miroir French · revision 17535

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1119, Philippe de Thaon|origins=la mīror}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /mi.ʁwaʁ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''miroir''' ''m'' (plural miroirs)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French [[m|fro|mireür]] (1119), [[m|fro|mireor]] (about 1130); ''miroir'' from about 1260.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(GLLF 1989)^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[af|fr|mirer|-oir]].^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(GLLF 1989)^(Wiktionary) [[mirer|alt=Mirer]] is from popular Latin [[m|la-vul|*mīrō|t=to look at attentively]], classical [[la|mīror|t=to wonder at]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) Littré distinguished the forms in ⟨-eor⟩ (like [[pro|mirador]], properly “the one who looks”) from those in ⟨-oir⟩ (the instrument for looking).^(Littré 1873) Old French also had a derivative [[m|fro|mirail]], like [[pro|miralh]], still used in the South.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(REW 1935)

+

+ ==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''.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==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''.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873) From 1266 it was used in titles of didactic works offering an image of something, such as ''Li Miroirs de Vie et de Mort''.^(TLFi) In the early 14th century the ''Ovide moralisé'' speaks of the ''mireoir'' of a fountain, any surface that reflects.^(TLFi)

+

+ The ''miroir ardent'', a burning-glass, is from the 15th century.^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989) The lark-mirror used by hunters is recorded before 1573, and ''miroir aux alouettes'' became a figure for a deceptive lure (1898).^(TLFi) 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).^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1119 – ''Mirëur'', in Philippe de Thaon.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1165 – “Model, ideal”, in the ''Roman de Troie''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1260 – The form ''miroir''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1266 – In the title ''Li Miroirs de Vie et de Mort''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1432 – ''Miroir ardant''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1680 – ''Œufs au miroir'', in Richelet.^(TLFi)

+ * 1898 – ''Miroir aux alouettes'', figuratively.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|mirror]], a [[m|en|looking-glass]]: ''se regarder dans le miroir'', ''miroir déformant'', ''miroir grossissant''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Le Robert)

+ # ''(optics)'' A reflecting surface: ''miroir plan'', ''miroir concave'', ''miroir ardent'', a [[m|en|burning-glass]].^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # A smooth surface that reflects, such as water.^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # ''(figurative)'' A faithful image or reflection: ''les yeux, miroir de l'âme''.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873)

+ # ''Miroir aux alouettes'': a lark-mirror, ''(figurative)'' a deceptive lure.^(TLFi)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[miroiter]]

+ * [[miroitement]]

+ * [[miroitier]]

+ * [[miroiterie]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[mirer]]

+ * [[mirage]]

+ * [[admirer]]

+ * [[la|mīror]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}