*wundr

Reconstruction

Ringe and Taylor reconstruct *wundr for Proto-West Germanic,^[1] and Wiktionary has the same form.^[2] It continues inherited from Proto-Germanic *wundrą (“wonder, miracle”), which Ringe and Taylor give as Proto-Northwest Germanic *wundrą "marvel, wonder", the source of Old Norse undr.^[1] Orel cites it as *wunđran and Köbler as *wundra-, *wundram.^[3][4] The West Germanic loss of final *a and *an left a word-final sonorant after a consonant.^[5] Fulk takes *wundraz > *wundr as his example and notes that such a sonorant stayed nonsyllabic for a time, as the metre of alliterative poetry shows.^[5]

Morphology

A neuter a-stem.^[6][7]

Evidence

The word is attested in Old English wundor, Old Saxon wundar and Old High German wuntar,^[1] in Old Frisian wunder "miracle",^[8] and in Old Dutch wunder, recorded from the 10th century in the psalms.^[9] In Old English a vowel was always inserted in word-final clusters of a consonant and r inherited from Proto-West Germanic, as in wundor.^[10] Ringe and Taylor date this epenthesis no earlier than about the middle of the 7th century, perhaps within the 8th.^[10]

Competing analyses

Fulk notes that the vocalization of final sonorants is commonly assigned to Proto-West Germanic itself, but holds that it cannot have happened very early and must have taken place dialect by dialect, as the different outcomes in English and elsewhere suggest.^[5] Ringe and Taylor likewise treat the insertion of the vowel in *wundr as an Old English change.^[10]

Meanings

1. marvel, wonder^[1][2]

Old English also used the word for a horror or monster and for astonishment,^[11] and Old High German also for a sign.^[7]

Derivatives

• *wundrōn "to be amazed, to wonder", which Wiktionary reconstructs;^[12] Old Saxon has wundrōn "to be astonished".^[13]
• Wiktionary reconstructs Proto-Germanic *wundralīkaz (“wondrous”);^[14] Old Saxon has wundarlīk and Old English wundorlic.^[13][15]

Reflexes

• Old English: wundor (“wonder, horror, monster, astonishment”)^[11]
• Old Frisian: wunder (“miracle”)^[8]
• Old Saxon: wundar (“surprise, wonder”)^[13]
• Old Dutch: wunder (“wonder”)^[9]
• Old High German: wuntar (“wonder, sign, astonishment”)^[7]

References

1. ^ a b c d Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 328
2. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *wundr
3. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 474
4. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *wundra-
5. ^ a b c Fulk, R. D. (2018), A Comparative Grammar of the Early Germanic Languages, Studies in Germanic Linguistics 3, Amsterdam / Philadelphia: John Benjamins
6. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. wundar
7. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. wuntar
8. ^ a b Bremmer, Rolf H., Jr. (2009), An Introduction to Old Frisian: History, Grammar, Reader, Glossary, Amsterdam / Philadelphia: John Benjamins, p. 219
9. ^ a b Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org, p. s.v. wunder
10. ^ a b c Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 327–328
11. ^ a b Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. wundor
12. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *wundrōn
13. ^ a b c Berr, Samuel (1971), An Etymological Glossary to the Old Saxon Heliand, Berne / Frankfurt: Herbert Lang, p. 468
14. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *wundralīkaz
15. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. wundor