thunder

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈθʌndɚ/; /ˈθʌndə/ (UK)^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English thonder, inherited from Old English þunor (“thunder; the god Thor”),^[2][3][4][5] from Proto-Germanic *þunraz,^[3][4] source also of Old Norse Þórr (“Thor”), Dutch donder and German Donner,^[3][5][6] from PIE Proto-Indo-European *(s)tene- (“to resound, thunder”), also the source of Latin tonāre (“to thunder”).^[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The loud noise accompanying lightning: about 725 in the OED.^[7] Barnhart dates thunder to about 1250, from earlier thunre and Old English thunor.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The unetymological -d- is also found in Dutch and Icelandic.^[3] Swedish tordön is literally Thor's din.^[3] Any loud rumbling noise, or a startling threat or denunciation, is by the 1590s.^[3][7] By thunder as a mild oath is by 1709, like thunder as an intensifier by 1826, and steal someone's thunder by 1838, from a theatrical anecdote.^[3] Since the 18th century thunder has been explained as the sudden disturbance of the air by an electrical discharge.^[3] The verb is Old English þunrian, and its figurative sense, to speak loudly and threateningly, follows.^[3][4]

Timeline

• c. 725 – thunder.^[7]
• 1590s – any loud noise.^[3]
• 1709 – by thunder.^[3]
• 1838 – steal someone's thunder.^[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The loud rumbling or crashing noise heard after a flash of lightning.
2. A loud, deep resounding noise: the thunder of hooves.

Verb

1. To produce thunder: it thundered.
2. To make a loud, deep rumbling noise.
3. To speak loudly and angrily.

Word family

• thunderer
• thunderless
• thunderation
• thunderbird
• thunderbolt
• thunderclap
• thundercloud
• thunderhead

Related words

• thunderstorm
• Thursday
• Thor
• astonish
• detonate

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press