Loom \Loom\ (l[=oo]m), v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Loomed} (l[=oo]md);
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. [root]122. 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.

3. To become imminent; to impend.
[PJC]