Etymologically
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mirage

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 17 October 2026 at 22:02. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /mi.ʁaʒ/[1]

Forms

mirage m (plural mirages)[1]

Etymology

It is formed from mirer (“to look at, (reflexive) to be reflected”) with the suffix -age.[2][3][4][5] The verb is inherited from Vulgar Latin *mīrāre (“to look at attentively”), from classical Latin mīrārī (“to wonder at”).[4] Etymonline notes the resemblance to Arabic “miʿrāj” “ladder” but judges it coincidental.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Histoire de l'Académie royale des sciences (1753) uses it for an optical illusion caused by refraction in the air.[2][7]

Semantic evolution

It named especially the effect of the sun in the desert, where distant objects seem reflected in a sheet of water, and, from 1829 (Balzac, Les Chouans) it was figuratively a deceptive illusion (les mirages de la gloire).[2][3][8] The Dassault company gave the name to a French military aircraft (1955).[3] In 1931 a new derivative mirage named the candling of eggs (mirer les œufs).[2][3][5] English mirage appears in 1800, in translations from French.[6]

Timeline

  • 1753 – An optical illusion.[2]
  • 1800 – English mirage.[6]
  • 1829 – “Illusion”, in Balzac.[2]
  • 1931 – The candling of eggs.[2]
  • 1955 – The Dassault Mirage.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A mirage (optical illusion): les mirages du désert.[8][1]
  2. (figurative) An illusion, deceptive appearance: les mirages du succès.[8][2]
  3. (technology) The candling of eggs.[9][8]
  4. A Mirage (French military aircraft).[8][3]
  • mirer
  • miroir
  • mire
  • admirer
  • English mirage

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  8. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)