famous English · revision 3024

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1385|origins=la fāmōsus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈfeɪ.məs/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|xno|famous]], Old French fameus (modern French fameux),^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from [[la|fāmōsus|t=much talked of, renowned]],^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966) often in the sense “infamous, notorious”,^(Etymonline) from [[m|la|fāma|t=talk, report, fame]],^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) the source of [[fame]], from [[ine-pro|*bha-|t=to speak, tell, say]].^(Etymonline) The native Old English word was namcūþ, literally “name-known”.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Celebrated, much talked about: of things about 1385, and of persons before 1400.^(OED 1989) Etymonline dates it to the late 14th century.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Like the Latin word, it could be used in a bad sense, “notorious”, from 1388; that use is now obsolete except in archaic writing.^(OED 1989) In the 16th century it also meant “libellous” (1543) and “commonly talked of, ordinary” (1528), both obsolete.^(OED 1989) As an emphatic term of approval, “excellent, splendid”, it is from before 1700, chiefly colloquial.^(OED 1989) ''Famous last words'' was used of deathbed sayings of famous people by 1893;^(Etymonline) the humorous sense, a remark likely to prove badly wrong, is from 1921 in Etymonline^(Etymonline) and 1948 in the OED.^(OED 1989) In northern English dialect it meant “excellent, first-rate”, sometimes in the form ''famish''.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1385 – of things, renowned.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1388 – notorious.^(OED 1989)

+ * before 1400 – of persons, renowned.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1543 – libellous.^(OED 1989)

+ * before 1700 – excellent.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1893 – ''famous last words'', deathbed sayings.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1921 – ''famous last words'', a rash prediction.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Known widely; [[celebrated]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(informal, dated)'' First-rate, [[excellent]].^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[famously]]

+ * [[famousness]]

+ * [[infamous]]

+ * [[overfamous]]

+ * [[prefamous]]

+ * [[pseudofamous]]

+ * [[unfamous]]

+ * [[world-famous]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[fame]]

+ * [[famed]]

+ * [[fable]]

+ * [[fate]]

+ * [[prophet]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}