Other forms: reflections
A reflection is the image thrown back at you by water or a mirror. Yourself, the wrong way round.
Physics uses the word for light, sound and heat bouncing off a surface. The figurative sense is about thinking, so quiet reflection means careful thought and on reflection means having thought about it again. There is a third use meaning a sign of something, and saying that a result is a reflection of the effort put in means it shows that effort. A poor reflection on somebody makes them look bad.
1nounreflectionAn image thrown back by a mirror or a smooth surface.
“She caught her reflection in the shop window.”
2nounseriousSerious thought about something.
“After some reflection he changed his mind.”
Latin
reflexiō
Middle French
reflection,reflexion
Middle English
refleccion,refleccioun,refleccioune,reflection
English, today
reflection
From Middle English refleccion,refleccioun,refleccioune,reflection, from Middle French reflection,reflexion, and its source Latin reflexiō, from the participle stem of reflectō. The current spelling is influenced by reflect. Equivalent to reflect + ion.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA