Loom \Loom\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Loomed; p. pr. & vb. n. Looming.]

[OE. lumen to shine, Icel. ljoma; akin to AS. le['o]ma light, and E. light; or cf. OF. lumer to shine, L. luminare to illumine, lumen light; akin to E. light. ? See Light not dark.]

1. To appear above the surface either of sea or land, or to appear enlarged, or distorted and indistinct, as a distant object, a ship at sea, or a mountain, esp. from atmospheric influences; as, the ship looms large; the land looms high.

Awful she looms, the terror of the main. --H. J. Pye.

2. To rise and to be eminent; to be elevated or ennobled, in a moral sense.

On no occasion does he [Paul] loom so high, and shine so gloriously, as in the context. --J. M. Mason.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)