alpenglow means A rosy or reddish glow seen during sunset or sunrise on the summits of mountains, especially snow-covered mountains on the opposite side of the sun. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 91 out of 100.
Why this word is great
ALPENGLOW — [Noun] The rosy, horizontal radiance illuminating high mountain peaks, particularly snow-clad ones, when the sun is just below the opposite horizon at dawn or dusk. Its name is a partial calque of German Alpenglühen, from Alpen ("the Alps") + Glühen ("glow"), with the second element translated to English glow. Unlike the diffuse, atmospheric surrender of "afterglow" or the direct solar event of "sunrise," alpenglow is a borrowed light, a precise gift of geometry and atmosphere. It is the cold granite stained the colour of embers, the snowfield transformed into a slab of luminous rose quartz, and the peak wearing a final, radiant benediction before the dark—a poignant proof that the most profound illumination often arrives only when its source has vanished.
noun
- A rosy or reddish glow seen during sunset or sunrise on the summits of mountains, especially snow-covered mountains on the opposite side of the sun.“But Jim was all smiles and, as if in added welcome, alpenglow suddenly flared to flood the summit hot pink and lit up the cabin.”