miraculous

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English miraclous,^[2] borrowed from Middle French miraculeux, and directly borrowed from Medieval Latin mīrāculōsus,^{[3][4][5][6][2]} from Latin mīrāculum (“miracle, marvel, wonder”) with the suffix -ōsus.^[3][7] Etymonline gives the Old French form as miraculos.^[8] In French the adjective is recorded from 1314 for "performing miracles", about 1380 for "brought about by a miracle";^[3] the Latin one is found once in the 4th century, in a pagan context, and in Christian use from the 8th.^[3] The Latin mīrāculum comes from mīror (“to wonder at”), from mīrus (“wonderful”).^[8] Related forms in other Romance languages are Occitan miraclous, Italian miracoloso, Spanish milagroso and Portuguese miraculoso.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of the nature of a miracle, brought about by a miracle, beyond natural laws: 1447, in Osbern Bokenham's Lives of Saints.^[3] Etymonline dates it to the mid 15th century, and the adverb miraculously a little earlier.^[8][3]

Semantic evolution

From about 1550 it could mean "concerned with miracles",^[3] and after 1569, by exaggeration, "so extraordinary as to seem supernatural; astonishing".^[3][8] From 1596 a thing, or formerly a person, could be miraculous in having the power to work miracles.^[3] Johnson (1755) defined it as done or produced by miracle, by a power more than natural.^[9] In Scots and the dialects of Yorkshire the word took quite other senses: wild or reckless, lively and mischievous of a child, clumsy, and especially very drunk,^[10][3][11] the last recorded from 1873.^[11] With the, the miraculous has meant what relates to miracles since 1836, in Emerson.^[3]

Timeline

• 1447 – brought about by a miracle; supernatural.^[3]
• c. 1550 – concerned with miracles.^[3]
• 1569 – astonishing, extraordinary.^[3]
• 1596 – having the power to work miracles.^[3]
• 1836 – noun, the miraculous.^[3]
• 1873 – Scots, very drunk.^[11][3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of the nature of a miracle; brought about by supernatural power: a miraculous healing.^[12][6][3]
2. So remarkable as to seem a miracle; astonishing or marvellous: Her recovery after the crash was nothing short of miraculous.^[12][6][3]
3. Having the power to work miracles.^[12][3]
4. (Scottish and northern English dialect) Very drunk.^[3][10][11]

Word family

• miraculously
• miraculousness
• nonmiraculous
• pseudomiraculous
• unmiraculous

Related words

• miracle
• admire
• marvel
• mirror
• mirage

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
8. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
10. ^ a b 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)
11. ^ a b c d Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
12. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins