Annus

year of wonders; wonderful year.
the great year: a cycle of years, usually a thousand, that begins with a golden age, steadily deteriorates, and ends with a universal catastrophe, either a fire or a flood.
contemporary examples

affleck later called the period the “annus horribilis of my life.”
a look back at ‘gigli,’ the infamous bennifer-starring film, on its 10th anniversary marlow stern july 31, 2013

the incident caps an annus horribilis for the spanish royal family.
it’s not good to be the king david frum may 17, 2012

finally, last season, idol’s annus horribilis, the wheels fell off the cart entirely.
four reasons american idol is back from the dead richard rushfield march 7, 2011

yet the scenery for this annus mirabilis production has always been rather flimsy.
the volgograd bombings and the return of big terror to russia michael weiss january 1, 2014

it was an annus mirabilis for the hideous (putin, -ssad, cyrus), an annus horribilis for just about everyone else.
the year in awful: worst columns of 2013 michael moynihan december 30, 2013

historical examples

its rising marked the commencement of their new year, the annus canarius and annus cynicus of the romans.
encyclopaedia britannica, 11th edition, volume 5, slice 2 various

fenius rufus loves him; the relatives of annus are devoted to him altogether.
quo vadis henryk sienkiewicz

for several years after annus mirabilis, dryden produced but little poetry apart from his dramas.
the age of dryden richard garnett

so it really is not surprising that 1755 is an annus mirabilis to me.
abigail adams and her times laura elizabeth howe richards

this has been everywhere an ‘annus mirabilis’ for bad weather, and it continues here still.
the pg edition of chesterfield’s letters to his son the earl of chesterfield

noun (pl) anni mirabiles (ˈænaɪ mɪˈræbɪliːz)
a year of wonders, catastrophes, or other notable events
noun

a wonderful year
word origin

l.
n.

1667, latin, literally “wonderful year, year of wonders,” t-tle of a publication by dryden, with reference to 1666, which was a year of calamities in london (plague, fire, war).
annus mirabilis [(an-uhs mi-rab-uh-lis)]

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.”

note: 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.