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Origin and history of marvel

marvel(n.)

c. 1300, merivelle, "a miracle; a thing, act, or event which causes astonishment," also "wonderful story or legend," from Old French merveille "a wonder, surprise, miracle," from Vulgar Latin *miribilia (source also of Spanish maravilla, Portuguese maravilha, Italian maraviglia), altered from Latin mirabilia "wonderful things," from noun use of neuter plural of mirabilis "wonderful, marvelous, extraordinary; strange, singular," from mirari "to wonder at," from mirus "wonderful" (see smile (v.)). A neuter plural treated in Vulgar Latin as a feminine singular. Related: Marvels. The Marvel comics brand dates to 1961.

also from c. 1300

marvel(v.)

c. 1300, merveillen, of persons, "to be filled with wonder," from Old French merveillier "to wonder at, be astonished," from merveille (see marvel (n.)). Related: Marveled; marvelled; marveling; marvelling.

also from c. 1300

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smile(v.)

c. 1300, smilen, "assume a facial expression or change of features indicative of amusement and pleasure," perhaps from Middle Low German *smilen (compare Middle High German smielen) or a Scandinavian source (such as Danish smile "smile," Swedish smila "smile, smirk, simper, fawn"), from Proto-Germanic *smil-, extended form of PIE root *smei- "to laugh, smile" (source also of Sanskrit smayate "smiles;" Latvian smiêt "to laugh;" Latin mirus "wonderful," mirari "to wonder;" Old English smerian "to laugh at, scorn," Old High German smieron "to smile"). Related: Smiled; smiling; smilingly.

It gradually pushed the usual Old English word, smearcian (modern smirk), into a specific, unpleasant sense. Of the eyes, from 1759. Figuratively (of Fortune, etc.), as indicating favor or encouragement, from c. 1400. In Middle English to smile still (c. 1400) was to smile to oneself.

The saying smile and the world smiles with you is by 1884, in quotation marks, in newspaper poetry. An early second line to it was, frown, and it frowns again. [1886, credited to E.L. Ellsworth, "Cleveland Leader"]

The Romance, Celtic, and Slavic languages tend to use a diminutive of the word for "laugh" to mean "smile" (such as Latin ridere "laugh;" subridere "smile"), perhaps literally "small laugh" or "low laugh."

annus mirabilis(n.)

Latin, literally "wonderful year, year of wonders," title of a 1667 publication by Dryden, with reference to 1666, which was a year of calamities in London (plague, fire, war), but the English overcame them and scored important military victories in the war against the Dutch. From annus "year" (see annual (adj.)) + mirabilis "wonderful, marvelous, extraordinary; strange, singular" (see marvel (n.)).