eighth wonder of the world
English
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Alternative forms
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From eighth + wonder of the world (“a structure or natural feature considered to be one of the greatest of its kind; especially as part of a collection of related entities, usually having seven members”), in reference to the Seven Wonders of the World.
Noun
[edit]- (figurative) Something, especially a structure, building, natural formation or (sometimes) an individual, animal, or other entity that is considered to be highly remarkable, magnificent or wonderful; a wonder of the world.
- 1795, John Walker, The Universal Gazetteer[1], Darton and Harvey, page ESE:
- Escurial, a village of New Caſsile, celebrated for it's[sic] monaſtery, built by Philip II. of Spain, in 1563, and accounted by the Spaniards the eighth wonder of the world. It conſiſts of a royal palace, a church-houſe, built after the plan of Peter's at Rome, cloiſters, a college, library, ſhops of different artiſts, apartments for a great number of people, beautiful walks, large alleys, an extenſive park, and fine gardens.
- 1865, Percy Bolingbroke St John, Paul Peabody: or, The Apprentice of the World[2], London: John Maxwell and Company, page 3:
- At thirty, Joseph paid a return visit to his native village. He was hailed as an eighth wonder of the world; Steepleday having produced but one other seaman in a century, and he was but a waterman, who never came back, and held no rank therefore in village history.
- 1967, F-R Publishing Corporation (publisher), The New Yorker, page 41:
- but all agreed that Luba Pneumatiç was a lollapaloosa, the Eighth Wonder of the World.
- 1977, Howard Fast, The Immigrants, page 323:
- I rode the first cable car on California Street -- well, maybe not the very first but it was the first day. The Eighth Wonder of the World.
- 2021 May 7, Irina Sedunova, “Coveted by Russian royalty, the jewel-studded Amber Room disappeared during World War Two. But two clues gave it new life.”, in BBC Travel[3], BBC News:
- The Amber Room was originally designed in the early 18th Century as an opulent 16sq m showpiece chamber for Frederick I, the King of Prussia. […] The Russian Baroque marvel became known as the "eighth wonder of the world".