Definition of "specular" [spec•u•lar]

• Of, resembling, or produced by a mirror or speculum. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Cassini scientists had been looking for the glint, also known as a specular reflection, since the spacecraft began orbiting Saturn in 2004."
• "In some places it is obtained from what is called the specular iron ore, and also from black oxide."
• "Other treasures in the tomb included shells imported from the Pacific coast, colorful bowls, remnants of textiles and ingots of a brilliant red pigment called specular hematitite, similar to the bronze ingots in Mediterranean shipwrecks."