Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “merveilleux” come from?

merveilleux (English) comes from French merveilleux, from French merveille, from Latin mīrābilia, from Latin mīrābilis, from Latin mīror, from Latin mīrus, from Proto-Italic smeiros, from Proto-Indo-European sméyros — to smile; to smear, stroke, wipe, rub; to be...

merveilleux (English): an extravagantly dressed French fop or ‘fine...

Definitions

  1. an extravagantly dressed French fop or ‘fine...

Ancestry of “merveilleux”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchmerveilleuxmarvelous, brilliant
2Frenchmerveillewonder; marvel
3Latinmīrābilia—
4Latinmīrābilis—
5Latinmīror—
6Latinmīrus—
7Proto-Italicsmeiros—
8Proto-Indo-Europeansméyroslaughing, smiling
9Proto-Indo-Europeansmey-to smile; to smear, stroke, wipe, rub; to be...
Every word from Proto-Indo-European smey- →