You can picture a beam of light hitting a smooth surface and bouncing straight back out instead of sinking in. Nothing is absorbed, nothing is changed — it is turned around and sent home. Every other use of the word is something being sent back like that: a face, a fact, or a thought.
From the word’s history
From Latin reflectere: re- 'back' + flectere 'to bend' — literally 'to bend back'. English first used it for surfaces bending light and images back (early 15c.); the 'turn your thoughts back on something' sense only appears around 1600.
來自拉丁文 reflectere：re-「回」＋ flectere「彎」，字面就是「彎回去」。英文最早用在表面把光和影像彎回來（十五世紀初），一直到 1600 年前後才出現「把念頭彎回自己身上」的用法。所以物理的反射是老大哥，反思是後來借同一個動作講心裡的事。
Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/word/reflect
登入就可以看每一支怎麼連回核心畫面。
原始詞典資料7 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，摘錄並精簡格式，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
reflectverb/ɹɪˈflɛkt/
- 1
To bend back (light, etc.) from a surface.
- A mirror reflects the light that shines on it.
- 2
To be bent back (light, etc.) from a surface.
- The moonlight reflected from the surface of water.
- 3
To mirror, or show the image of something.
- The shop window reflected his image as he walked past.
- 4
To be mirrored.
- His image reflected from the shop window as he walked past.
- 5
To agree with; to closely follow.
- Entries in English dictionaries aim to reflect common usage.
- 6
To give evidence of someone's or something's character etc.
- The team's victory reflects the Captain's abilities.
- The teacher's ability reflects well on the school.
- 7
To think seriously; to ponder or consider.
- People do that sort of thing every day, without ever stopping to reflect on the consequences.
- Standing on the mountain above Caerphilly, one may reflect upon the gap where once stood Llanbradach Viaduct, and look near at hand upon the restored ruins of Caerphilly Castle; man labours to rebuild the mediaeval whilst he ruthlessly scraps the modern.
摘錄自 英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary，已精簡格式；依 CC BY-SA 4.0 授權使用，改動後的內容同樣以此授權提供。