moonglade

Etymology

From moon + glade.

Why this word is great

MOONGLADE — [Noun] The bright reflection of moonlight on a body of water. From moon ("Earth's natural satellite") + glade ("an open space or clearing"). Unlike "moonshine" (which refers to the light itself) or "moonbeam" (which suggests a single shaft of light), "moonglade" is the liquid alchemy of celestial light and earthly water. It is the silver path trembling on the black surface of a midnight lake, the fractured glow rippling across a slow-moving river, or the way the ocean seems to dissolve into mercury under a full moon—a fleeting bridge between the heavens and the depths, proof that even the coldest light can be made fluid.

noun

The bright reflection of moonlight on a body of water.“Moonglade and sunglade on ocean or lake have a haunting and suggestive beauty. The reflected lane of light supplies what the mind craves in a picture—a path that seems to lead to some place of unknown and longed-for happiness […]”