mirror (English)

Where does "mirror" come from?

The English noun 'mirror' entered the language through Middle English 'mirour'[1][3], which was borrowed from the Old French noun 'mireor', literally meaning 'looker' or 'watcher'[1]. This term was built from the Old French verb 'mirer', meaning 'to look at'[3][4], which descended from the Latin verb 'mīror' or 'mīrārī', meaning 'to wonder at' or 'to marvel at'[1][5]. The Latin verb in turn came from the adjective 'mīrus', meaning 'wonderful' or 'remarkable'[1][2], tracing ultimately back through Proto-Italic to the Proto-Indo-European root '*smey-', which meant 'to laugh' or 'to be glad'[1][2][6]. Upon arriving in English, this borrowed term eventually displaced the native Middle English word 'schewere'[1].

Open questions

• The intermediate Proto-Italic form '*smeiros' and the Proto-Indo-European ancestor root '*smey-' are reconstructed rather than historically documented in written records. [1] [2] [6]

Full etymology tree

• mirror (English), 'A smooth surface, usually made of glass with reflective material painted on the underside, that reflects light so as to give an image of what is in front of it.'
  • inherited mirour (Middle English), 'A mirror, looking-glass, or other reflective surface.'
    • borrowed mireor (Old French), 'mirror'
      • affix mirer (Old French), 'to look at; to watch'
        • inherited miror (Latin), 'to be astonished at, marvel at, admire, be amazed at, wonder at'
          • derived mirus (Latin), 'wonderful, marvelous, amazing, surprising, miraculous'
            • inherited *smeiros (Proto-Italic)
              • inherited *sméyros (Proto-Indo-European)
                • derived *(s)mey- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to laugh, to be glad'
      • suffix -eor (Old French), 'alternative form of -or (suffix indicating an agent noun)'

Ancestors

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

Descendants and derived words

• antimirror (English)
• antimirror (English)
• bemirror (English)
• clear as a mirror (English)
• do with mirrors (English)
• fog a mirror (English)
• hold a mirror to (English)
• hold a mirror up to (English)
• hold up a mirror to (English)
• liquid mirror telescope (English)
• look at oneself in the mirror (English)
• man in the mirror (English)

Sources

1. mirror (English) - Wiktionary
2. miror (Latin) - Wiktionary
3. mirour (Middle English) - Wiktionary
4. mireor (Old French) - Wiktionary
5. mirer (Old French) - Wiktionary
6. mirus (Latin) - Wiktionary

Updated October 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris