mirour (Middle English)

Where does "mirour" come from?

The Middle English noun 'mirour' was borrowed from the Old French 'mireor'[1]. This Old French term was formed from the verb 'mirer'[2], which was inherited from the Latin 'mīrārī'[3], meaning to marvel at. The Latin verb traces back to 'mīrus'[4], meaning remarkable or astonishing, rooted in the Proto-Indo-European root meaning to laugh, to be glad[4]. Forms of the word showing a loss of final /r/ are likely the result of dissimilation caused by the preceding /r/[1].

Open questions

• Forms with loss of final /r/ are described as probably resulting from dissimilation occasioned by the previous /r/. [1]

Full etymology tree

• 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 mirari (Latin), 'present active infinitive of mīror'
        • 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

• mireor (Old French)

Descendants and derived words

• mirror (English)
• mirror (English)

Sources

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

Updated October 2026

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