I’d be interested in the general reaction to what I would expect the difference between glossy and shiny might be:

Glossy surfaces have diffuse reflection. Shiny things have direct reflection.

You can see an image in a shiny surface (though you may need to magnify the surface to see that image, as in the afore-mentioned chain mail). You can’t generally see distinct images on any scale in glossy surfaces.

So, shiny things tend to be silvery, while glossy things tend to have colors other than silver.

Is this useful or misguided?

charghwI’ vaghnerya’ngan

rInpa’ bomnIS be’’a’ pI’.

On Jul 28, 2020, at 10:34 AM, janSIy . <kenjutsuka@live.com> wrote:

I agree that there is significant overlap and that a second word was not really necessary.

However, being in this situation now, I would say that the difference is the smoothness. Glossy = shiny + smooth. All glossy things are shiny, not all shiny things are glossy. The blade of my katana is shiny, but not glossy. The lacquer on the scabbard is glossy.

I would further suggest that only a coating can be glossy and not an uncoated object, but I haven't fully explored and tested that concept.


From: tlhIngan-Hol <tlhingan-hol-bounces@lists.kli.org> on behalf of Lieven L. Litaer <levinius@gmx.de>
Sent: Tuesday, July 28, 2020 8:08:56 AM
To: tlhingan-hol@kli.org <tlhingan-hol@kli.org>
Subject: Re: [tlhIngan Hol] New words
 
Am 28.07.2020 um 14:53 schrieb SuStel:
> https://wikidiff.com/shiny/glossy#:~:text=As%20adjectives%20the%20difference%20between,smooth%2C%20silklike%2C%20reflective%20surface.

Thanks, that looks useful, but still doesn't help, because there is
overlap in meaning.

When I read "reflective surface" I think of a blade, which is {boch}.
And a glossy surface might still be reflecting light, does it not?
That's what the wikipeida article explains as well....

Does maybe "glossy" refer to the surface quality, while "shiny" says
what it does? So could I say that a glossy surface is shiny?
--
Lieven L. Litaer
aka the "Klingon Teacher from Germany"
http://www.tlhInganHol.com

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