mirror punishment

noun

A form of punishment that reflects the nature of the transgression that it punishes.

“Mirror punishments are often justified by the Biblical phrase 'an eye for an eye'.”

Similar
lex talionis
OriginDutch spiegelstraf →
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Meanings

nounmirror punishment (countable and uncountable, plural mirror punishments)

plural mirror punishments

  1. countableuncountableA form of punishment that reflects the nature of the transgression that it punishes.

    Mirror punishments are often justified by the Biblical phrase 'an eye for an eye'.

    1 more example

    The Sharia (Islamic penal code) rule of amputating a thief's stealing hand is a bloody mirror punishment.

    Synonyms: lex talionis

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA form of punishment that reflects the nature of the transgression that it punishes.

Similar
lex talionis

Origin

  1. Dutchspiegelstraf
  2. Englishmirror punishment

Possibly a calque translation of Dutch spiegelstraf or German Spiegelstrafe

More words from Dutch

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Dutch spiegelstraf
  • spiegelstrafpunishment
Cite this entry
APA

mirror punishment. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mirror%20punishment

MLA

“mirror punishment.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mirror%20punishment. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mirror punishment,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mirror%20punishment.

Source: mirror punishment on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.