English Explanatory Dictionary

miracle

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. An event that appears inexplicable by the laws of nature and so is held to be supernatural in origin.
  2. A fortunate outcome that prevails despite overwhelming odds against it.
  3. An awesome and exceptional example of something.
verb
  1. To affect by a miracle; to work a miracle upon.
name
  1. A female given name.
  2. A surname.

Pronunciation

/ˈmɪɹ.ə.kəl/ [ˈmɪɹ.ə.kl̩] LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-miracle.wav /ˈmiɹ.ə.kəl/ [ˈmiɹ.ə.kl̩] /ˈmiɹ.ə.ɡəl/ [ˈmiɹ.ə.ɡl̩] /mɪˈrakɪl/ /ˈmɪr.ə.kɪl/

Word forms

miracle miracles miracling miracled

Etymology

From Middle English miracle, from Old French miracle, from Latin mīrāculum (“object of wonder”), from mīror (“to wonder at”), from mīrus (“wonderful”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)meyh₂- (“to smile, to be astonished”). Doublet of milagro and miraculum. Partially displaced native wonder, from Old English wundor (“miracle, wonder”).

Derived words

European miracle minor miracle miracle berry miracle drug miracle fruit miracle hole miracle mile miracle-monger miraclemonger miracle play miracle worker miraclist miraculous miraculously miraculousness outmiracle small miracle unmiracle
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
Back to search All on M Russian dictionary Dahl dictionary