Etymologically
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wonder

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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