mirror
[mir-er]
- a reflecting surface, originally of polished metal but now usually of glass with a silvery, metallic, or amalgam backing.
- such a surface set into a frame, attached to a handle, etc., for use in viewing oneself or as an ornament.
- any reflecting surface, as the surface of calm water under certain lighting conditions.
- Optics. a surface that is either plane, concave, or convex and that reflects rays of light.
- something that gives a minutely faithful representation, image, or idea of something else: Gershwin's music was a mirror of its time.
- a pattern for imitation; exemplar: a man who was the mirror of fashion.
- a glass, crystal, or the like, used by magicians, diviners, etc.
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- to reflect in or as if in a mirror.
- to reflect as a mirror does.
- to mimic or imitate (something) accurately.
- to be or give a faithful representation, image, or idea of: Her views on politics mirror mine completely.
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- Music. (of a canon or fugue) capable of being played in retrograde or in inversion, as though read in a mirror placed beside or below the music.
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- with mirrors, by or as if by magic.
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Origin of mirror
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
exemplify, represent, depict, imitate, echo, typify, mimic, personify, epitomize, embody, follow, symbolize, illustrate, speculum, reflector, show, emulate, double, image, glassExamples from the Web for mirror
Contemporary Examples
In it, he finds a large mirror, and when he looks into the mirror, he sees his parents standing behind him.
He runs to find his friend Ron to show him his parents in the mirror.
But when Ron looks into the mirror, he sees himself being carried on the shoulders of his teammates, the hero who won the game.
But she is, in her way, holding a mirror up to nature, and objects in this mirror may be closer than they appear.
And the mirror replied: “You, my queen, may have a beauty quite rare, but Little Snow White is a thousand times more fair.”
Historical Examples
Over the seat is a mirror cut into small squares by wooden muntins.
The SpendersHarry Leon Wilson
After that she must pin it on, and slip in to stand before his mirror and inspect the result.
KMary Roberts Rinehart
Her stiff cap moved in the breeze as it swung from the corner of her mirror.
KMary Roberts Rinehart
"I feel an awful fool in it," he murmured, glancing at his reflection in the mirror.
The Foolish LoversSt. John G. Ervine
The principle of the siphon recorder is exactly the inverse of the mirror galvanometer.
Heroes of the TelegraphJ. Munro
mirror
- a surface, such as polished metal or glass coated with a metal film, that reflects light without diffusion and produces an image of an object placed in front of it
- such a reflecting surface mounted in a frame
- any reflecting surface
- a thing that reflects or depicts something elsethe press is a mirror of public opinion
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- (tr) to reflect, represent, or depict faithfullyhe mirrors his teacher's ideals
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Word Origin
C13: from Old French from mirer to look at, from Latin mīrārī to wonder at
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for mirror
n.
early 13c., from Old French mireoir "a reflecting glass, looking glass; observation, model, example," earlier miradoir (11c.), from mirer "look at" (oneself in a mirror), "observe, watch, contemplate," from Vulgar Latin *mirare "to look at," variant of Latin mirari "to wonder at, admire" (see miracle). Figurative usage is attested from c.1300. Used in divination since classical and biblical times; mirrors in modern England are the subject of at least 14 known superstitions, according to folklorists. Belief that breaking one brings bad luck is attested from 1777. The Spanish cognate, mirador (from mirar "to look, look at, behold"), has come to mean "watch tower." Mirror ball attested from 1968.
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v.
"to reflect," 1590s, from mirror (n.). Related: Mirrored; mirroring. The Middle English verb mirouren (early 15c.) meant "to be a model" (for conduct, behavior, etc.), while miren (mid-14c., from Old French mirer) meant "to look in a mirror."
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
mirror
[mĭr′ər]
- An object that causes light or other radiation to be reflected from its surface, with little or no diffusion. Common mirrors consist of a thin sheet or film of metal, such as silver, behind or covering a glass pane. Mirrors are used extensively in telescopes, microscopes, lasers, fiber optics, measuring instruments, and many other devices. See more at reflection.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.