[ahn-noo
s mi-rah-bi-lis; Eng. an-uhs-muh-rab-uh-lis] 
[ahn-nee mi-rah-bi-les; Eng. an-ahy-muh-rab-uh-leez, an-ee] , Latin. | year of wonders; wonderful year. |
| an·nus mi·rab·i·lis (ān'əs mĭ-rāb'ə-lĭs) n. pl. an·ni mi·ra·bi·les (ān'ī mĭ-rāb'ə-lēz, ān'ē) A year notable for disasters or wonders; a fateful year: "Hungary's blood bath was the saddest event in that annus mirabilis" (C.L. Sulzberger). [New Latin annus mīrābilis : Latin annus, year + Latin mīrābilis, wondrous.] |
A Latin expression meaning “miraculous year.” The term refers to a year in which an unusual number of remarkable things occurred: “The Waste Land and Ulysses both appeared in 1922, the annus mirabilis of modern literature.”
Note: The reverse is an annus horribilus, or “terrible year.” Queen Elizabeth II used the term in 1992, referring to a major fire at Windsor Castle and the widely publicized marital problems of her family members.