reflectionn.
/rᵻˈflɛkʃn/, U.S. /rəˈflɛkʃ(ə)n/, /riˈflɛkʃ(ə)n/ I. Senses relating to physical action. † 5.
1.
a. The action of an object, surface, etc., in reflecting light, heat, sound, or other form of radiation without absorbing it; the fact or phenomenon of this; an instance of this. Also figurative and in figurative contexts.angle, plane, point of reflection, also seismic reflection: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > reflection > [noun]
reflectiona1398
reverberation?a1475
reflexity?c1500
reflex1508
repercussion1563
resultation1603
rebound1689
the world > matter > physics > energy or power of doing work > [noun] > emission of energy > reflection
reflectiona1398
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > light > reflection > [noun]
reflectiona1398
the world > matter > physics > science of sound > sound-waves > [noun] > reflection of
reflectiona1398
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > heat > transmission of heat > [noun] > reflection of heat
reverberationa1475
reflection1559
the world > matter > physics > atomic nucleus > radioactivity > alpha radiation > [noun] > reflection of radiation
reflection1915
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 126v Þanne þe sonne is most streiȝt ouer oure heedis for streiȝt reflexioun & reboundinge & dowblynge of þe sonne bemes.
c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Squire's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 222 It myghte wel be Naturelly by composicions Of anglis and of sly reflexions.
c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) iv. l. 2500 (MED) He gan first here Þe dredful noise..Þat caused was by refleccioun Of eir a-ȝen.
1481 W. Caxton tr. Myrrour of Worlde ii. xxxi. 125 Of the reflexion ye myrrour smyteth on the walle and shyneth theron as longe as the rayes of the sonne endure in the glasse.
1531 J. Bellenden tr. H. Boece Chron. Scotl. (1938) I. vi. xiv. 254 The son..quhais bemys & refleccioun, schynand aganis thair harnes, suld dym þe sicht of thair inimeis.
1559 W. Cuningham Cosmogr. Glasse 42 The lower region..is thorowe the reflextion of the Sonne beames rebounding from th' earth also made hoote.
1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage i. viii. 37 The reflection or refraction of the Sunne-beames in a waterie cloude.
1651 N. Bacon Contin. Hist. Disc. Govt. 134 They are like the Sunn gone down; and must rule by reflexion, as the Moone in the night.
1672 R. Hooke Let. 15 Feb. in I. Newton Corr. (1959) I. 111 I have made many tryalls both for telescopes and microscopes by Reflection..but deserted it as to telescopes.
1726 J. Swift Gulliver II. iii. iii. 37 Twenty Lamps..which from the Reflection of the Adamant cast a strong Light into every Part.
1832 D. Brewster Lett. Nat. Magic ix. 221 Many remarkable phenomena in the natural world are produced by the reflexion and concentration of sound.
1839 C. Darwin in R. Fitzroy & C. Darwin Narr. Surv. Voy. H.M.S. Adventure & Beagle III. ii. 22 As the sun rose, the day became extremely hot, and the reflection of the light and heat from the white sand was very distressing.
1884 A. Daniell Text-bk. Princ. Physics xiv. 413 Reflexion of sound is familiarly illustrated by the Echo.
1915 W. H. Bragg & W. L. Bragg X Rays & Crystal Struct. xii. 208 Each spot in a Laue photograph represents the reflection of the X-rays by a certain plane..of the crystal structure.
1945 Electronics Apr. 92/1 The reflection of radio waves when they encounter a sudden change in the electrical properties of the transmission medium.
2001 R. Gregory in R. Catlow & S. Greenfield Cosmic Rays 70 The light dims at a certain orientation of the Polaroid, showing that at a critical angle, reflection polarizes light.
b. The result of such an action; a quantity of light, heat, sound, etc., reflected in such a way; a reflected ray or wave. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > reflection > [noun] > reflected light
reflectionc1475
borrowed light1571
reflect1594
resultance1618
resultancy1628
reverberation1860
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > light > reflection > [noun] > reflected light
reflectionc1475
c1475 Court of Sapience (Trin. Cambr.) (1927) l. 1147 And of the sonnys lyght celestiall Into the heuen he maketh refleccioune.
a1500 ( Vision E. Leversedge in Notes & Queries Somerset & Dorset (1905) 9 27 (MED) With the reflection of the lyght and bryghtnes..the syght of my saule gostly was rapt and taken fro hit.
1555 R. Eden Of Pole Antartike in tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde f. 246 The raynebowe is a reflection of the beames of the soonne in the vapoure of a clowde.
1601 W. Cornwallis Ess. II. xxix. sig. Q4 Rather choosing to be a glimmering reflexion, then a true and reall light.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Cymbeline (1623) i. ii. 30 Shee's a good signe, but I haue seene small reflection of her wit. View more context for this quotation
1686 tr. J. Chardin Coronation Solyman 64 in Trav. Persia The Lustre of Gold cast such a powerful reflection upon his Lordly senses.
1796 J. Morse Amer. Universal Geogr. (new ed.) II. 312 Almost blind and with their skin terribly burnt by the reflection of the snow.
a1862 H. D. Thoreau Cape Cod (1865) ix. 178 They..thought that it was a mirage, i.e. a reflection from a haze.
1969 Times 28 Aug. 3/3 Seismic reflections indicate the thickness of the rocks.
1984 J. Bedford Titron Madness (BNC) 13 A young waitress brought in a surprise birthday cake, the reflection from the candles throwing her face into warm relief.
2007 Nature 22 Feb. 830/1 Very bright radar reflections..were recognized as the distinctive signature of subglacial lakes.
c. The fact of colour being reflected by one thing on another; a coloration on an object, surface, etc., produced by the particular quality of the light cast on it, or the particular manner in which light is reflected from it; a colour, hue, or tint received in this way; an iridescent highlight.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > colour relationships > [noun] > reflection
reflection1614
reflex1843
reverberation1860
the world > animals > animal body > markings or colourings > [noun] > colour varying in different lights
reflection1831
1614 W. Raleigh Hist. World i. ii. iii. §8. 261 This Sea was so called from a reflection of rednesse..from the bancks, clifts, and sands of many Ilands.
