miracolo Italian · revision 39148

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1292, Bono Giamboni|origins=ine-pro *sméi-ro-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /miˈra.ko.lo/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''miracolo''' ''m'' (plural miracoli)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old Italian also had ''miraculo'' and feminine plurals ''miracola'', ''miracole'', ''miracula'' and ''miracule''.^(GDLI)^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a learned word, [[bor|la|mīrāculum|t=wonder, marvel]], from [[m|la|mīror|t=to wonder at, be astonished]] and the suffix [[m|la|-culum]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary) The Latin word, like [[grc|θαῦμα|tr=thaûma]], named something that causes astonishment and awe at a power wholly other than ours.^(DELI 1999) [[fr|miracle]] and [[es|milagro]] are the same word,^(Nocentini 2010) as are [[pro|miracle]] and [[pt|milagre]].^(REW 1935)^(Körting 1907)

+

+ The Latin verb is formed from [[m|la|mīrus|t=astonishing]], which de Vaan, after Vine, traces to a collective noun [[ine-pro|*sméi-ro-|t=laughter]].^(de Vaan 2008) Körting notes that [[roa-oit|miraglio|t=mirror]], from the same Latin word, is a French loan.^(Körting 1907)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first record is in Bono Giamboni, who died before 1292, in the religious sense of an extraordinary event outside the laws of nature.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The figurative senses followed quickly: an incredible event in the 13th-century ''Storie de Troia et de Roma'' (plural ''miracule''), and a person of extraordinary virtue in Dante's ''Vita Nuova'' (1282–1293).^(DELI 1999) In the 15th century ''miracolo'' named a kind of sacred drama in which the plot is resolved by a miracle of the Virgin or a saint.^(DELI 1999)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) The phrase ''vita, morte e miracoli di qualcuno'', everything about a person, comes from the usual titles of saints' lives.^(DELI 1999)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ The adjective ''miracoloso'' came from Medieval Latin ''miraculosus'' (Dante, 1304–1308), and ''miracolato'', one healed by a miracle, was in Panzini's view a clumsy loan from French ''miraculé'', spread with the cult of Lourdes (1927).^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010) Modern phrases include ''miracolo economico'', the very fast growth of an economy (1966), ''gridare al miracolo'' and ''corte dei miracoli''.^(DELI 1999)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses ''miracolo''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 13th century – The ''Storie de Troia et de Roma'' use the plural ''miracule'' for incredible events.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1282–1293 – Dante uses ''miracolo'' of a person of extraordinary virtue.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1304–1308 – Dante uses ''miracoloso''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1342 – Domenico Cavalca uses ''miracolo'' for an incredible event.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 15th century – ''Miracolo'' appears in the titles of sacred plays.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1927 – ''Miracolato'' is recorded by Panzini.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1966 – ''Miracolo economico'' is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|miracle]]: an extraordinary event outside the order of nature, attributed to God or to a [[m|en|supernatural]] power: ''i miracoli dei santi''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Something unbelievable or astonishing: ''È un miracolo che nessuno si sia fatto male.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # An effect beyond all expectation: ''Questa crema fa miracoli.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # A marvel of art, science or technology: ''i miracoli dell'ingegneria''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # ''(figurative)'' A person of extraordinary virtue or ability.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(DELI 1999)

+ # ''(history of literature)'' A medieval [[m|en|miracle play]].^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[miracolato]]

+ * [[miracoloso]]

+ * [[miracolosità]]

+ * [[miracolare]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[mirare]]

+ * [[mirabile]]

+ * [[la|miraculum]]

+ * [[fr|miracle]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Che miracolo!'' and ''miracolo!'' express surprise, often ironic, at something unusual;^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010) ''per miracolo'' means narrowly, against all expectation.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}