mirror
/ˈmɪrə
/noun
1A surface, typically of glass coated with a metal amalgam, which reflects a clear image: he checked his appearance in the mirror...
- As the steam in the bathroom began to vent, the mirror cleared and his image appeared before him.
- I was in for another surprise when I saw familiar images reflected in the mirror.
- She checks her rear view mirrors, but she does not check the door.
Synonyms
looking glass, reflector, reflecting surface;
British glass
1.1A thing regarded as accurately representing something else: the stage is supposed to be the mirror of life...
- The world is a mirror representing the divine life.
- This executive branch of government never functions as accurate and honest mirrors of the president.
- Until then I had put up with whatever my mother considered respectable, an accurate mirror of the life she wished to be perceived as having.
Synonyms
reflection, twin, double, exact likeness, image, replica, copy, clone, match, parallel
informal spitting image, spit, dead spit, dead ringer for
1.2 (also mirror site) Computing A site on a network which stores the contents copied from another site: the company now has a mirror site in Taiwan...
- For example, if a file becomes corrupted, the system can locate a copy on a mirror site and replace the damaged file.
- Its data center in London will serve as the mirror site going forward.
- As a mirror site for the Central Institute of Technology, New Zealand, the site includes around 25 courseware packages published by them.
verb [with object]
1(Of a surface) show a reflection of: the clear water mirrored the sky...
- The translucent surface of the water mirrors the form of the island and the sky creating an overall aura of serenity.
- The water's still surface perfectly mirrors the ragged spires of the aptly named Sawtooth Range stacked against the western horizon.
- The river's glassy surface mirrors the surrounding forest in perfect detail.
1.1Correspond to: his own views mirrored those of his followers...
- So the Tories are now simply mirroring what Labour did two decades ago.
- Parents of children with congenital heart defects have already told her that her account mirrored exactly what they went through.
- Events at the school closely mirror the political situation in Chile as a whole.
Synonyms
reflect, repeat, match, reproduce, imitate, simulate;
reiterate, follow;
copy, mimic, echo, parallel, correspond to;
impersonate
1.2 Computing Keep a copy of the contents of (a network site) at another site, typically in order to improve accessibility: his site was mirrored at several colleges around the United States...
- If you are transferring from anonymous sites, the format is almost identical to the one used to mirror a Web site.
- The Norwegian rappers also encourage others to mirror the original site ‘on the condition that you don't alter our content’.
- Later, the site at SUNY was mirrored at other locations.
1.3 (usually as noun mirroring) Computing Store copies of data in (two or more hard disks) for protection: the second drive is set up for disk mirroring...
- As 2 disks are used for striping and 2 disks for mirroring, such an array is as fast as a standard RAID array with 2 disks and offers still data protection by mirroring.
- Some have gone further, enhancing their backup strategy with expensive disk arrays and mirroring.
- The hallmarks of enterprise-class data protection are technologies like remote replication and disk mirroring.
Origin
Middle English: from Old French mirour, based on Latin mirare 'look at'. Early senses also included 'a crystal used in magic' and 'a person deserving imitation'.
Rhymes
- armour
- armoured
- armoured car
- armoured personnel carrier
- armourer
- Armour, Philip Danforth
- armour plate
- armour-plated
- armoury
- armpit
- armrest
- arms
- arms control
- arm's-length
- arms race
- Armstrong, Edwin Howard
- Armstrong, Lance
- Armstrong, Louis
- Armstrong, Neil
- arm-twist
- arm-twisting
- arm-wrestle
- arm-wrestling
- army
- army ant