1638 F. Junius Painting of Ancients 285 Goe to then, Painter, confound red roses with good store of lillies, and what reflexion the aire taketh of them, let that be the colour of her face.
1748 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 45 159 The berries..were thick-set with numerous Filaments or small Threads of a purple or scarlet Colour;..which receiving a Reflexion from the Yellow, causes this glorious scarlet Colour.
1805 A. Knox Remains (1844) I. 16 The purple and gold..seems clearly an unconscious reflection of that yet unrisen sun.
1831 R. Jameson Wilson & Bonaparte's Amer. Ornithol. III. 47 Lower part of the neck..and whole body a deep slate colour, with lighter reflections.
1852 Cultivator Oct. 335/1 The wings are exceedingly transparent, exhibiting beautiful iridescent reflections from their surfaces.
1898 H. G. Wells War of Worlds i. xi. 79 A broad hillside set with minute tongues of flame,..throwing a red reflection upon the cloud scud above.
1970 G. R. Dickson Hour of Horde ii. 22 A full moon made dusky by the reflection of reddened sunlight.
1984 J. Rogers Her Living Image (1990) (BNC) 57 Fluorescent lights shone down on dull red rubbery floors, making a pinkish reflection on the walls.
2. † b. The action or process of bringing back from a state of anger or estrangement; appeasement, reclaim. Obsolete. rare.† c. The action of turning back from a point; return, retrogression. Cf. point of reflection n. at point n.1 Phrases 4i. Obsolete.
a. Chiefly Anatomy and Medicine. The action of bending, turning, or folding back, recurvation; a state of being bent or folded back. Also concrete: a part of an organ that is bent or folded back, a fold. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > curvature > types of curvature > [noun] > backwards
reflection?a1425
reversement1572
recurvation1598
recurvity1669
returning1676
recurvature1729
retroflexion1782
reflexure1840
recurving1845
?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 18 Ther is also in it [sc. the bladder] a carnous necke..goyng out fro it reflexibily, i. crokyngly, in men..In wymmen without reflexion [?c1425 Paris bowynge; L. reflexione].
a1500 (a1450) tr. Secreta Secret. (Ashm. 396) (1977) 51 (MED) Therof cometh spetyng and strecchyng of the extremytees, reflexions of lymes..and many other harmes that ben contrary to helth.
1553 J. Brende tr. Q. Curtius Rufus Hist. viii. f. 167 Croked Erymanthus with his many turnynges and reflexions is consumed by the inhabitours with wateryng their grounde.
1587 Sir P. Sidney & A. Golding tr. P. de Mornay Trewnesse Christian Relig. v. 62 This Vnderstanding, by a certeine Reflexion of it selfe vpon it selfe, hath begotten vs a second person.
1610 J. Guillim Display of Heraldrie ii. iv. 44 A Bunched Line is that which is carried with round reflections or bowings vp and downe, making diuers hollow Crookes or Furrowes.
a1667 Bp. J. Taylor Apol. Liturgy in Συμβαλον Θεολογικον (1674) Pref. §8 The first reflexions of a crooked tree are not to straightness, but to a contrary incurvation.
1693 R. Bentley Boyle Lect. vii. 25 Inanimate unactive Matter moves always in a streight Line,..nor bends in a Circle (which is a continual reflexion) unless [etc.].
1758 I. Lyons Treat. Fluxions vii. §191. 142 If a curve instead of being continued beyond the ordinate is reflected from it,..that ordinate is said to pass through a point of Reflection or Cusp.
1833 Lancet 20 July 547/1 Adhesions were detected between the pleura pulmonalis and its costal reflexion.
1870 G. Rolleston Forms Animal Life 47 [The] umbilicus is partly concealed by the reflection over it of the peristome.
1993 Brit. Jrnl. Surg. 80 768/1 Placement of an encircling cotton umbilical tape..allows effective atraumatic traction and reflection of the intestine.
2007 Autonomic Neurosci. 132 38 (caption) The reflection of the pericardium..and its nerve entrances are clearly observed.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > dissent > absence of dissension or peace > bringing about concord or peace > [noun] > appeasing, pacifying, or propitiating
likingeOE
queemingeOE
mitigationa1382
pleasinga1382
propitiationa1425
appeasement1430
pacification1437
appeasingc1522
reconcilement1581
placation1589
reflection1607
modificationa1641
commodation1643
pacation1658
conciliation1775
making-up1816
mollification1886
1607 G. Chapman Bussy D'Ambois iv. i. 52 Persuasion hath already enter'd him beyond reflection.
1616 G. Chapman tr. Homer Seven Bks. Iliad xviii. 262 Mightie suppliance, By all their graue men hath bene made, gifts, honors, all proposde For his reflection.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > backward movement > [noun] > turning back or reversal of course
charec1220
gainturna1225
gain-charingc1275
reverting1540
turn1575
reflectiona1616
reversal1648
turning1806
turnaround1959
a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) i. ii. 25 As whence the Sunne gins his reflection, Shipwracking Stormes, and direfull Thunders [break] . View more context for this quotation
a1680 J. Bargrave Pope Alexander VII (1867) ii. 123 Ashes of the Mount Vesuvius, near Naples, which was 4 times the poynt of my reflection,—I facing about for England from the topp, or crater,..of that mountain.
d. Astronomy (a) An inequality in the expression for the moon's ecliptic longitude; the variation (variation n. 7a) of the moon; (now historical); †(b) the declination of the sun (obsolete).
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > planet > primary planet > moon > movement of moon > [noun] > libration
libration1670
evection1704
reflection1704
variation1704
1704 J. Harris Lexicon Technicum I Reflexion of the Moon, is (according to Bullialdus) her 3d inequality of Motion: this Tycho calls by the Name of her Variation.
