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reflection

Etymology and origin of the English word reflection

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1384
Borrowed from
Old French reflexion
Ultimate origin
Latin (reflecto)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ɹɪˈflɛkʃən/[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English reflexioun, refleccioun, borrowed from Old French reflexion and directly borrowed from Late Latin reflexio (“a bending back”),[2][3][4] from reflexus, the past participle of reflectere (“to bend back”), from re- (“back”) and flectere (“to bend”) (see flexible).[2][5] The -ct- spelling, influenced by the verb reflect, is from the late 14th century and was established in the 18th.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The throwing back of light or heat by a surface: about 1386 in the OED, the late 14th century in Etymonline;[6][2] an obsolete sense of about 1384 is a reflexive influence on the mind.[6]

Semantic evolution

The image in a mirror is from the 1580s (1587).[2][6] Reflected light or heat itself is from 1555.[6] A remark made after thinking something over is from the 1640s,[2] and of the mind, turning one's thought back on past experiences, from the 1670s.[2] The OED considers the -x- spelling the etymological one, but Fowler (1926) notes that -ct- is usual.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 1386 – the throwing back of light.[6]
  • 1555 – reflected light.[6]
  • 1580s – a mirror image.[2]
  • 1640s – a considered remark.[2]
  • 1670s – careful thought.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The throwing back of light, heat or sound by a surface.
  2. An image seen in a mirror or shiny surface.
  3. Careful thought or consideration.
  4. A remark or idea arising from careful thought.
  5. A sign or result of something: a reflection of his character.

Word family

  • reflectional
  • reflectionless
  • interreflection
  • retroreflection
  • self-reflection
  • superreflection
  • angle of reflection
  • reflection nebula

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Reflection.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/reflection. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·