merveilleux French · revision 16635

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=c. 1100, Chanson de Roland (merveillus)|origins=la mīror}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /mɛʁ.vɛ.jø/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA: /mɛʁ.ve.jø/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''merveilleux''' (feminine merveilleuse, masculine plural merveilleux, feminine plural merveilleuses)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French ''merveillus'' (about 1100), ''mervellos'', ''merveillose'', ''merveilleux'' from the late 13th century (Joinville).^(GLLF 1989)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed [[af|fr|merveille|-eux]].^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Wiktionary) That noun is from [[la|mīrābilia|t=wonderful things]], a neuter plural taken as a feminine noun, frequent in the language of the Church, altered in northern Gaul to [[m|la-vul|*miribilia]]; it belongs to [[m|la|mīror|t=to wonder at]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ Compare [[oc|meravilhós]], [[ca|meravellós]], [[es|maravilloso]] and [[it|meraviglioso]].^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In the ''Chanson de Roland'' (about 1100) it means “beyond ordinary limits, extraordinary”: ''merveillus hom est Charles'' “Charles is a wonderful man”, ''la bataille est merveilluse et pesant'' “the battle is tremendous and grievous”.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the 13th century it described what astonishes by being supernatural, such as a fairy sword (''Doon de Mayence'').^(GLLF 1989)^(Littré 1873) In classical French it still meant “astonishing”, while the modern sense “admirable, wonderful” became the usual one.^(GLLF 1989)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ As a noun, ''le merveilleux'' is the supernatural element in a literary work (1678, Huet; 1684, La Fontaine).^(BHVF)^(TLFi) ''Un merveilleux'' was an eccentric dandy (1741), and under the Directory ''les Merveilleuses'' and ''les Incroyables'' were people of extravagant fashion.^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1100 – ''Merveillus'', ''Chanson de Roland''.^(TLFi)

+ * Late 13th century – The form ''merveilleux'', Joinville.^(GLLF 1989)

+ * 1678 – ''Le merveilleux'' in literature, Huet.^(BHVF)

+ * 1741 – ''Un merveilleux'' “eccentric dandy”.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Wonderful, [[m|en|marvellous]], admirable: ''un temps merveilleux'', ''une femme merveilleuse''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(dated)'' Astonishing, extraordinary.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # Supernatural, magic: ''la lampe merveilleuse''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''Le merveilleux'': the [[m|en|supernatural]], the marvellous, especially in literature.^(TLFi)^(BHVF)

+ # ''(history)'' ''Un merveilleux, une merveilleuse'': a dandy of the Directory period.^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[merveilleusement]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[merveille]]

+ * [[émerveiller]]

+ * [[miracle]]

+ * [[la|mīrābilia]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}