The term speculum, Latin for "
mirror
A mirror or looking glass is an object that Reflection (physics), reflects an image. Light that bounces off a mirror will show an image of whatever is in front of it, when focused through the lens of the eye or a camera. Mirrors reverse the ...
", and its plural specula, may refer to:
*
''Speculum'' (journal), a journal of medieval studies published by the Medieval Academy of America
*
Speculum (medical)
A speculum (Latin for 'mirror'; plural specula or speculums) is a medical tool for investigating body orifices, with a form dependent on the orifice for which it is designed. In old texts, the speculum may also be referred to as a diopter or dio ...
, a medical tool used for examining body cavities
*
Speculum feathers
The speculum is a patch, often distinctly coloured, on the secondary wing feathers, or ''remiges'', of some birds.
Examples of the colour(s) of the speculum in a number of ducks are:
* Common teal and green-winged teal: Iridescent green edged w ...
, the secondary feathers on the inner part of a duck's wing which are often brightly coloured
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Speculum literature
The medieval genre of speculum literature, popular from the twelfth through the sixteenth centuries, was inspired by the urge to encompass encyclopedic knowledge within a single work. However, some of these works have a restricted scope and func ...
, a medieval genre
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Speculum metal
Speculum metal is a mixture of around two-thirds copper and one-third tin, making a white brittle alloy that can be polished to make a highly reflective surface. It was used historically to make different kinds of mirrors from personal grooming ...
, an alloy containing copper and tin used for making all-metal mirrors
* "Speculum", a song by Adema from
''Adema'' (album)
See also
*
*
Specula (disambiguation) Specula is the plural form of speculum and may refer to:
* 86196 Specula, a minor planet
* Specula (gastropod), a genus of minute sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs or micromolluscs in the family Cerithiopsidae
* Specula (watchtower), a w ...
*
Spiculum
A spiculum is a late Roman spear that replaced the pilum as the infantryman's main throwing javelin around 250 AD. Scholars suppose that it could have resulted from the gradual combination of the pilum and two German spears, the angon and the beb ...
, a Roman weapon
{{disambiguation