Mira

M3I1R1A1

proper noun

A binary star in the constellation Cetus, Omicron (ο) Ceti. The system contains a variable red giant and a white dwarf. Its brightness varies from a magnitude 2 at its brightest to a magnitude 10 at its dimmest.

Similar
Omicron Ceti
OriginLatin mīrus →
Less commonScrabble 6
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Meanings

Mira1

proper noun
  1. astronomyA binary star in the constellation Cetus, Omicron (ο) Ceti. The system contains a variable red giant and a white dwarf. Its brightness varies from a magnitude 2 at its brightest to a magnitude 10 at its dimmest.
    1 more example

    The favoured explanation, adopted by Maraldi, was based on the assumption that the star was rotating and composed of two different parts, a bright and a dark region; if so, it might only be visible when the bright region turned towards Earth. Whatever the explanation, Mira had puzzled the astronomers because of its random character and the irregular periods between its observations.

    2008, Helge Kragh, The Moon that Wasn't: The Saga of Venus' Spurious Satellite, Springer Science & Business Media, →ISBN, page 80

    Synonyms: Omicron Ceti

Mira2

proper noun
  1. Mirabai, a 16th-century Indian poetess.
  2. broadlyA female given name from India.

    Dorothy's daughters were of exceptional beauty and the sisters could complain only that the Hindi names Dorothy had chosen - Mira, Leela, Lena - were meant to pass as Western ones.

    1961, V. S. Naipaul, A House for Mr Biswas, Penguin Books, published 1977, →ISBN, page 366

Synonyms & antonyms

proper nounA binary star in the constellation Cetus, Omicron (ο) Ceti. The system contains a variable red giant and a white dwarf. Its brightness varies from a magnitude 2 at its brightest to a magnitude 10 at its dimmest.

Similar
Omicron Ceti

Origin

Mira · proper noun

  1. Latinmīrus“wonderful, surprising”
  2. EnglishMira

Named by the astronomer Johannes Hevelius in 1662, from Latin mīrus (“wonderful, surprising”).

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Mira · proper noun

  1. Slavic
  2. Hindiमीरा
  3. EnglishMira

* Borrowed from Hindi मीरा (mīrā), name of a 16th century Indian poetess, also affectionately called Mirabai. * As occasionally borne by anglophones in the West, the name may also be borrowed from Slavic, or be a short form of Miranda.

More words from Hindi, Slavic

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 蒭藁增二 /𫇴藁增二
  • 蒭藁增二 /𫇴藁增二 (Chúgǎozēng'èr)star
Finnish Mira
  • Mirastar
French Mira
  • Mirastar
German Mira
  • Mirastar
Portuguese Mira
  • Mirastar
Russian Мира
  • Мираstar
Spanish Mira
  • Mirastar

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

MariamirIrmamairramirima
Cite this entry
APA

Mira. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Mira

MLA

“Mira.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Mira. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Mira,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Mira.

Source: Mira on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.