Marvelous means wonderful, in a way that causes real astonishment. A marvelous performance, marvelous news, absolutely marvelous.
This is the American spelling; British English writes marvellous with two l's, and both are the same word. It is warmer and more enthusiastic than good and slightly old-fashioned in tone, which is part of its charm. In British speech it is also used flatly and sarcastically, where the tone carries the whole meaning. Note marvel, both the noun and the verb — to marvel at something is to wonder at it.
1adjectivemarvelousWonderful and astonishing.
“It was a marvelous evening and nobody wanted to leave.”
marvelous is a quality of wonder.
Also accepted in games: marvellous
Old French merveillus comes from Latin mirabilis, wonderful, from mirari, to wonder at — the same verb behind admire, mirror and miracle. Something marvelous is literally something to be wondered at.
Old French
merveillus
Middle English
merveilous
English, today
marvelous
Built from
First attested from 1300 as Middle English merveilous, from Old French merveillus, from merveille (“a wonder”), equivalent to marvel + -ous.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA