émerveiller (French)
Where does "émerveiller" come from?
The French verb émerveiller, meaning to fascinate or strike with admiration, is inherited from the Old French ‘esmerveler.’ This evolution traces back to the roots of wonder and marveling, reflecting how the language has long sought to describe the sensation of being deeply impressed or amazed.
Full etymology tree
- émerveiller (French), 'to fascinate, amaze (strike with admiration and marvel)'
- inherited from esmerveler (Old French)
- prefix es- (Old French), 'indicates movement away or separation'
- inherited from ex- (Latin), 'out, away'
- compound of merveille (Old French), 'wonder; marvel'
- inherited from mirabilia (Latin), 'neuter nominative/accusative/vocative plural of mīrābilis'
- derived from mirabilis (Latin), 'wonderful, marvellous, astonishing, extraordinary, remarkable, amazing'
- derived from miror (Latin), 'to be astonished at, marvel at, admire, be amazed at, wonder at'
- derived from *smey- (Proto-Indo-European)
- derived from miror (Latin), 'to be astonished at, marvel at, admire, be amazed at, wonder at'
- derived from mirabilis (Latin), 'wonderful, marvellous, astonishing, extraordinary, remarkable, amazing'
- inherited from mirabilia (Latin), 'neuter nominative/accusative/vocative plural of mīrābilis'
- prefix es- (Old French), 'indicates movement away or separation'
- inherited from esmerveler (Old French)
Updated April 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris