striking ball, while 'peewee' is a very small marble used as a target. If you say 'I have a bag of glassies,' you emphasize the material; if you say 'I have a bag of shooters,' you emphasize their role in the game.

marble ↗aggie ↗shooterpeewee

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

Formed by adding the informal '-ie' suffix (which creates affectionate or diminutive nouns) to the word 'glass', from Old English 'glæs' meaning the hard, transparent material. The word appears in American English from the late 19th century, when children began distinguishing marbles by material — glassies versus common clay marbles.