phenomenal English · revision 39722

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1825, Coleridge|origins=en phenomenon}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * UK: /fɪˈnɒmɪnəl/, /fə-/^(Wiktionary)

+ * US: /fɪˈnɑmɪnəl/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It was formed [[af|en|phenomenon|-al]] in English,^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002)^(MWU 2024)^(Dictionary.com 2016) after [[m|fr|phénoménal]], recorded in 1803.^(OED 2026) Etymonline calls it a hybrid of the Greek noun and a Latin suffix.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Of the nature of a phenomenon, belonging to the world of appearances that can be known through the senses: 1825, in Coleridge's ''Aids to Reflection''.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024) Etymonline dates the word to 1803,^(Etymonline) and Dictionary.com to 1815–25.^(Dictionary.com 2016)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The word began as a term of philosophy; from 1840, in Whewell, it also described sciences that describe and classify phenomena.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024) The popular sense "very remarkable, extraordinary" follows a sense of ''phenomenon'' itself, a remarkable person or thing;^(OED 2026) the OED dates it to 1861, in Dante Gabriel Rossetti,^(OED 2026) and Etymonline to 1850.^(Etymonline) Fowler objected to the new use, calling it a sin against the language to make the metaphysical term do the work of ''remarkable'' or ''prodigious''.^(Etymonline) Emerson used ''the phenomenal'' as a noun, that which can be known by the senses, in 1841.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1803 – of the nature of a phenomenon.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1825 – (philosophy) known through the senses (Coleridge).^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1840 – descriptive of phenomena.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1841 – noun: ''the phenomenal''.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1850 – remarkable, exceptional.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1861 – the same sense in the OED.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Very [[remarkable]] or [[exceptional]]; [[extraordinary]]: ''She has a phenomenal memory for faces.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # Relating to or being a [[phenomenon]].^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # ''(philosophy)'' Known through the senses or immediate experience rather than through thought or [[intuition]].^(MWU 2024)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[phenomenally]]

+ * [[phenomenality]]

+ * [[epiphenomenal]]

+ * [[nonphenomenal]]

+ * [[phenomenalism]]

+ * [[phenomenalize]]

+ * [[unphenomenal]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[phenomenon]]

+ * [[phenomenology]]

+ * [[noumenon]]

+ * [[fantasy]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Etymonline quotes Fowler, who wanted ''phenomenal'' kept to its philosophical sense and not used for ''remarkable'' or ''extraordinary'';^(Etymonline) the sense is now standard in both British and American dictionaries.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}