Where does “marvellous” come from?
Marvellous derives from Middle English merveilous, from Old French merveillus, from Latin mirabilis meaning "wonderful" or "extraordinary," formed from miror meaning "to wonder at."
marvellous (English): Exciting wonder or surprise; astonishing;...
Definitions
- Exciting wonder or surprise; astonishing;...
Ancestry of “marvellous”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | merveilous | Astounding, breathtaking, unexpected; resulting... |
| 2 | Old French | merveillus | enormous, giant |
| 3 | Old French | merveille | wonder; marvel |
| 4 | Vulgar Latin | miribilia | — |
| 5 | Latin | mīrābilia | — |
| 6 | Latin | mīrābilis | wonderful, marvellous, astonishing, extraordinary, remarkable, amazing |
| 7 | Latin | mīror | to be astonished at, marvel at, admire, be amazed at, wonder at |
| 8 | Latin | mīrus | wonderful, marvelous, amazing, surprising, miraculous |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | smeiros | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | sméyros | laughing, smiling |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | smey- | to smile; to smear, stroke, wipe, rub; to be... |