1710 J. Harris Lexicon Technicum II Reflection in the..Copernican System is the Distance of the Pole from the Horizon of the Disk; which is the same thing as the Sun's Declination in the Ptolemaick Hypothesis.
1991 Notes & Rec. Royal Soc. 45 17 He [sc. Newton, a1669] would..explain the inequalities of reflection and evection by having the solar vortex compress the terrestrial one.
3.
a. The action of a mirror or other smooth or polished surface in reflecting an image; the fact or phenomenon of an image being produced in this way. Frequently in by reflection.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > reflection > [noun] > reproducing an image
reflection?a1439
reflexcy?1589
reflecting1711
a1439 J. Lydgate Fall of Princes (Bodl. 263) i. 5654 (MED) And be reflexioun, myd off the watir briht Hym thouhte he sauh a passyng fair ymage.
c1450 (?c1408) J. Lydgate Reson & Sensuallyte (1901) 5757 (MED) This wel most royall Was y-pavyd with cristall, Shewyng by refleccion Al the estris environ.
1566 W. Painter tr. O. Landi Delectable Demaundes f. 43 The Image sene in a glasse doth represent it self to our visible sight very slenderly, and by a certaine reflection.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Julius Caesar (1623) i. ii. 55 The eye sees not it selfe but by reflection, By some other things. View more context for this quotation
1653 H. More Antidote against Atheisme iii. xiii. 160 Reflexion makes the images more dim then direct sight.
1725 M. Hole Pract. Disc. Charity 331 His Eye could not bear a direct and immediate Vision of divine Objects, he could only see some Glympses of them by Reflection.
1749 tr. M.-C. D'Aulnoy Coll. Novels & Tales of Fairies (ed. 4) III. 116 A River by a Wood's Side; the pleasing Sight of which redoubling itself in the Reflection of the Water, made an agreeable Landskip.
1799 W. Render Robbers iv. vi. 121 Did I not see..some stolen tears fall into the wine..? Yes! I saw it—by the reflection from the mirror, I saw it with my own eyes.
1809 S. T. Coleridge Friend 10 Aug. 42 Occasioning us at first to mistake Images of Reflection for Substances.
1832 D. Brewster Lett. Nat. Magic ii. 33 The image was as distinct and perfect as if it had been formed by reflexion from a piece of mirror glass.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. xv. 101 In its blue depths each ice mass doubled itself by reflection.
1922 T. M. Lowry Inorg. Chem. xix. 208 Some crystals possess no plane and no centre of symmetry; when reflected in a mirror they show an image of opposite form,..just as a right hand gives a left hand by reflection in a mirror.
1982 P. Benchley Girl of Sea of Cortez viii. 85 His grin distorted by reflection into a gargoyle's leer.
b. An image produced by or seen in a reflective surface, esp. a person's image in a mirror. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > reflection > [noun] > reproducing an image > image produced by
imagec1350
umberc1407
idol1563
reflection1563
reflex1596
shadow-light1623
species1638
repercussion1646
reflect1829
1563 W. Fulke Goodle Gallerye Causes Meteors f. 39 Other sayde, it [sc. the Milky Way] was the reflexion of the shyning light of fyre, or sterre light, as it is seen in a glasse, but then it sholde be moueable.
1587 Sir P. Sidney & A. Golding tr. P. de Mornay Trewnesse Christian Relig. v. 57 It was of necessitie, that this vnderstanding of God, should yeeld a reflexion backe againe to it self, as a face doth in a Lookingglasse.
1664 K. Philips Poems lxxi. 223 In every Brook or Mirrour we can find Reflections of our face to be.
1692 J. Dryden Eleonora 9 As the Sun in Water we can bear, Yet not the Sun, but his Reflection there.
1725 A. Pope Wks. Shakespear I. Pref. p. ii Each picture like a mock-rainbow is but the reflexion of a reflexion.
1839 Athenæum 26 Jan. An apparatus..to receive a reflection of the scene without.
1877 W. Black Green Pastures (1878) ii. 11 There was not a breath of wind to break the reflections of the trees on the glassy surface.
1902 19th Cent. Feb. 226 This [sc. a periscope]..by a system of mirrors carries to the officer below a reflection of what is occurring above.
1950 S. Plath Jrnls. (2000) 22 I walked along, loving, narcissus-like, my reflection in store windows.
2005 T. Umrigar Space between Us (2007) xiv. 158 Sera glances at her reflection in the mirror..and realizes that somehow she had been spared the ravages of time.
c. figurative and in extended use. A depiction or reproduction (esp. in art, literature, etc.); an embodiment. Also more generally: anything which arises from, or is a consequence of, something else; an outward manifestation of an underlying condition or cause.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > manifestation > [noun] > a manifestation
showingOE
spectacle1483
ostentationa1513
demonstration1517
objection1554
manifest1561
reflection1590
object1609
manifestation1646
avatar1850
1590 E. Digbie Dissuasive 51 You should..look into the cleer glas now set before your face, wherein you may plainlie behold the reflexion of your deformities.
1619 A. Gorges tr. F. Bacon Wisedome Ancients 37 That alone is true philosophy, which..is written no otherwise then the world doth dictate, it being nothing els but the image or reflection of it.
1691 W. Bates Four Last Things iv. 533 But only the pure in Heart can see God, as in the perfect Vision of Glory hereafter, so in the imperfect reflection of it here.
a1711 R. Duke Fifteen Serm. (1714) xv. 387 These most Holy Laws of his..[are] a Sample of his Essential Goodness, the Image and Reflection of his Divine Nature.
1784 R. Cumberland Carmelite Dedicat. p. iv You, Madam, who are apt to give so perfect a reflection of her image, seem born for the elevation of the British stage.
1821 P. B. Shelley Epipsychidion 12 A tender Reflection of the eternal Moon of Love.
a1854 H. Reed Lect. Eng. Hist. (1855) 346 Poetry is a glorified reflection of life and nature.
