Etymograph

English

admirable

Admirable comes from Latin admirābilis ‘admirable, wonderful, worthy of admiration’, 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 CEadmīror2‘to admire, wonder at’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEadmirābilis3‘admirable, wonderful, worthy of admiration’
  8. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600admirable3
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500admyrable3
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1946admirable3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin admiror
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin admirabilis
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English admirable
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1946, and August, British Locomotive Practice and Performance: “The admirable smoothness of the riding also reflected the…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*smey-Wiktionary, Latin admirorreconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sméyrosWiktionary, Latin admirorreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*smeirosWiktionary, Latin admirorreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmīrusWiktionary, Latin admiror‘wonderful, marvelous, amazing, surprising, miraculous’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmīrorWiktionary, Latin admiror‘to be astonished at, marvel at, admire, be amazed at, wonder at’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEadmīrorWiktionary, Latin admirabilis‘to admire, wonder at’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEadmirābilisWiktionary, English admirable‘admirable, wonderful, worthy of admiration’
  8. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600admirableWiktionary, English admirable
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500admyrableWiktionary, English admirable
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1946admirableWiktionary, English admirable. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1946, and August, British Locomotive Practice and Performance: “The admirable smoothness of the riding also reflected the…”

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…’

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

Today it means

adj Deserving of the highest esteem or admiration; estimable.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “admirable”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin admiror, Latin admirabilis. 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- / admirable

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