Admirer

How to spell admirer

7 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce admirer

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does admirer mean?

1. nounA person who regards someone or something with respect, approval, or romantic interest.

Admirer in a sentence

• The actress received flowers from a secret admirer.

• He was a lifelong admirer of classical architecture.

Where does admirer come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word grows out of the verb 'admire', which English took from the Latin admirari, meaning 'to wonder at' or 'to marvel'. That verb was built from the prefix ad-, meaning 'to' or 'toward', and the root mirari, 'to wonder', the same root that gives us 'miracle', 'mirror', and 'marvel'. English borrowed 'admire' in the 1500s, partly through French admirer, with the original flavour of being struck with wonder rather than the gentler modern sense of approving regard. The agent suffix -er was then added on the regular English pattern to name a person who admires, giving 'admirer' the meaning of someone who looks on another with approval or romantic interest. The single -d-, single -m-, and the -er ending (rather than -or) are the small spelling points worth fixing in memory, since the related Latin sense of 'wondering at something marvellous' sits quietly behind the everyday word.

How the word is built

• ad- (to, toward)
• mir (wonder, from Latin mirari 'to wonder at')
• -er (agent noun suffix: one who does)