astonish

Pronunciation

• IPA: /əˈstɒnɪʃ/ (UK); /əˈstɑnɪʃ/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is an alteration of Middle English astonen, astonien,^[2][3][4][5] borrowed from Old French estoner (“to stun, daze”),^[3][2][4] from Vulgar Latin *extonare,^[3][2][4][5] from Latin ex (“out”) and Latin tonare (“to thunder”).^[3][2][4][5] The ending was probably reshaped after verbs in -ish such as abolish, distinguish and diminish.^[2][4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

To stun or strike senseless (about 1300 as astonien).^[4][2]

Semantic evolution

The image is of leaving someone thunderstruck.^[4] The early senses were physical and violent: to stun or paralyse,^[6] to bewilder, and to dismay or terrify.^[6][5] The modern form appears in 1530.^[2][6][4] The milder sense “to amaze, surprise greatly” is from 1611.^[6][4]

Timeline

• c1300 – astonien, to stun.^[4][2]
• 1530 – astonish, to stun or paralyse.^[6][2]
• 1535 – to dismay, terrify.^[6]
• 1611 – to amaze, surprise greatly.^[6][4]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To fill with sudden wonder or amazement.
2. (obsolete) To strike with sudden fear.

Word family

• astonishingly
• astonishedly
• astonisher
• astonishing
• astonishment

Related words

• astound
• stun
• thunder

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
3. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press