1882 F. W. Farrar Early Days Christianity II. 29 We might perhaps see in this fact a reflexion of the unbending character of the writer.
1962 Listener 5 July 28/2 Is this nostalgic, rurally romantic, backward looking art a true reflection of Australia?
1988 Advocate (Vancouver) Nov. 986/1 The failure to repair was..a reflection of the buyer's financial circumstances.
2004 K. Fox Watching Eng. (2005) ii. 398 Our reluctance, as a society, to acknowledge the onset of puberty is a form of ‘denial’..is in itself a reflection of our own social dis-ease.
4. Relation to something; a relationship, a connection. rare in later use.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > [noun] > relation to something or reference
respitea1382
beholdingc1449
respect1485
aspect1509
regardc1520
reference1581
referrance1583
tending1587
reflection1614
intuition1626
concernment1640
concerning1642
tendency1651
influence1672
re1707
view1719
bearing1741
ref1845
concern1863
1614 E. Grimeston tr. P. Matthieu Hist. Lewis XI ii. 190 If the curiosity [sc. of Iudiciary Astrology] had had any reflexion to the aduancement and beautifying of learning, Barbarisme had not tyranized so long ouer so many good wits.
1628 T. Spencer Art of Logick 20 Those 10. things, are propounded, not as meere and simple beings: but, in respect of that reflection, or relation which ariseth out of them, vnto our vnderstanding.
1664 in G. Miege Relation of Three Embassies (1669) 414 That His and Your present prosperity may have as strong a sympathy and reflexion.
1997 Times (Nexis) 30 Sept. The Cumbrian Tourist Board has issued a press release,..claiming the television drama bears ‘little reflection to real life’.
a. The action or process of throwing or driving (something, esp. a solid object) back; the fact of being thrown or driven back after impact. Cf. sense 1a. Also figurative. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impact > rebound > [noun]
reboundinga1382
reverberationc1405
rebound1440
stot1513
repercussion1553
recoil1583
resilience1626
reflection1642
refraction1653
resilition1654
backstroke1674
retro-spring1716
ricochet1740
dap1835
bounce1884
spring-back1899
1642 T. Fuller Holy State iii. iii. 157 It sheweth more wit but no lesse vanity to commend ones self not in a strait line but by reflection.
1656 tr. T. Hobbes Elements Philos. iii. xix. 204 In this place..let it be supposed, that the angle of Incidence is equal to the angle of Reflection.
a1679 T. Hobbes Seven Philos. Probl. (1682) iii. 20 The Air comes out again with the same violence by reflection.
1703 J. Kelsey Serm. 149 It is but like the rebounding of a Ball betwixt the Hardness of two Walls, where the Reflection is continued till the Force be spent.
1799 J. Wood Princ. Mech. (ed. 2) vi. 130 The velocity of the body after reflection is equal to it's velocity before incidence.
b. Physiology. The action of generating a nerve impulse in response to one received; reflex action. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > biological processes > action of nervous system > [noun] > reception or transmission of impulses
reflection1836
irradiation1847
conduction1855
diffusion1859
projection1872
conductivity1881
fusion1892
facilitation1894
reciprocal innervation1896
chemoreception1901
photoreception1902
neurotropism1905
proprioception1906
cheirokinaesthesia1913
schema1920
recruitment1923
conductance1926
volley1928
rectification1941
supersensitivity1949
mechanoreception1958
neurotransmission1961
electroreception1963
phototransduction1972
somatotopy1976
the world > life > biology > biological processes > action of nervous system > [noun] > reflex action
reflex1833
reflection1836
reflex action1837
1836 Sir J. Paget in Mem. (1901) v. 93 He is certainly a sharp fellow, but I should think rather monomaniac on the reflections.
1840 Penny Cycl. XVI. 153/1 In all these cases sensation coexists with the reflection of the impression through the motor nerves.
1877 Lancet 26 May 753/2 Where the point of vaso-motor reflection for impressions conveyed by the fifth nerve is doubtful.
6. Crystallography, Mathematics, and Physics. The conceptual operation of inverting a system or event with respect to a plane, each element being transferred perpendicularly through the plane to a point at the same distance from it on the other side; an instance of this; (also) a point resulting from this operation. Also used analogously in spaces of different dimension. Cf. mirror symmetry n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > inversion > [noun] > with respect to a plane
reflection1878
1878 Philos. Trans. 1877 (Royal Soc.) 167 437 The point P will be the reflection of P′′′ with respect to the line AB.
1899 W. J. Lewis Treat. Crystallogr. iii. 18 We shall often express the relation of two planes, or two lines, to a plane of symmetry bisecting the angle between them by the statement that they are reciprocal reflexions in the plane.
1910 Nature 26 May 368/1 Its 880 known solutions (8 × 880, if we admit reversals and reflections of the same square to be ‘different’).
1955 W. Pauli in W. Pauli Niels Bohr & Devel. Physics 30 The mathematical group was further amplified by including the reflections of space and time.
1965 A. F. Brown tr. G. S. Zhdanov Crystal Physics v. 144 Symmetry groups containing only the operations of reflection, rotation and inversion, and not containing any translations, are called point groups.
1972 F. J. Budden Fascination of Groups xxvi. 507 The two-dimensional pattern..contains translations and glide reflections, but no rotations.
2004 B. Rich & P. A. Schmidt Schaum's Outl. Theory & Probl. Elem. Algebra (ed. 3) xvi. 335 What is the image of point A under a reflection in the x axis?
