Mirror
nounA smooth reflective surface, usually of silvered glass, that shows an image of whatever is placed before it.
How to spell mirror
6 letters · 2 syllables
How to pronounce mirror
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does mirror mean?
- nounA smooth reflective surface, usually of silvered glass, that shows an image of whatever is placed before it.
- verbTo reflect something or to closely match it in form or behaviour.
Mirror in a sentence
-
noun
She checked her hair in the bathroom mirror before the interview.
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verb
The calm lake seemed to mirror the mountains above it.
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noun
The driver adjusted the rear-view mirror before pulling away.
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verb
The new figures mirror last year's seasonal dip almost exactly.
Where does mirror come from?
Language of origin: French
The word comes from the Old French mirour or mireor, meaning a looking-glass, which in turn rests on the Latin verb mirari, meaning 'to wonder at' or 'to admire', from mirus 'wonderful, astonishing'. A mirror, then, was literally a thing you gaze at and marvel into. English took the word over in the early 1200s, when polished metal rather than silvered glass was the everyday reflecting surface. The same Latin root sits inside a whole family of familiar words, including 'miracle', 'admire', and 'marvel', all of which keep that idea of wondering and gazing. The spelling trap is the double r and the unstressed second syllable: the ending sounds like a vague 'er', so writers must remember it is -ror, not -er, and that only the middle consonant doubles.
How the word is built
- mir- (from Latin mirari: to wonder at, look at)
- -or (noun/agent suffix)
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