miracle (English)
Where does "miracle" come from?
The English noun 'miracle' comes through Middle English and Old French 'miracle' from the Latin 'mīrāculum', meaning 'object of wonder'[1]. This Latin noun derives from the verb 'mīror' meaning 'to wonder at', based on 'mīrus' meaning 'wonderful'[1]. Traced further back, these Latin terms originate from the Proto-Indo-European root '*(s)meyh₂-' or '*smey-', meaning 'to smile, to be astonished' or 'to laugh, to be glad'[1][4][5]. Along the way, the borrowing partially displaced the native Old English word 'wundor'[1].
Open questions
- The ultimate Proto-Indo-European root has varying reconstructions as either *(s)meyh₂- or *smey- across the sources. [1] [4] [5]
Full etymology tree
- miracle (English), 'An event that appears inexplicable by the laws of nature and so is held to be supernatural in origin.'
- borrowed miracle (Middle English)
- borrowed miracle (Old French), 'miracle'
- borrowed miraculum (Latin), 'wonder, marvel, miracle; a wonderful, strange or marvellous thing.'
- derived miror (Latin), 'to be astonished at, marvel at, admire, be amazed at, wonder at'
- derived mirus (Latin), 'wonderful, marvelous, amazing, surprising, miraculous'
- inherited *smeiros (Proto-Italic)
- inherited *sméyros (Proto-Indo-European)
- derived *(s)mey- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to laugh, to be glad'
- inherited *sméyros (Proto-Indo-European)
- inherited *smeiros (Proto-Italic)
- derived mirus (Latin), 'wonderful, marvelous, amazing, surprising, miraculous'
- suffix -culum (Latin), 'suffix used to derive nouns from verbs, particularly nouns for tools and instruments'
- derived miror (Latin), 'to be astonished at, marvel at, admire, be amazed at, wonder at'
- borrowed miraculum (Latin), 'wonder, marvel, miracle; a wonderful, strange or marvellous thing.'
- borrowed miracle (Old French), 'miracle'
- borrowed miracle (Middle English)
Ancestors
- *(s)mey- (Proto-Indo-European)
- miracle (Old French)
- miraculum (Latin)
Cognates and doublets
- milagro (English)
- miraculum (English)
Descendants and derived words
- European miracle (English)
- minor miracle (English)
- miracle berry (English)
- miracle drug (English)
- miracle fruit (English)
- miracle hole (English)
- miracle mile (English)
- miracle-monger (English)
- miraclemonger (English)
- miracle play (English)
- miracle worker (English)
- miraclist (English)
Sources
- miracle (English) - Wiktionary
- miracle (Old French) - Wiktionary
- miraculum (Latin) - Wiktionary
- miror (Latin) - Wiktionary
- mirus (Latin) - Wiktionary
Updated September 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris