noun · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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UK:/ˈspɛk.jʊ.ləm/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
General-American, UK:/ˈspɛk.jə.ləm/
1
noun
Meaning 1
A medical instrument used during an examination to dilate an orifice.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: medicine, sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
A mirror, especially one used in a telescope.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
A bright, lustrous patch of colour found on the wings of ducks and some other birds, usually situated on the distal portions of the secondary quills, and much more brilliant in the adult male than in the female.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: biology, natural-sciences, ornithology
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: mirror, beauty spot
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
A lookout place.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
noun
Meaning 5
a medical instrument for dilating a bodily passage or cavity in order to examine the interior
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: medical instrument
6
noun
Meaning 6
a mirror (especially one made of polished metal) for use in an optical instrument
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: mirror
History
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *speḱ- Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *spéḱyeti Proto-Italic *spekjō Proto-Indo-European *-tḗr Proto-Indo-European *-trom Proto-Indo-European *-tlom Proto-Italic *-klom Latin speculumlbor. English speculum Learned borrowing from Latin speculum.
Across languages
Translations
17 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Bulgarian:
спекулум
(spekulum)
— medical instrument
Catalan:
espècul
— medical instrument
Catalan:
espèculum
— medical instrument
Dutch:
eendenbek
— medical instrument
Dutch:
speculum
— medical instrument
Esperanto:
spegulumo
— medical instrument
French:
spéculum
— medical instrument
Icelandic:
spegill
— medical instrument
Icelandic:
slanga
— medical instrument
Latin:
specillum
— medical instrument
Polish:
wziernik
— medical instrument
Spanish:
espéculo
— medical instrument
Finnish:
siipipeili
— patch of colour found on the wings of ducks and some other birds
German:
Flügelspiegel
— patch of colour found on the wings of ducks and some other birds
Japanese:
翼鏡
(yokukyō)
— patch of colour found on the wings of ducks and some other birds
Low German:
Flunkenspegel
— patch of colour found on the wings of ducks and some other birds
Swedish:
vingspegel
— patch of colour found on the wings of ducks and some other birds