An event that appears inexplicable by the laws of nature and so is held to be supernatural in origin or an act of God: "Miracles are spontaneous, they cannot be summoned, but come of themselves"(Katherine Anne Porter).
One that excites admiring awe. See Synonyms at wonder.
A miracle play.
[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin mīrāculum, from mīrārī, to wonder at, from mīrus, wonderful; see smei- in Indo-European roots.]
1137, from O.Fr. miracle, from L. miraculum "object of wonder" (in Church L., "marvelous event caused by God"), from mirari "to wonder at," from mirus "wonderful," from *smeiros, from PIE *(s)mei- "to smile, be astonished" (cf. Skt. smerah "smiling," Gk. meidan "to smile," O.C.S. smejo "to laugh;" see smile). Replaced O.E. wundortacen, wundorweorc. The Gk. words rendered as miracle in the Eng. Bibles were semeion "sign," teras "wonder," and dynamis "power," in Vulgate translated respectively as signum, prodigium, and virtus. First record of miraculous is from 1502.
something which man is not normally capable of making happen and which is therefore thought to be done by a god or God Example: Christ's turning of water into wine was a miracle.
Arabic:
أعجوبَه، مُعْجِزَه
Chinese (Simplified):
奇迹
Chinese (Traditional):
奇迹
Czech:
zázrak
Danish:
mirakel; under
Dutch:
wonder
Estonian:
imetegu
Finnish:
ihmeteko
French:
miracle
German:
das Wunder
Greek:
θαύμα
Hungarian:
csoda
Icelandic:
kraftaverk
Indonesian:
mukjizat
Italian:
miracolo
Japanese:
奇跡
Korean:
기적
Latvian:
brīnums
Lithuanian:
stebuklas, nepaprastas įvykis
Norwegian:
under(verk), mirakel
Polish:
cud
Portuguese (Brazil):
milagre
Portuguese (Portugal):
milagre
Romanian:
miracol
Russian:
чудо
Slovak:
zázrak
Slovenian:
čudež
Spanish:
milagro
Swedish:
mirakel, under
Turkish:
mucize
miracle2[ˈmirəkl]noun
a fortunate happening that has no obvious natural cause or explanation Example: It's a miracle he wasn't killed in the plane crash.
Mar"vel\, n. [OE. mervaile, F. merveille, fr. L. mirabilia wonderful things, pl., fr. mirabilis wonderful, fr. mirari to wonder or marvel at. See Admire, Smile, and cf. Miracle.]1. That which causes wonder; a prodigy; a miracle. I will do marvels such as have not been done. --Ex. xxxiv. 10. Nature's sweet marvel undefiled. --Emerson. 2. Wonder. [R.] "Use lessens marvel." --Sir W. Scott. Marvel of Peru. (Bot.) See Four-o'clock.
Mir"a*cle\, n. [F., fr. L. miraculum, fr. mirari to wonder. See Marvel, and cf. Mirror.]1. A wonder or wonderful thing. That miracle and queen of genus. --Shak. 2. Specifically: An event or effect contrary to the established constitution and course of things, or a deviation from the known laws of nature; a supernatural event, or one transcending the ordinary laws by which the universe is governed. They considered not the miracle of the loaves. --Mark vi. 52. 3. A miracle play. 4. A story or legend abounding in miracles. [Obs.] When said was all this miracle. --Chaucer. Miracle monger, an impostor who pretends to work miracles. Miracle play, one of the old dramatic entertainments founded on legends of saints and martyrs or (see 2d Mystery, 2) on events related in the Bible.
an event in the external world brought about by the immediate agency or the simple volition of God, operating without the use of means capable of being discerned by the senses, and designed to authenticate the divine commission of a religious teacher and the truth of his message (John 2:18; Matt. 12:38). It is an occurrence at once above nature and above man. It shows the intervention of a power that is not limited by the laws either of matter or of mind, a power interrupting the fixed laws which govern their movements, a supernatural power. "The suspension or violation of the laws of nature involved in miracles is nothing more than is constantly taking place around us. One force counteracts another: vital force keeps the chemical laws of matter in abeyance; and muscular force can control the action of physical force. When a man raises a weight from the ground, the law of gravity is neither suspended nor violated, but counteracted by a stronger force. The same is true as to the walking of Christ on the water and the swimming of iron at the command of the prophet. The simple and grand truth that the universe is not under the exclusive control of physical forces, but that everywhere and always there is above, separate from and superior to all else, an infinite personal will, not superseding, but directing and controlling all physical causes, acting with or without them." God ordinarily effects his purpose through the agency of second causes; but he has the power also of effecting his purpose immediately and without the intervention of second causes, i.e., of invading the fixed order, and thus of working miracles. Thus we affirm the possibility of miracles, the possibility of a higher hand intervening to control or reverse nature's ordinary movements. In the New Testament these four Greek words are principally used to designate miracles: (1.) Semeion, a "sign", i.e., an evidence of a divine commission; an attestation of a divine message (Matt. 12:38, 39; 16:1, 4; Mark 8:11; Luke 11:16; 23:8; John 2:11, 18, 23; Acts 6:8, etc.); a token of the presence and working of God; the seal of a higher power. (2.) Terata, "wonders;" wonder-causing events; portents; producing astonishment in the beholder (Acts 2:19). (3.) Dunameis, "might works;" works of superhuman power (Acts 2:22; Rom. 15:19; 2 Thess. 2:9); of a new and higher power. (4.) Erga, "works;" the works of Him who is "wonderful in working" (John 5:20, 36). Miracles are seals of a divine mission. The sacred writers appealed to them as proofs that they were messengers of God. Our Lord also appealed to miracles as a conclusive proof of his divine mission (John 5:20, 36; 10:25, 38). Thus, being out of the common course of nature and beyond the power of man, they are fitted to convey the impression of the presence and power of God. Where miracles are there certainly God is. The man, therefore, who works a miracle affords thereby clear proof that he comes with the authority of God; they are his credentials that he is God's messenger. The teacher points to these credentials, and they are a proof that he speaks with the authority of God. He boldly says, "God bears me witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles." The credibility of miracles is established by the evidence of the senses on the part of those who are witnesses of them, and to all others by the testimony of such witnesses. The witnesses were competent, and their testimony is trustworthy. Unbelievers, following Hume, deny that any testimony can prove a miracle, because they say miracles are impossible. We have shown that miracles are possible, and surely they can be borne witness to. Surely they are credible when we have abundant and trustworthy evidence of their occurrence. They are credible just as any facts of history well authenticated are credible. Miracles, it is said, are contrary to experience. Of course they are contrary to our experience, but that does not prove that they were contrary to the experience of those who witnessed them. We believe a thousand facts, both of history and of science, that are contrary to our experience, but we believe them on the ground of competent testimony. An atheist or a pantheist must, as a matter of course, deny the possibility of miracles; but to one who believes in a personal God, who in his wisdom may see fit to interfere with the ordinary processes of nature, miracles are not impossible, nor are they incredible. (See LIST OF MIRACLES, Appendix.)
![[P]](http://cache.lexico.com/g/d/premium_mh.gif){kind=small}
Audio Help [mir-uh-kuh
