famous

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈfeɪ.məs/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Anglo-Norman famous, Old French fameus (modern French fameux),^[2][3] from Latin fāmōsus (“much talked of, renowned”),^[2][4] often in the sense “infamous, notorious”,^[2] from fāma (“talk, report, fame”),^[2][3] the source of fame, from Proto-Indo-European *bha- (“to speak, tell, say”).^[2] The native Old English word was namcūþ, literally “name-known”.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Celebrated, much talked about: of things about 1385, and of persons before 1400.^[5] Etymonline dates it to the late 14th century.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Like the Latin word, it could be used in a bad sense, “notorious”, from 1388; that use is now obsolete except in archaic writing.^[5] In the 16th century it also meant “libellous” (1543) and “commonly talked of, ordinary” (1528), both obsolete.^[5] As an emphatic term of approval, “excellent, splendid”, it is from before 1700, chiefly colloquial.^[5] Famous last words was used of deathbed sayings of famous people by 1893;^[2] the humorous sense, a remark likely to prove badly wrong, is from 1921 in Etymonline^[2] and 1948 in the OED.^[5] In northern English dialect it meant “excellent, first-rate”, sometimes in the form famish.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 1385 – of things, renowned.^[5]
• 1388 – notorious.^[5]
• before 1400 – of persons, renowned.^[5]
• 1543 – libellous.^[5]
• before 1700 – excellent.^[5]
• 1893 – famous last words, deathbed sayings.^[2]
• 1921 – famous last words, a rash prediction.^[2]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Known widely; celebrated.
2. (informal, dated) First-rate, excellent.

Word family

• famously
• famousness
• infamous
• overfamous
• prefamous
• pseudofamous
• unfamous
• world-famous

Related words

• fame
• famed
• fable
• fate
• prophet

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)