Word of the Day

: May 13, 2010

mirage

noun muh-RAHZH

What It Means

1 : an illusion sometimes seen at sea, in the desert, or over hot pavement that looks like a pool of water or a mirror in which distant objects are seen inverted

2 : something illusory and unattainable like a mirage

mirage in Context

"Over the sunny dunes, those distant childhood promises of a better tomorrow shimmer like a mirage in the desert heat." (Condé Nast Traveler, September 1994)

Did You Know?

A mirage is a sort of optical illusion, a reflection of light that can trick the mind into interpreting the sight as an apparently solid thing. It makes sense, therefore, that the word "mirage" has its roots in the concept of vision. "Mirage" was borrowed into English at the dawn of the 19th century from the French verb "mirer" ("to look at"), which also gave us the word "mirror." "Mirer" in turn derives from Latin "mirari" ("to wonder at"). "Mirari" is also the ancestor of the English words "admire," "miracle," and "marvel," as well as the rare adjective "mirific" (meaning "marvelous").