Famous means known by very many people. A famous actor, a famous painting, famous for its cheese.
The pattern is famous for something, and that for is not optional. Two related words separate on tone: notorious means famous for something bad, and celebrated means famous and admired, which famous by itself does not guarantee. Note famously, which does two jobs — he famously refused, meaning as everybody knows, and get on famously, meaning very well indeed, which has nothing to do with fame at all.
1adjectivefamousKnown about by very many people.
“The village is famous for its market.”
synonyms: well-known, celebrated, renowned
2adjectiveexcellentExcellent — an older and informal use.
“She makes a famous steak pie.”
Too few real examples of this word to estimate which sense is commonest.
famous is a state of being widely known.
Also accepted in games: well-known
Latin famosus comes from fama, meaning both fame and rumour — the same word that gives defame and infamous. Being talked about and being celebrated were one idea in Latin, and English still keeps both edges in the family.
Latin
fāmōsus
Anglo-Norman
famous
Middle English
famous
English, today
famous
From Middle English famous, from Anglo-Norman famous, from Latin fāmōsus, equivalent to fame + -ous. Displaced native hlīsful.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA