Etymologically
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majestic

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Pronunciation

  • /məˈd͡ʒɛstɪk/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English majesty + -ic.[2][3][4][5] It followed the earlier majestical, recorded from the 1570s,[3][2] and the classically more correct majestatic (1650s) is now archaic or obsolete.[3] Majesty is from Old French majeste (“grandeur, nobility”),[3][2] from Latin maiestās (“greatness, dignity”),[3][2] formed on the base of maior (“greater”), the comparative of magnus (“great”).[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of things, having imposing dignity or grandeur: 1606, in J. Davies's Bien Venu; of persons the next year, in Dekker's The Whore of Babylon.[2] Etymonline dates it to about 1600,[3] and Merriam-Webster's First Known Use is 1578.[5]

Semantic evolution

The adjective has kept the sense of its base, majesty: stately, grand, kingly.[2][4][5] It is used both of people and their bearing and of things such as scenery or buildings.[2][6] The form majestical survives as a less common variant.[6][5] In 1912 Majestic was recorded as the name of a potato variety with light-skinned, kidney-shaped tubers.[2]

Timeline

  • 1570s – the earlier form majestical.[3]
  • 1578 – Merriam-Webster's first date.[5]
  • 1606 – of things, stately, grand.[2]
  • 1607 – of persons and their attributes.[2]
  • 1650s – majestatic, now archaic.[3]
  • 1912 – Majestic, a potato variety.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Having or showing majesty; grand, stately or impressive: the majestic peaks of the Andes.[6][2][5]
  2. Like a king or queen; regal or imperial in bearing: She walked into the hall with a majestic calm.[5][4]

Word family

  • majestically
  • unmajestic

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins