skvallerspegel

Swedish

skvallerspegel

Etymology

Compound of skvaller (“gossip”) +‎ spegel (“mirror”). First attested in 1897.

Noun

skvallerspegel c

1. a double mirror mounted outside a window, for viewing up and down the street; similar to a rear-view mirror, but mounted on a house; common in small towns with wooden houses (Kalmar, Vadstena)
   • 1919, Hjalmar Bergman, chapter 5, in Markurells i Wadköping‎^[1]:

     Och där satt hon, till synes bunden av sin vana och sin kära skvallerspegel, som fängslat henne i ett drygt halvsekel.

     And there she sat, apparently spellbound by her habit and her dear mirror outside the window, that had held her captive for more than half a century.

Declension

Declension of skvallerspegel

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	skvallerspegel	skvallerspegels
	definite	skvallerspegeln	skvallerspegelns
plural	indefinite	skvallerspeglar	skvallerspeglars
	definite	skvallerspeglarna	skvallerspeglarnas

Synonyms

• espion
• reflexionsspegel

References

• skvallerspegel in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• skvallerspegel in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)