II. Senses relating to mental activity.
7. † b. The action or process of recalling or recollecting something; recollection; remembrance (of an experience, emotion, etc.). Obsolete.
a. The action or process of thinking carefully or deeply about a particular subject, typically involving influence from one's past life and experiences; contemplation, deep or serious thought or consideration, esp. of a spiritual nature. on (also upon) reflection: after consideration, frequently implying an ensuing change or reversal of opinion; on second thoughts.In quot. c1450: †the influence or effect of such a reflective thought (obsolete).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > thought > continued thinking, reflection, contemplation > thinking about, consideration, deliberation > [noun]
i-mindOE
studyinglOE
mindc1300
bethinking1340
poring1340
regard1348
weighingc1380
contemplationc1390
advisementa1393
deliberationa1393
advicec1405
reckoninga1413
visement?1414
considerancec1420
advisenessc1425
revolutionc1425
rewardc1432
mind-takingc1449
umbethinkingc1450
advisednessc1475
considering1483
beholding1530
meditationa1535
pondering1535
cogitation?1542
expending1545
ponderation1556
perpending1558
well weighing1566
surview1576
reflex1593
revolve1595
lucubration1596
agitation1600
perpension1612
vizamenta1616
pensitation1623
perpensation1623
perpendment1667
ruminating1668
commentationa1670
revolving1670
reflectiona1674
introspectiona1676
propendencya1676
ponderment1728
chawing1845
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 22 For þe reflexioun of himself vpon hymself he knowiþ himsel.
c1450 (c1380) G. Chaucer House of Fame (Fairf. 16) (1878) l. 22 As yf folkys complexions Make hem dreme of reflexions.
1595 W. Allen et al. Conf. Next Succession Crowne of Ingland ii. 33 To this al the company answered, that they had neuer much thought, nor made reflexion vppon any such circumstance.
1609 R. Parsons Quiet Reckoning App. 682 Hauing considered since that time, & made some more particuler reflection vpon diuers passages of the new Testament & speaches of our Sauiour, I find them so frequent, [etc.].
a1674 Earl of Clarendon Brief View Leviathan (1676) 20 We shall with less reflexion pass over his fourth Chapter.
1704 J. Norris Ess. Ideal World II. iii. 122 By reflection we come to know the true state of human nature.
1771 ‘Junius’ Stat Nominis Umbra (1772) II. lix. 271 Upon reflection, his conduct accounts naturally for itself.
1785 W. Paley Princ. Moral & Polit. Philos. i. vii. 37 Mankind act more from habit than reflection.
1837 W. S. Landor Pentameron in Wks. (1846) II. 309 It is only the hour of reflection that is at last the hour of sedateness and improvement.
1869 J. Tyndall Notes 9 Lect. on Light §373 A moment's reflection will make it plain.
1873 M. Arnold Lit. & Dogma i. 42 Surely it must on reflexion appear that this is by no means so.
1908 L. M. Montgomery Anne of Green Gables xix. 218 You never stop to think—whatever comes into your head to say or do you say or do it without a moment's reflection.
1958 Visct. Montgomery Mem. (1961) 34 I had time for reflection in hospital and came to the conclusion that the old adage was probably correct: the pen was mightier than the sword.
1969 A. J. P. Taylor Let. 24 Nov. in Lett. to Eva (1991) 3 My first impulse..was to fly out to Budapest for a few days... On reflection I decided you would not want to be bothered with me just now.
2005 Leicester Mercury (Nexis) 24 June 31 Police officers have been given a haven from the pressures of the workplace where they can pray or go for a moment of quiet reflection.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > memory > [noun] > act of remembering, recollection > of something particular
remembrancec1350
recordationc1426
reflection1567
1567 G. Fenton tr. M. Bandello Certaine Tragicall Disc. f. 173 The plesant reflection of her ladylike hand, which durynge the daunce he fayled not too graspe as often as hee durst.
1611 C. Tourneur Atheist's Trag. v. sig. L2v Braue Charlemont! at the reflexion of thy courage my cold fearefull bloud takes fire, and I begin to emulate thy death.
1655 H. More Antidote against Atheism (ed. 2) App. v. 320 This torture arising..out of reflexion of what it has suffered.
1694 W. Congreve Double-dealer ii. i. 24 Tho it made you a little uneasy for the present, yet the reflection of it must needs be entertaining.
a1704 T. Brown Ess. Eng. Satyr in Wks. (1707) I. i. 33 Making them [sc. vices] as bitter in the Reflection, as..they might be supposed pleasant in the Enjoyment.
1778 B. Franklin Let. 20 Sept. in Paris 924 No Solid Pleasures now remain, but the Reflection of a long Life spent in meaning well.
c. Philosophy and Psychology. The process or faculty by which the mind observes and examines its own experiences and emotions; intelligent self-awareness, introspection.Also called internal also inner sense.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > [noun] > action, operation of the mind > mental knowledge of
reflection1690
the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > epistemology > [noun] > cognition
conception1650
cognition1651
reflection1690
gnostology1846
cognizing1862
gnosiology1899
the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > philosophy of reflection of self > [noun] > reflection
reflection1690
the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > epistemology > [noun] > cognition > Lockianism > elements of
idea1649
mode1671
reflection1690
presentmenta1842
presentation1849
infusion1857
1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding ii. i. 38 This Source of Ideas,..though it be not Sense, as having nothing to do with external Objects; yet it is very like it, and might properly enough be call'd internal Sense. But as I call the other Sensation, so I call this Reflection.
1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding ii. i. 38 By Reflection then,..I would be understood to mean, that notice which the Mind takes of its own Operations, and the manner of them.
1717 A. Collins Philos. Inq. conc. Human Liberty 32 We must be conscious that we think, when we do think, and thereby we necessarily have the Idea's of Reflection.
1797–1803 J. Foster Jrnl. in Life & Corr. J. Foster (1846) I. 177 A knowledge of sensation more than of reflexion.
1853 W. Thomson Outl. Laws of Thought (ed. 3) §48 Reflection is ascertainment of points of resemblance and points of difference.
1876 Mind 1 227 Psychology is not the first science to make this use of Reflection, to adopt and employ the distinction of subjective and objective aspects.
1902 J. M. Baldwin Dict. Philos. & Psychol. II. 435/2 Such awareness is not reflection unless interest and attention is predominantly directed to the self and its state.
1952 R. I. Aaron Theory of Universals i. v. 99 Our first knowledge of such ‘transcendentals’ is not gained empirically, but by the mind's reflection upon itself.
1996 S. C. Hetherington Knowl. Puzzles xv. 89 Whatever it is that..makes your belief justified is itself a piece of evidence, or a reason, in your mind. (It is a reason of which—by reflection or introspection—you are, or can be, aware).
8.
a. A thought that is expressed in words, esp. one written down; a considered remark made after devoting careful thought to a subject; a philosophical observation.Frequently used (esp. in plural) in the titles of collections of essays, arguments, aphorisms, etc., to denote a series of informal meditations on a particular subject.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > saying, maxim, adage > [noun] > observation
consideration1477
observation1550
experience1570
note1577
reflection1610
reflexa1641
sagacities1867
1610 E. Bolton Elements of Armories sig. T4 Reflections vppon the humors of the Time.
1659 H. Hammond Paraphr. & Annot. Psalms Pref. sig. A4 Beside his many incidental reflexions on this Book of Psalms.
1672 P. F. Lana (title) Reflections on an observation of Signior M. Antonio Castagna concerning the formation of crystals.
1701 Ballad Pref. Tho' the Design of this Publication is of so commendable a Nature in its self, as to need nothing to be said in favour of it; yet it may not be amiss, to make some Reflections in Prose, when the Ballad has escap'd the Censure of Verse, and take notice of the Clemency of those Gentlemen its Presumptious Author taxes with Cruelty.
a1704 T. Brown Ess. Eng. Satyr in Wks. (1707) I. i. 32 The Reflections are Beautiful, founded upon true Learning, and give a just Reputation to their Author.
1750 S. Johnson Rambler No. 31. ⁋3 When an account was brought him of his son's death, he received it only with this reflection, ‘I knew that my son was mortal’.
1790 (title) A desultory sketch of the abuses in the militia, with comparative reflections on the increase of our military establishments and the decrease of our manufactures.
a1822 P. B. Shelley Peter Bell III v, in Poet. Wks. (?1840) 243/1 Odd collections Of saws, and proverbs; and reflections Old parsons make in burying-grounds.
1839 H. Hallam Introd. Lit. Europe II. vii. 431 The reflections are usually of a moral cast.
a1859 J. W. Alexander Thoughts on Preaching (1863) 511 I have found much pleasure in writing down at night what I call the thought of the day; that is, some reflection derived from the day's observation, especially if it can be couched in a single sentence.
1934 A. H. R. Goldie Abercromby's Weather (rev. ed.) viii. 143 We shall conclude with one important reflection. We know that heat is the prime mover of all atmospheric circulation; why, then, do the great local differences of temperature have so little influence on the sequence of weather?
1959 N. Mailer Advts. for Myself (1961) 303 The exchange was called ‘Reflections on Hipsterism’, when it appeared in Dissent.
2007 Church Times 8 June 30/4 The final section is a reflection on a letter sent by Dietrich Bonhoeffer in May 1944.
b. A thought or idea which occurs to or occupies a person's mind.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > thought > product of thinking, thought > [noun] > a thought, thoughts
thoughtOE
i-thankc1000
thinkingsa1225
pensee1474
considering1483
consideration1489
panse1568
reflect1594
reflection1648
thought-form1850
thought-product1853
thought-entity1868
the mind > mental capacity > thought > continued thinking, reflection, contemplation > thinking about, consideration, deliberation > [noun] > product of, thought, reflection
considering1483
consideration1489
reflect1594
reflection1648
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of ideation > idea, notion, or concept > [noun] > occupying the mind
thoughta1250
apprehension1579
intellection1579
reflect1594
notion1603
idea1633
reflection1648
presentment1817
earthly1897
society > leisure > the arts > literature > literary and textual criticism > textual criticism > [noun] > emendation of text
correction1528
castigation?1611
reflection1648
emendation1652
amends1888
1648 Eikon Basilike xxvii. 232 Son, if these Papers, with some others, wherein I have set down the private reflections of My Conscience, and My most impartiall thoughts,..come to your hands, [etc.].
1671 R. Montagu in Buccleuch MSS (Hist. MSS Comm.) (1899) I. 510 See whether upon second reflections the King will say anything to me.
1702 Clarendon's Hist. Rebellion I. i. 13 These Reflections were so Terrible to him, that they Robbed him of all Peace and Quiet of Mind.
1716 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. 22 Aug. (1965) I. 255 These Refflexions draw after them others that are too melancholy.
1791 W. Cowper Retirem. 108 Then stepped the poet into bed, With this reflection in his head.
1847 C. Dickens Dombey & Son (1848) xlv. 448 The reflection that you had injured her position and ruined her future hopes.
1866 A. Crump Pract. Treat. Banking ix. 207 A fact suggesting rather a singular reflection.
1930 V. Sackville-West Edwardians iv. 152 All the reflections usual to a gentleman in that..situation..began to course through his mind.
1989 A. Brookner Lewis Percy iv. 61 He went thoughtfully to bed, thankful, at least, to have so many new reflections.
9.
a. Something which brings discredit on (also upon) a person or thing.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > damage to reputation > [noun] > source of discredit or discrediting circumstance
villainyc1340
slander1390
ill1414
reproachc1450
opprobry1534
dispraise1535
slanderer1558
obloquy1589
disreputation1609
reflection1622
1622 W. Ames Reply Dr. Mortons Gen. Def. iv. 74 Whether the Pagan use of Bay-leaues which was aboue a thousand yeares past, doth cast such a reflection upon our civill use of bay-leaues, as the Popish superstition doth upon our ceremonies?
1663 B. Gerbier Counsel to Builders 5 An ill built Palace leaves a perpetual reflection of Ignorance on the Builder.
1673 N. Grew Idea Phytol. Hist. Ded. sig. A4 To insist hereon too much, might be a reflection upon Your Judgments.
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 189. ¶7 It is one of the greatest Reflections upon Human Nature that Paternal Instinct should be a stronger Motive to Love than Filial Gratitude.
1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones VI. xvi. vii. 60 I will not hear my Niece abused. It is a Reflection on my Family. View more context for this quotation
1819 Times 2 July 2/2 The honourable member..asserted, that it was a sad reflection on the house, that the Lords had paid greater attention to the security and protection of the subject than they (the House of Commons) had done.
1859 Addr. to People of U.S. (Washington National Monument Soc., Washington, D.C.) 20 It is a reflection on the people of this country that the resolution of Congress made sixty years ago should have been permitted to lie a dead letter upon the statute-book.
1930 W. Faulkner As I lay Dying 97 When you fixes it so folks can say such about you, it's a reflection on your ma, I says, not me.
1952 T. Armstrong Adam Brunskill v. 158 Adam was offered cheese-cakes and, as a refusal was considered..a reflection upon the quality of the cakes,..he ate them until he was satiated.
2008 San Antonio (Texas) Express-News (Nexis) 8 June b11 It's a sad reflection on society that a 78-year-old man could get hit by a car in front of a crowd of people, and nobody helps.
b. Criticism, blame; censure, reproof. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disapproval > criticism > [noun]
faultingc1450
animadversion1599
criticism1607
reflection1636
1636 W. Prynne Unbishoping of Timothy & Titus To Rdr. 5 Our present ambitious Prelates..have lately..resuscitated the violent flames of this contention afresh, by a new ambitious claime of all their Episcopall Soveraignity and Iurisdiction,..for a Booke written onely against the Pope and Italian Bishops, without any reflection upon them.
1651 N. Bacon Contin. Hist. Disc. Govt. 133 As their work is full of reflexion, so formerly they had met with many sad influences for their labour.
1693 J. Dryden Disc. conc. Satire in J. Dryden et al. tr. Juvenal Satires p. xxviii For in English, to say Satire, is to mean Reflection, as we use that word in the worst Sense.
1707 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. 23 Dec. (O.H.S.) II. 82 The Duke was oppos'd by ye Dr...not without some sharpness and Reflection.
1747 S. Richardson Clarissa I. vi. 36 If I have deserved reflection, let me not be spar'd.
1818 W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian ii, in Tales of my Landlord 2nd Ser. I. 61 Robertson uttered not a word of reflection on his companion for the consequences of his obstinacy.
1895 T. Hardy Jude vi. vii. 482 I'd marry the W—— of Babylon rather than do anything dishonourable! No reflection on you, my dear. It is a mere rhetorical figure.
2003 St. John's (Newfoundland) Telegram (Nexis) 13 Dec. a4 The mayor claimed Sears cannot reasonably conclude his allegation did not bear reflection upon staff.
c. A disparaging or insulting remark or statement, esp. one intended to bring discredit on (also upon) a person or a person's reputation. Frequently to make (also cast) a reflection and variants.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > damage to reputation > slander or calumny > [noun] > a slander or calumny
slander1297
calumniation1588
reflect1594
aspersion1596
scandal1604
calumny1616
libel1618
reflection1646
vilification1709
1646 E. Bowles Manifest Truth 34 There is added..a bitter, and I think unjust reflection upon the Commissioners, employed by the Parliament in the North.
1675 R. Burthogge Cavsa Dei 11 I abhor Reflections and Hard Words, as neither Philosophical, nor Civil, nor Christian.
1702 Clarendon's Hist. Rebellion I. iv. 245 All those sharp Reflexions which could be made, upon the King himself.
1718 M. Prior Solomon on Vanity iii, in Poems Several Occasions (new ed.) 490 May no reflection shed Its poisonous venom on the royal dead.
1788 J. Priestley Lect. Hist. iv. xx. 161 The Baeotians were Plutarch's countrymen and he could not bear that any reflection, though ever so just, should be cast upon them.
1870 F. M. Müller Sci. Relig. (1873) 395 Had his personal reflections concerned myself alone.
1882 Cent. Mag. Feb. 489/1 Perish the thought, here, that any reflection is implied upon Daniel's supper!
1927 A. Conan Doyle Case-bk. Sherlock Holmes 97 I withdraw any reflection I have made upon your amazing professional powers.
1950 Times 5 Sept. 6/3 This can hardly be described as persecution without casting a reflection on the new régime.
2004 Age (Melbourne) (Nexis) 6 Feb. 4 [He] denied he was making a reflection on Mr Howard's age, but emphasising that Australia was ready for a younger outlook on politics and life.
Compounds
C1.
a. † reflection-coiner n. Obsolete rare.
ΚΠ
1711 Ld. Shaftesbury Characteristicks III. Misc. ii. iii. 95 The celebrated Wits,..casual Discoursers, Reflection-Coiners, Meditation-Founders, [etc.].
reflection time n.
ΚΠ
1889 Internat. Ann. Anthonys Photogr. Bull. 285 In my case the reflection time is over.
2004 N. Sato Inside Japanese Classrooms vi. 203 During reflection time, students are supposed to contemplate and evaluate their own participation.
b.
reflection-reducing adj.
ΚΠ
1940 Sci. News Let. 38 311/3 By chemical treatment of the outer layers of the sandwich, a durable film, with the proper reflection-reducing properties, is formed on their surfaces.
2006 Optics Communications 261 119/1 A convex lens with reflection reducing coating on both surfaces.
C2.
reflection coefficient n. Physics = reflection factor n.; the ratio of the electric current delivered by a generator to the current that would be delivered if the generator and load impedances were perfectly matched.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > light > reflection > [noun] > reflected light > proportion reflected
reflectance1893
reflection coefficient1912
reflection factor1919
reflectivity1936
1912 Proc. Royal Soc. 1911–12 A. 86 190 The reflection coefficient (b) of the blackened copper cold surface may be taken as about 0.025.
1945 H. W. Bode Network Anal. & Feedback Amplifier Design xvi. 360 Expressions having the mathematical form of a reflection coefficient appear frequently in network analysis.
1975 E. Height Optics iii. 43 Determine the values of the amplitude reflection coefficients for light incident at 30° on an air-glass interface.
