Etymograph

English

admirability

Admirability comes from Latin admīrābilitās ‘admirability, wonderfulness’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *smey-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*smey-1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sméyros1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*smeiros1reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmīrus1‘wonderful, marvelous, amazing, surprising, miraculous’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmīror1‘to be astonished at, marvel at, admire, be amazed at, wonder at’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEadmīrārī1
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEadmīrābilis1‘admirable’
  8. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEadmīrābilitās2‘admirability, wonderfulness’
  9. Englishtodayadmirability2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin admirabilitas
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English admirability

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*smey-Wiktionary, Latin admirabilitasreconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sméyrosWiktionary, Latin admirabilitasreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*smeirosWiktionary, Latin admirabilitasreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmīrusWiktionary, Latin admirabilitas‘wonderful, marvelous, amazing, surprising, miraculous’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmīrorWiktionary, Latin admirabilitas‘to be astonished at, marvel at, admire, be amazed at, wonder at’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEadmīrārīWiktionary, Latin admirabilitas
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEadmīrābilisWiktionary, Latin admirabilitas‘admirable’
  8. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEadmīrābilitāsWiktionary, English admirability‘admirability, wonderfulness’
  9. EnglishtodayadmirabilityWiktionary, English admirability

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *smey-

smith, smile, comity, 3 more

through Latin mīrus ‘wonderful, marvelous, amazing, surprising,…’

marvelling, 9 more

through Latin mīror ‘to be astonished at, marvel at, admire, be…’

mirror, marvel, miracle, mirage, mirador, mirabilis, 7 more

Today it means

noun That quality which produces admiration or wonder

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “admirability”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin admirabilitas. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *smey- / admirability

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