annus mirabilis

American  

[ahn-noos mi-rah-bi-lis, an-uhs-muh-rab-uh-lis] / ˈɑn nʊs mɪˈrɑ bɪ lɪs, ˈæn əs məˈræb ə lɪs /

noun

Latin.

plural

anni mirabiles

1. year of wonders; wonderful year.

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annus mirabilis British  

/ ˈænʊs mɪˈræbɪlɪs /

noun

1. a year of wonders, catastrophes, or other notable events

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annus mirabilis Cultural  

1. 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.”

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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.

Example Sentences

There was a plague, so Isaac Newton went home, and for him it was an annus mirabilis, which in Latin is a “year of miracles.”

From Washington Post • Mar. 20, 2020

The annus mirabilis, Warner adds, was 1743, when one person’s average annual consumption hit 2.2 gallons.

From The New Yorker • Dec. 2, 2019

“Watchmen” also arrived during what, in hindsight, was an annus mirabilis for comic books.

From New York Times • Oct. 16, 2019

But the study has limitations, not least that the team defined an actor’s annus mirabilis by the number of acting credits.

From The Guardian • Jun. 4, 2019

At New Year somebody announced that 1909 was to be a great year of anniversaries, 1809 having been annus mirabilis.

From A New Medley of Memories by Hunter-Blair, David