Definition

Noun: A mirror, typically one used for personal grooming or decoration, especially one associated with a lady's dressing table or boudoir. The term often carries a slightly old-fashioned or literary quality.

Usage

The word "looking glass" functions as a countable noun. It is used to refer to the physical object. While "mirror" is the more common modern term, "looking glass" is still understood and used, particularly to evoke a certain tone. * It is often preceded by articles like "a" or "the" or possessive pronouns like "her." * It can be part of a compound noun to specify a type, e.g., "a pier-looking glass."

Examples

• She gazed thoughtfully at her reflection in the looking glass.
• The antique looking glass in the hallway was framed in ornate gold.
• In the story, the queen consulted her magic looking glass every day.

Advanced Usage

• "Through the Looking-Glass": This is the title of Lewis Carroll's famous sequel to . The phrase has entered the language to describe a strange, inverted, or surreal situation or perspective, as if one has stepped through a mirror into another world.
  • After the strange news, I felt like I had fallen through the looking-glass.

Variants and Related Words

• Mirror (n): The standard, more common synonym for "looking glass."
• Glass (n): In older or specific contexts, "glass" alone could be used to mean mirror (e.g., "She looked in the glass"), but this is now archaic or poetic.

Synonyms

• Mirror
• Reflector (in a technical context)

Idioms and Phrases

• To hold a looking-glass up to nature: A phrase derived from Shakespeare's , meaning to create art that reflects reality truthfully and accurately.
  • The playwright's goal was to hold a looking-glass up to nature and show society its own flaws.

Noun

1. a mirror; usually a ladies' dressing mirror