Etymologically
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miroir

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /mi.ʁwaʁ/[1]

Forms

miroir m (plural miroirs)[1] Old French mireür (1119), mireor (about 1130); miroir from about 1260.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is from French mirer + -oir.[4][2][3][1] Mirer is from popular Latin *mīrō (“to look at attentively”), classical Latin mīror (“to wonder at”).[5] Littré distinguished the forms in ⟨-eor⟩ (like Old Occitan mirador, properly “the one who looks”) from those in ⟨-oir⟩ (the instrument for looking).[6] Old French also had a derivative mirail, like Old Occitan miralh, still used in the South.[5][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Philippe de Thaon's Comput (1119) has mirëur; Étienne Boileau's Livre des métiers (about 1260) speaks of pewterers who make miroirs d'estain.[4][6]

Semantic evolution

By about 1165 it meant a model, an ideal (mireor in the Roman de Troie), and Rutebeuf calls a knight miraours de chevalerie.[4][6] From 1266 it was used in titles of didactic works offering an image of something, such as Li Miroirs de Vie et de Mort.[4] In the early 14th century the Ovide moralisé speaks of the mireoir of a fountain, any surface that reflects.[4]

The miroir ardent, a burning-glass, is from the 15th century.[4][3] The lark-mirror used by hunters is recorded before 1573, and miroir aux alouettes became a figure for a deceptive lure (1898).[4] Richelet records œufs au miroir in 1680, and the shining spots of a peacock's feathers or a horse's coat were called miroirs from the 15th century and in Cotgrave (1611).[4]

Timeline

  • 1119 – Mirëur, in Philippe de Thaon.[4]
  • c. 1165 – “Model, ideal”, in the Roman de Troie.[4]
  • c. 1260 – The form miroir.[4]
  • 1266 – In the title Li Miroirs de Vie et de Mort.[4]
  • 1432 – Miroir ardant.[4]
  • 1680 – Œufs au miroir, in Richelet.[4]
  • 1898 – Miroir aux alouettes, figuratively.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A mirror, a looking-glass: se regarder dans le miroir, miroir déformant, miroir grossissant.[8][9]
  2. (optics) A reflecting surface: miroir plan, miroir concave, miroir ardent, a burning-glass.[8]
  3. A smooth surface that reflects, such as water.[4][3]
  4. (figurative) A faithful image or reflection: les yeux, miroir de l'âme.[4][6]
  5. Miroir aux alouettes: a lark-mirror, (figurative) a deceptive lure.[4][8]

Word family

  • miroiter
  • miroitement
  • miroitier
  • miroiterie

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s 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
  5. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  8. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)