Where does “mirage” come from?
Mirage comes from French mirage, formed from the Latin verb miror meaning "to wonder at" plus the French suffix -age, ultimately deriving from Proto-Indo-European -kos.
mirage (English): An optical phenomenon in which light is refracted...
Definitions
- An optical phenomenon in which light is refracted...
Ancestry of “mirage”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | mirage | mirage |
| 2 | French | mirer | to watch intensely, to stare |
| 3 | Old French | mirer | to look at; to watch |
| 4 | Latin | mīror | to be astonished at, marvel at, admire, be amazed at, wonder at |
| 5 | Latin | mīrus | wonderful, marvelous, amazing, surprising, miraculous |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | smeiros | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | sméyros | laughing, smiling |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | smey- | to smile; to smear, stroke, wipe, rub; to be... |