Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “marvelous” come from?

Marvelous comes from Middle English merveilous, from Old French merveillus, from Latin mirabilis meaning "wonderful," derived from miror meaning "to wonder at."

marvelous (English): Exciting wonder or surprise; astonishing;...

Definitions

  1. Exciting wonder or surprise; astonishing;...

Ancestry of “marvelous”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishmerveilousAstounding, breathtaking, unexpected; resulting...
2Old Frenchmerveillusenormous, giant
3Old Frenchmerveillewonder; marvel
4Vulgar Latinmiribilia—
5Latinmīrābilia—
6Latinmīrābilis—
7Latinmīror—
8Latinmīrus—
9Proto-Italicsmeiros—
10Proto-Indo-Europeansméyroslaughing, smiling
11Proto-Indo-Europeansmey-to smile; to smear, stroke, wipe, rub; to be...

Words derived from “marvelous”

  • marvelously
  • marvelousness
  • unmarvelous
Every word from Proto-Indo-European smey- →