Etymograph

English

admire

Admire comes from Latin admīror ‘to admire or respect’, from mīror ‘wonder at’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sméyros ‘laughing, smiling’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sméyros1‘laughing, smiling’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*smeiros1reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmīrus1‘remarkable, astonishing’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmīror2‘wonder at’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEadmīror2‘to admire or respect’
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600admirer2
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500admyren2
  8. Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588admire2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin miror
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English admire
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1587–1588, Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […]: “kings ſhall crouch vnto our conquering ſwords, And hoſtes…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sméyrosWiktionary, Latin miror‘laughing, smiling’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*smeirosWiktionary, Latin mirorreconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmīrusWiktionary, Latin miror‘remarkable, astonishing’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmīrorWiktionary, English admire‘wonder at’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEadmīrorWiktionary, English admire‘to admire or respect’
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600admirerWiktionary, English admire
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500admyrenWiktionary, English admire
  8. Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588admireWiktionary, English admire. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1587–1588, Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […]: “kings ſhall crouch vnto our conquering ſwords, And hoſtes…”

Linked words

through Latin mīrus ‘remarkable, astonishing’

marvelling, 9 more

through Latin mīror ‘wonder at’

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

Today it means

verb To be amazed at; to view with surprise; to marvel at.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “admire”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin miror. 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 *sméyros / admire

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