English
famous
Famous comes from Latin fāmōsus ‘famed, celebrated, noted, renowned, famous’, from fāma ‘fame’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- ‘to speak’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeh₂-‘to speak’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰéh₂meh₂reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fāmā‘something said about another’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfāma‘fame’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfāmōsus‘famed’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400famous
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500famous
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588famous
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeh₂-‘to speak’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰéh₂meh₂reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fāmā‘something said about another’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfāma‘fame’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfāmōsus‘famed’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400famous
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500famous
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588famous
Earliest quotation: c. 1587–1588, Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […]: “By this my ſword that conquer’d Perſea, Thy fall…”
Formed from fame + -ous
Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- ‘to speak, say, tell’
…
Proto-Italic *fāmā ‘something said about another’
Latin fāma ‘talk, rumor, report, reputation’
Old French fame ‘celebrity, renown’
Middle English fame
English fame
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- ‘to speak’
phone, professor, focus, fuel, ben, phase, ban, favor, fantasy, photographer, favourite, emphasis, phenomenon, profession, bee, fancy, fate, abandon, confession, fatal, confess, fairy, phantom, symphony, infant, beacon, beck, fabulous, boon, eff, bane, prophetic, epiphany, foyer, banish, fab, buoy, fay, profess, bene, 126 more
through Proto-Italic *fāmā ‘something said about another’
through Latin fāma ‘fame’
Today it means
adj Well known.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- / famous