1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Glory

GLORY (through the O. Fr. glorie, modern gloire, from Lat. gloria, cognate with Gr. κλεός, κλύειν), a synonym for fame, renown, honour, and thus used of anything which reflects honour and renown on its possessor. In the phrase “glory of God” the word implies both the honour due to the Creator, and His majesty and effulgence. In liturgies of the Christian Church are the Gloria Patri, the doxology beginning “Glory be to the Father,” the response Gloria tibi, Domine, “Glory be to Thee, O Lord,” sung or said after the giving out of the Gospel for the day, and the Gloria in excelsis, “Glory be to God on high,” sung during the Mass and Communion service. A “glory” is the term often used as synonymous with halo, nimbus or aureola (q.v.) for the ring of light encircling the head or figure in a pictorial or other representation of sacred persons.