wonder

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈwʌn.də/, US /ˈwʌn.dɚ/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English wonder, wunder,^[2][3] inherited from Old English wundor (“a strange or marvellous thing, a supernatural event, an object of astonishment”),^[4][3] from Proto-Germanic *wundrą,^[4][3] the source also of Old Saxon wundar, Dutch wonder, Old High German wuntar (German Wunder) and Old Norse undr,^[3][4][5] a word of unknown origin.^[4][3][5][6] The verb is inherited from Middle English wondren, from Old English wundrian “to be astonished; to admire”, from the noun.^[4][3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old English wundor, “a marvellous thing”, is found about 700,^[7] and about 725 in Beowulf;^[3] the verb wundrian is from before 899.^[3]

Semantic evolution

By late Old English the noun meant also “a cause of perplexity, a conundrum”, and no wonder, “no surprise”, is found already then.^[4] A miracle is a wonder from about 950.^[7] In Middle English it came to mean the emotion itself, amazement or reverential awe at something extraordinary, from the late 13th century,^[4][5] and a spectacle by the mid-14th century.^[4] The verb's sense “to be curious, to speculate”, as in I wonder, is attested by late Old English.^[4] Reflexive I wonder me was common in Middle English and lasted until Tyndale (1533), and it wonders me is attested by the 1550s.^[4] A nine days' wonder is from the 1590s;^[4] Chaucer has nine-nights wonder.^[4] Wonderful is from before 1100,^[3] wonderment from 1535,^[3] and wonderland from 1790.^[3] Wonder drug is from 1939.^[4]

Timeline

• c. 700 – a marvel.^[7]
• before 899 – verb, to marvel.^[3]
• c. 950 – a miracle.^[7]
• before 1100 – wonderful.^[3]
• late 13th century – the feeling of amazement.^[4]
• mid-14th century – a spectacle.^[4]
• 1590s – nine days' wonder.^[4]
• 1790 – wonderland.^[3]
• 1939 – wonder drug.^[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A feeling of amazement and admiration caused by something beautiful, remarkable or unfamiliar.
2. Something that causes such a feeling; a marvel: the seven wonders of the world.
3. A miracle; an event that cannot be explained by natural laws.
4. A person of remarkable ability: a boy wonder.

Verb

1. To feel curiosity or doubt; to want to know: I wonder why.
2. To feel amazement or admiration; to marvel.
3. To be surprised.

Adjective

1. Having remarkable qualities or success: a wonder drug.

Word family

• wonderer
• wonderless
• wonderberry
• wonderful
• wonderland
• wonderment
• wondrous
• wonderwork

Usage notes

Scots kept wonder as an adverb, “wondrously, very”, long after it was lost elsewhere.^[8]

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press