Definition: a freestanding, full-length mirror mounted between two upright posts, which rest traditionally on four trestle legs, or a supportive frame known as a horse ("cheval" means "horse" in French); the mirror is attached to its frame by screws, which allow it to tilt; the feet are often on casters, for portability; developed in the late 1700s, it's characteristic of Neo-Classical and Empire styles; eventually came to describe any standing mirror or even smaller mirrors suspended from a frame
Pronunciation: shuh-vahl mirror
Also Known As: cheval glass (English), Psyche (French), screen dressing glass
Example: Cheval mirrors may have been named by Thomas Sheraton, who described how they may "be turned back or forward to suit the person who dresses at them," in The Cabinet Dictionary (1803).