mirabile dictu

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin mīrābile dictū (literally “able to astonish by the saying [of it]”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɪˌɹɑːbɪleɪ ˈdɪktuː/
• Hyphenation: mi‧ra‧bi‧le dic‧tu

Interjection

mirabile dictu

1. Wonderfully, amazingly; remarkable to relate.
   • 1897, Bram Stoker, chapter 7, in Dracula:

     And then, mirabile dictu, between the piers, leaping from wave to wave as it rushed at headlong speed, swept the strange schooner before the blast, with all sail set, and gained the safety of the harbour.

   • 1994 July 6, Rupert Cornwell, “Out of America: Piping plover gives an island resort the bird”, in The Independent‎^[1], retrieved 23 February 2014:

     Nantucket is a pretty upmarket place. Mirabile dictu, this is one place in the US where not a McDonald's or Burger King is to be seen.

   • 2007 September 4, Clyde Haberman, “A Labor Day Labor Forgot to Celebrate”, in The New York Times‎^[2], retrieved 23 February 2014:

     The Democratic-dominated Council recently tightened the rules governing campaign contributions by lobbyists but managed, mirabile dictu, to exempt Democratic-dominated unions from the new restrictions.

Related terms

• mirabile visu

Translations

wonderfully, amazingly

• Icelandic: þótt undarlegt megi virðast

See also

• sad to say