mirror

A2 Topic:General Vocabulary

Also spelled mirrours

US /ˈmiɹ.ɚ/ UK /ˈmɪɹ.ɐ/ See IPA manual

Freq #2191

Meanings

1

noun
A piece of glass with a special backing that you can see your reflection in.

She looked in the mirror to check her hair.
2

verb
To be very similar to something, or to reflect it closely.

His success mirrored that of his older brother.
3

noun
Something that reflects or shows the true nature of another thing.

His story is a mirror of life for many young orphans.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a piece of glass with a... glass looking-glass

Word family

Forms mirroredmirroringmirrors

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

pier mirror
a tall mirror placed on the wall between two windows

Noun + noun

Idioms (1)

See all

smoke and mirrors
a deceptive or illusory presentation that hides what is really going on

Etymology

From Middle English mirour, from Old French mireor (“mirror”, literally “looker, watcher”), from mirer (“look at”), from Latin mīror (“wonder at”), from mīrus (“wonderful”), from Proto-Indo-European *smey- (“to laugh, to be glad”). Displaced native Middle English schewere, schawere, from Old English sċēawere (“mirror”, literally “watcher”), which was also the word for "spy".

*(s)mey- Proto-Indo-European mirour Middle English mireor Old French mīror Latin *smey- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# mirror

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈmiɹ.ɚ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈmɪɹ.ɐ/
**Frequency rank:** 2191

## Meanings
1. A piece of glass with a special backing that you can see your reflection in.
2. To be very similar to something, or to reflect it closely.
3. Something that reflects or shows the true nature of another thing.

## Examples
- She looked in the mirror to check her hair.
- His success mirrored that of his older brother.
- His story is a mirror of life for many young orphans.

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *(s)mey-
- Root: mirour
- Root: mireor
- Root: mīror
- Root: *smey-

## Etymology
From Middle English mirour, from Old French mireor (“mirror”, literally “looker, watcher”), from mirer (“look at”), from Latin mīror (“wonder at”), from mīrus (“wonderful”), from Proto-Indo-European *smey- (“to laugh, to be glad”). Displaced native Middle English schewere, schawere, from Old English sċēawere (“mirror”, literally “watcher”), which was also the word for "spy".

## AI Etymology
Mirror comes from Middle English mirour, from Old French mireor (“mirror”, literally “looker, watcher”), from mirer (“look at”), from Latin mīror (“wonder at”), from mīrus (“wonderful”), from Proto-Indo-European *smey- (“to laugh, to be glad”). Displaced native Middle English schewere, schawere, from Old English sċēawere (“mirror”, literally “watcher”), which was also the word for "spy". In present-day English its meanings include a piece of glass with a special backing that you can see your reflection in, to be very similar to something, or to reflect it closely, and something that reflects or shows the true nature of another thing. The historical chain runs through *(s)mey- (Proto-Indo-European), mirour (Middle English), mireor (Old French), mīror (Latin), and *smey- (Proto-Indo-European).

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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