Why “aglow” is a great word
Glowing or radiant with light, warmth, or a strong positive feeling. From the English prefix a- (in, on, at) + glow (to emit light and heat, especially without flame), first recorded in 1810–20. Unlike 'luminous,' which denotes an inherent, steady property of an object, or 'flushed,' which specifies a reddening of the skin, 'aglow' is the temporary inhabitation of radiance. It is the soft, coppery light clinging to a child’s cheeks after an autumn afternoon, the ember-brightness of a hearth-lit room, or the intangible aura of contentment around a person lost in private joy—the brief, borrowed brilliance that depends on circumstance and cannot be sustained, only remembered.