marvel English · revision 7150

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1300|origins=la mirabilis}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈmɑːvəl/ ''(UK)''; /ˈmɑɹvəl/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English merveile, [[bor|fro|merveille|t=a wonder, surprise, miracle]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) from Vulgar Latin *miribilia, an alteration of Late Latin [[m|la-lat|mirabilia|t=wonderful things, marvels]], the neuter plural of [[m|la|mirabilis|t=wonderful]], treated as a feminine singular,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998) from [[m|la|miror|alt=mīrārī|t=to wonder at]], from mirus, wonderful (see [[miracle]]).^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A miracle; something wonderful: before 1300 in the OED and Barnhart, about 1300 in Etymonline.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The miracle sense is obsolete.^(OED 1989)^(Hoad 1986) A wonderful or astonishing thing is from about 1330,^(OED 1989) and a wonderful story or legend is an obsolete 14th-century sense.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) Astonishment or wonder itself, now archaic, is from 1303.^(OED 1989) A wonderful example of some quality is from 1873.^(OED 1989) The verb, to be filled with wonder, is from about 1300,^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) and SOED labels it now literary.^(SOED 2002) The Marvel comics brand dates to 1961.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1300 – a miracle.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1300 – to wonder (verb).^(Etymonline)

+ * 1303 – astonishment.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1330 – an astonishing thing.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1873 – a wonderful example.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A wonderful or astonishing person or thing; a [[wonder]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To be filled with wonder or astonishment: ''marvel at''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[marvelment]]

+ * [[marvelous]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[marvellous]]

+ * [[miracle]]

+ * [[mirage]]

+ * [[mirror]]

+ * [[admire]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A separate dialect marvel, a marble, is an alteration of [[marble]] (mid-18th century).^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}