Where does “marvellously” come from?
Marvellously comes from Middle English merveilously, formed from Middle English merveillous with the suffix -ly, which derives from Old English -līċ, while merveillous comes from Latin mirabilis meaning "wonderful" combined with Latin -osus, with mirabilis ultimately tracing to Proto-Indo-European līg-.
marvellously (English): In a marvellous manner; To a great or impressive...
Definitions
- In a marvellous manner; To a great or impressive...
Ancestry of “marvellously”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | merveilously | Astoundingly, breathtakingly, unexpectedly; in a... |
| 2 | Middle English | merveilous | Astounding, breathtaking, unexpected; resulting... |
| 3 | Old French | merveillus | enormous, giant |
| 4 | Old French | merveille | wonder; marvel |
| 5 | Vulgar Latin | miribilia | — |
| 6 | Latin | mīrābilia | — |
| 7 | Latin | mīrābilis | wonderful, marvellous, astonishing, extraordinary, remarkable, amazing |
| 8 | Latin | mīror | to be astonished at, marvel at, admire, be amazed at, wonder at |
| 9 | Latin | mīrus | wonderful, marvelous, amazing, surprising, miraculous |
| 10 | Proto-Italic | smeiros | — |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | sméyros | laughing, smiling |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | smey- | to smile; to smear, stroke, wipe, rub; to be... |