Etymologically
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miraculous

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Pronunciation

  • UK: /mɪˈɹæk.jʊ.ləs/, /mɪˈɹæk.jə.ləs/[1]
  • US: /məˈɹæk.jə.ləs/[1]

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

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