1991 G. H. Tomlinson Electr. Networks & Filters 184 In microwave transmission line theory, the function S(s) is known as the reflection coefficient or scattering coefficient.
reflection factor n. Physics the ratio of the intensity of reflected radiation or flux to that of incident radiation or flux; spec. a complex number whose modulus is the proportion of the radiant flux which is reflected by a surface or object, and whose argument represents the change of phase undergone by the reflected light (cf. reflectance n.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > light > reflection > [noun] > reflected light > proportion reflected
reflectance1893
reflection coefficient1912
reflection factor1919
reflectivity1936
1919 Proc. Royal Soc. A. 96 192 The reflection factor (1 − β) is equal to [etc.].
1954 T. Vickerstaff Physical Chem. Dyeing (ed. 2) ii. 54 The relation between the reflection factor and the concentration of dye in a fabric has been investigated.
1962 Physica 28 538 The experimental set-up must enable one to measure in free space the reflection factor of a cylindrical column of plasma.
2000 H. Kuttruff Room Acoustics (ed. 4) ii. 32 The changes in amplitude and phase which take place during the reflection of a wave are expressed by the complex reflection factor.
reflection nebula n. Astronomy a nebula which is visible only by virtue of the starlight which it reflects; cf. emission nebula n. at emission n. Compounds.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > constellation > nebula > [noun] > planetary nebula
dumb-bell nebula184.
crab1868
planetary1903
reflection nebula1936
1936 Astrophysical Jrnl. 84 219 (heading) Reflection nebulae.
1974 Sci. Amer. Oct. 34/3 These reflection nebulas are useful for studying the properties of the interstellar dust grains.
2004 M. Inglis Astron. of Milky Way I. iv. 180 Comprising both an emission and a reflection nebula is NGC 1931.
reflection oscillator n. Electronics (a) a valve oscillator having two closely-spaced grids with an alternating electric field between them, through which electrons pass twice, once in each direction; (b) an oscillator consisting of a resonator (a tuned circuit) and an active device such as a transistor connected in such a way that instability in the latter causes oscillations to build up in the former until stability is reached.
ΚΠ
1946 Proc. Physical Soc. 58 476 A working model equivalent to a reflection oscillator has been made, using a balanced horizontal arm.
1947 J. G. Crowther & R. Whiddington Sci. at War i. 42 The valve is known as the ‘reflection oscillator’.
1992 E. Holzman & R. S. Robertson Solid-State Microwave Power Oscillator Design 202 For a reflection oscillator..external feedback is applied to obtain negative resistance and reflection gain.
1998 Computers & Electronics in Agric. 20 31 Reflection oscillators were designed for both open and shorted wave guides.
2001 E. N. Ivanov & M. E. Tobar in A. N. Luiten Frequency Measurem. & Control i. 13 Stable operation of a reflection oscillator is only possible for coupling values β < 1.
reflection profiling n. Geology profiling of underground features by means of reflection shooting (cf. profiling n. 4).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > drilling for oil or gas > [noun] > prospecting for oil or gas
reflection shooting1929
refraction profiling1929
refraction shooting1929
seismics1934
reflection profiling1938
doodlebugging1939
Vibroseis1961
1938 B. McCollum in A. E. Dunstan et al. Sci. of Petroleum I. viii. 396/2 (heading) Accuracy of reflection profiling.
2004 S. Suuroja & K. Suuroja in H. Dypvik et al. Cratering in Marine Environments 80 Five marine expeditions to the Neugrund impact structure and its surroundings were carried out... The following methods were used: seismic reflection profiling—about 300 km; magnetometric profiling—about 200 km; [etc.].
reflection shooting n. Geology seismic prospecting based on the travel time of shock waves generated at the earth's surface and reflected back at near-vertical incidence, providing detailed information on underground geological structure; cf. refraction shooting n. at refraction n. Compounds.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > drilling for oil or gas > [noun] > prospecting for oil or gas
reflection shooting1929
refraction profiling1929
refraction shooting1929
seismics1934
reflection profiling1938
doodlebugging1939
Vibroseis1961
1929 Trans. Amer. Inst. Mining & Metall. Engineers 81 606 The distances are short in reflection shooting compared with those in refraction shooting.
1973 R. E. Chapman Petroleum Geol. ii. 45 More detailed structural information is obtained from reflection shooting, in which the elastic waves are partly reflected by surfaces of contrasting density.
2002 J. E. Swezey tr. B. Biju-Duval Sedimentary Geol. iii. 135 These weathered surface zones..seriously disturb the depthward propagation of seismic waves when exploring basins by the reflection shooting method.
reflection spectroscopy n. Materials Science spectral analysis of electromagnetic radiation reflected from a surface as a means of investigating the properties of surface material.
ΚΠ
1960 Radiation Res. Suppl. 2 658 Near-infrared reflection spectroscopy.
1998 Science 16 Jan. 336/1 The first studies of cyclopentadiene chemisorption, combining STM and infrared reflection spectroscopy, demonstrated that [etc.].
Derivatives
reˈflectioning n. rare the action of reflecting; the process of mental reflection.
ΚΠ
1748 S. Richardson Clarissa V. xxxix. 285 But reflectioning apart, thou seest, Jack, that her plot is beginning to work.
2000 Synchronicity in alt.psychology.jung (Usenet newsgroup) 5 Nov. The dream ring, the physical beetle, and the ‘knowledge’..gathered from the psyche of Jung's reflectioning.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2009; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.a1398- muttons
- muttonsaddle
- muttonship
- muttonwater
- muttonwood
- muttony
- mutts
- mutual
- mutual admiration gang
- mutual admiration society
- mutual aid
- mutual aid agreement
- mutual aid programme
- mutual aid society
- mutual assured destruction
- mutual capacitance
- mutual characteristic
- mutual company
- mutual conductance
- mutual deterrence
- mutual exclusion
- mutual fund
- mutual funding
- mutual improvement
- mutual inductance