mirar (Spanish)

Where does "mirar" come from?

The Spanish verb 'mirar' traces its origins back to the Latin 'mīrārī', which originally meant to marvel at or be astonished at. This Latin term stems from the root 'mīrus', meaning remarkable or astonishing, which itself roots back to the Proto-Indo-European '*sméyros' denoting something laughing or smiling. Over time, the meaning shifted from the act of feeling wonder or marveling to the physical act of looking at, watching, or paying attention with ones eyes. This development reflects how the expression of internal astonishment gradually evolved into the external focus of directing ones gaze, a shift also seen in related terms such as Portuguese 'mirar' and the dated French 'mirer'.

Full etymology tree

• mirar (Spanish), 'to look at (to try to see, to pay attention to with one’s eyes)'
  • inherited mirar (Old Spanish)
    • derived mīrārī (Latin), 'present active infinitive of mīror'
      • derived mīrus (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'
      • inherited *smeiros (Proto-Italic)
        • inherited *sméyros (Proto-Indo-European)
          • derived *(s)mey- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to laugh, to be glad'

Ancestors

• miror (Latin)

Cognates and doublets

• mirer (French)
• mirar (Ladino)
• mirar (Portuguese)

Descendants and derived words

• a caballo regalado no le mires el diente (Spanish)
• bien mirado (Spanish)
• de mírame y no me toques (Spanish)
• el que adelante no mira, atrás se queda (Spanish)
• mirada (Spanish)
• mirada (Spanish)
• mirador (Spanish)
• mira lo que haces (Spanish)
• miramiento (Spanish)
• mira por dónde (Spanish)
• mira quién habla (Spanish)
• mirar de hito en hito (Spanish)

Updated August 2026

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