Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “merveilous” come from?

merveilous (Middle English) comes from Old French merveillus, from Old French merveille, from Vulgar Latin miribilia, from Latin mīrābilia, from Latin mīrābilis, from Latin mīror, from Latin mīrus, from Proto-Italic smeiros — to smile; to smear, stroke, wipe, rub; to be...

merveilous (Middle English): Astounding, breathtaking, unexpected; resulting...

Definitions

  1. Astounding, breathtaking, unexpected; resulting...

Ancestry of “merveilous”, step by step

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

Words derived from “merveilous”

  • marvellous
  • marvelous
  • marvellously
  • marvelously
  • marvellousness
  • marvelousness
  • unmarvellous
  • unmarvelous
  • merveilously
Every word from Proto-Indo-European smey- →