speculum

S1P3E1C3U1L1U1M3
UK/ˈspɛk.jʊ.ləm/US, UK/ˈspɛk.jə.ləm/

noun

A medical instrument used during an examination to dilate an orifice.

Similar
mirrorbeauty spot
OriginLatin speculum ← Proto-Italic *spekjō ← Proto-Indo-European *spéḱyeti →
Less commonScrabble 14
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Meanings

nounspeculum (plural specula or speculums)

plural specula · plural speculums

  1. medicineA medical instrument used during an examination to dilate an orifice.
  2. A mirror, especially one used in a telescope.
  3. biologyA 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.

    Synonyms: mirror, beauty spot

  4. A lookout place.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA 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.

Similar
mirrorbeauty spot
Also see
beauty spot

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*speḱ-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*spéḱyeti
  3. Proto-Italic*spekjō
  4. Latinspeculum
  5. Englishspeculum

Learned borrowing from Latin speculum.

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian спекулум
  • спекулум (spekulum)medical instrument
Catalan espècul, espèculum
  • espèculmedical instrument
  • espèculummedical instrument
Dutch eendenbek, speculum
  • eendenbekmedical instrument
  • speculummedical instrument
Esperanto spegulumo
  • spegulumomedical instrument
Finnish siipipeili
  • siipipeilipatch of colour found on the wings of ducks and some other birds
French spéculum
  • spéculummedical instrument
German Flügelspiegel
  • Flügelspiegelpatch of colour found on the wings of ducks and some other birds
Hebrew סְפֵּקוּלוּם, מְפַשֵּׂק
  • סְפֵּקוּלוּם (spekulum)medical instrument
  • מְפַשֵּׂק (m'fasék)medical instrument
Icelandic spegill, slanga
  • spegillmedical instrument
  • slangamedical instrument
Japanese 翼鏡
  • 翼鏡 (yokukyō)patch of colour found on the wings of ducks and some other birds
Latin specillum
  • specillummedical instrument
Polish wziernik
  • wziernikmedical instrument
Spanish espéculo
  • espéculomedical instrument
Swedish vingspegel
  • vingspegelpatch of colour found on the wings of ducks and some other birds
Cite this entry
APA

speculum. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/speculum

MLA

“speculum.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/speculum. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “speculum,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/speculum.

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