Etymologically
Log in

meraviglioso

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Italian word meraviglioso

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1242–1243, G. Fava (as mereveglosa)
Ultimate origin
Latin mīror

Pronunciation

  • /me.ra.viʎˈʎo.zo/, /me.ra.viʎˈʎo.so/[1]

Forms

meraviglioso (feminine meravigliosa, masculine plural meravigliosi, feminine plural meravigliose)[1] The Tuscan and literary form is maraviglioso.[2][3][4] Old Italian also wrote maraveglioso, maraveioso, maravellioso and merviglioso.[5]

Etymology

It is from Italian meraviglia + -oso, from the noun meaning “wonder”.[6][7][8][1] GRADIT and the GDLI compare Old French merveillos and Old Occitan merveillos, recorded from 1080, and modern French merveilleux.[8][5]

The noun is inherited from Latin mīrābilia (“wonderful things”), the neuter plural of mīrābilis (“wonderful”), taken as a feminine singular, through a spoken form *merabilia.[6][7][1] The adjective comes from mīror (“to wonder at”).[7] The same noun is French merveille, Occitan meravelha, Catalan meravella, Spanish maravilla and Portuguese maravilha.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is mereveglosa in G. Fava, 1242–1243; the form meraviglioso, “causing wonder and admiration”, is in Brunetto Latini, before 1294.[6][8] In his Rettorica Latini quotes Virgil promising to tell “very wonderful and great things of the little bees” (cose molto meravigliose e grandi delle picciole api).[5]

Semantic evolution

In Old Italian the adjective also meant “extraordinary, incredible”, in good or bad sense, and even “frightening”: Dante sees a figure come swimming up through the dark air, maravigliosa ad ogne cor sicuro, “fearful even to a steady heart”.[6][8][9] It could also describe the person who wonders, “amazed”, as in Ariosto's maraviglioso corre e stupefatto.[8][2][10] Those senses are now literary or obsolete.[9][3]

The modern word praises something splendid or someone admirable, often as a simple superlative of approval.[8][4][11] As a noun, il meraviglioso names the supernatural or magical element of a work of fiction, such as the marvels of the Orlando furioso or the Homeric poems; the Baroque poetica del meraviglioso aimed at astonishment.[8][2][11] The form with mara- long alternated with mera-; for the noun it was held to suit prose better than poetry.[6]

Timeline

  • 1242–1243 – Gerardo Fava writes mereveglosa.[6][8]
  • Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses meraviglioso.[6]
  • 13th century – The Libro della natura degli animali has meravigliosa natura, “extraordinary nature”.[6]
  • About 1356 – Andrea Lancia writes maraviglioso sognio, “an incredible dream”.[6]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. wonderful, marvellous, splendid: Dal terrazzo si gode una vista meravigliosa.[8][2][3]
  2. Of a person, admirable for their qualities: Sua nonna era una donna meravigliosa.[8][11]
  3. (literary) Extraordinary, incredible, also in a bad sense, or frightening.[8][2][9]
  4. (obsolete) Amazed, astonished.[8][9][4]

Noun

  1. What causes wonder: Il meraviglioso è che nessuno se ne sia accorto.[8][4]
  2. (literature) The supernatural or magical element in a work of fiction.[8][2][9]

Word family

  • meravigliosamente

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  3. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  4. ^ a b c d Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  5. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  7. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  9. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  10. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  11. ^ a b c Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli

Related etymologies

  • no · also from Latin
  • cosa · also from Latin
  • a · also from Latin
  • mio · also from Latin
  • uno · also from Latin
  • si · also from Latin
  • sapere · also from Latin
  • fare · also from Latin
Cite this entry

“Meraviglioso.” Etymologically, 21 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/meraviglioso. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·