Etymograph

English

miracle

Miracle comes from Latin mīrāculum ‘object of wonder’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *(s)meyh₂- ‘to smile, to be astonished’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)meyh₂-1‘to smile, to be astonished’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmīrus1‘wonderful’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmīror1‘to wonder at’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmīrāculum1‘object of wonder’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400miracle1
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500miracle1
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1847miracle1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English miracle
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1847, Honoré de Balzac, Scenes from a Courtesan's Life: “The home of our kings, over which you tread…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)meyh₂-Wiktionary, English miracle‘to smile, to be astonished’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmīrusWiktionary, English miracle‘wonderful’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmīrorWiktionary, English miracle‘to wonder at’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmīrāculumWiktionary, English miracle‘object of wonder’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400miracleWiktionary, English miracle
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500miracleWiktionary, English miracle
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1847miracleWiktionary, English miracle. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1847, Honoré de Balzac, Scenes from a Courtesan's Life: “The home of our kings, over which you tread…”

The story

Partially displaced native wonder, from Old English wundor (‘miracle, wonder’).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Latin mīrus ‘wonderful’

marvelling, 8 more

through Latin mīror ‘to wonder at’

marvel, mirror, admire, admirable, mirage, mirabilis, mirador, 6 more

Today it means

noun An event that appears inexplicable by the laws of nature and so is held to be supernatural in origin.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “miracle”. 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 *(s)meyh₂- / miracle

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