mirage

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 24, 2021 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>mirage</strong> &#149; \muh-RAHZH\&nbsp; &#149; <em>noun</em><br /> <p>A <em>mirage</em> is a reflection of light that can trick the mind into interpreting a sight as an apparently solid thing. The word is also used figuratively to describe things that are illusory or unattainable.</p> <p>// What the shipwrecked crew thought was a ship on the horizon turned out to be a <em>mirage</em>.</p> <p>// The team's early season hopes for a first-place finish are now a <em>mirage</em>.</p> <p><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mirage">See the entry ></a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>"Kozell spent the first day after the storm patching holes in his own roof, and he's been helping clients ever since. A day off is a distant <em>mirage</em> for workers like him and Hasan, who predict they'll be patching roofs for weeks to come." — Matt Sledge, <em>The Times-Picayune</em>, 6 Sept. 2021</p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p><em>Mirage</em> comes from the French verb <em>mirer</em> ("to look at"), which is related to <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mirror#etymology">mirror</a></em>. <em>Mirer</em>, itself, is from Latin <em>mīrārī</em> ("to wonder at"), the ancestor of the commonly seen <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/admire">admire</a></em>, <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/miracle">miracle</a></em>, and <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/marvel">marvel</a></em>.</p> <br /><br /> </p> </font>