Remarkable

How to spell remarkable

10 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce remarkable

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does remarkable mean?

1. adjectiveWorthy of attention or notice because of being unusual, striking, or impressive.

Remarkable in a sentence

• The surgeon made a remarkable recovery possible after the accident.

• The old factory showed a remarkable level of detail in its brickwork.

Where does remarkable come from?

Language of origin: French

The word remarkable comes from the French remarquable, which itself was built on the verb remarquer, meaning 'to notice' or 'to mark again'. That verb combined the prefix re- with marquer, 'to mark', and marquer descends from a Germanic root for a boundary or sign, the same ancestor that gives English the everyday word 'mark'. The literal idea was something striking enough to be noticed and marked out from ordinary things, and that sense of 'worthy of notice' carried straight into English in the early 1600s. The -able suffix, ultimately from Latin -abilis meaning 'capable of', signals that the thing can be remarked upon. The spelling trap lives in the silent buried 'k' sound and the -able ending: writers must remember it is mark plus -able, not -ible.

How the word is built

• re- (again, intensive)
• mark (notice, observe)
• -able (able to be)