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wonder - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

  • ️Thu Nov 09 2023

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

From Middle English wonder, wunder, from Old English wundor (“wonder, miracle, marvel”), from Proto-West Germanic *wundr, from Proto-Germanic *wundrą.

Cognate with Scots wunner (“wonder”), West Frisian wonder, wûnder (“wonder, miracle”), Dutch wonder (“miracle, wonder”), Low German wunner, wunder (“wonder”), German Wunder (“miracle, wonder”), Danish, Norwegian and Swedish under (“wonder, miracle”), Icelandic undur (“wonder”).

The verb is from Middle English wondren, from Old English wundrian, which is from Proto-Germanic *wundrōną. Cognate with Saterland Frisian wunnerje, West Frisian wûnderje, Dutch wonderen, German Low German wunnern, German wundern, Swedish undra, Icelandic undra.

wonder (countable and uncountable, plural wonders)

  1. Something that causes amazement or awe; a marvel.

    Wonders of the World seem to come in sevens.

    • 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter VIII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:

      That concertina was a wonder in its way. The handles that was on it first was wore out long ago, and he'd made new ones of braided rope yarn. And the bellows was patched in more places than a cranberry picker's overalls.

  2. Something astonishing and seemingly inexplicable.

    The idea was so crazy that it is a wonder that anyone went along with it.

  3. Someone very talented at something, a genius.

    He's a wonder at cooking.

  4. The sense or emotion which can be inspired by something curious or unknown; surprise; astonishment, often with awe or reverence.

    • 1781, Samuel Johnson, The Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets:

      All wonder is the effect of novelty upon ignorance.

    • 1871, Plato, Benjamin Jowett (translator), Theaetetus (section 155d)
      Socrates: I see, my dear Theaetetus, that Theodorus had a true insight into your nature when he said that you were a philosopher, for wonder is the feeling of a philosopher, and philosophy begins in wonder. He was not a bad genealogist who said that Iris (the messenger of heaven) is the child of Thaumas (wonder).

    • 1953, Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451:

      Stuff your eyes with wonder […] live as if you'd drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It's more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories.

  5. (UK, informal) A mental pondering, a thought.

    • 1934, Katharine Tynan, The house of dreams:

      Miss Paynter had a little wonder as to whether the man, as she called Mr. Lacy in her own mind, had ever been admitted to this room. She thought not.

  6. (US) A kind of donut; a cruller.

something that causes amazement or awe, a marvel

something astonishing and seemingly inexplicable

someone very talented at something, a genius

sense of awe or astonishment

wonder (third-person singular simple present wonders, present participle wondering, simple past and past participle wondered)

  1. (intransitive) To be affected with surprise or admiration; to be struck with astonishment; to be amazed; to marvel; often followed by at.

    • 1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], “The Author Gives Some Account of Himself and Family, His First Inducements to Travel. […]”, in Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], volume I, London: […] Benj[amin] Motte, […], →OCLC, part I (A Voyage to Lilliput), pages 14–15:

      […] I could not ſufficiently wonder at the Intrepidity of theſe diminutive Mortals, […]

    • 1751 October 19 (Gregorian calendar), Samuel Johnson, “No. 163. Tuesday, October 8. 1751.”, in The Rambler, volume VII, Edinburgh: […] Sands, Murray, and Cochran; sold by W. Gordon, C. Wright, J. Yair, […], published 1752, →OCLC, page 35:

      Some had read the manuſcript, and rectified its inaccuracies; others had ſeen it in a ſtate ſo imperfect, that they could not forbear to wonder at its preſent excellence; […]

    • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, page 58:

      The Celebrity, by arts unknown, induced Mrs. Judge Short and two other ladies to call at Mohair on a certain afternoon when Mr. Cooke was trying a trotter on the track. The three returned wondering and charmed with Mrs. Cooke; they were sure she had had no hand in the furnishing of that atrocious house.

  2. (transitive, intransitive) To ponder; to feel doubt and curiosity; to query in the mind.

    He wondered whether penguins could fly. She had wondered this herself sometimes.

    • c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iii], page 323, column 1:

      I wonder in my Soule / What you would aske me, that I ſhould deny […]

    • 1988 December 4, John Kyper, “Avoid Friends Like The New Alliance Party”, in Gay Community News, volume 16, number 21, page 4:

      Topping it all off, The National Alliance is an expensive, professionally-produced newspaper that is distributed for free all over the place. One wonders: Where does their money come from? Who is supporting them?

to be affected with surprise

to ponder about something

Translations to be checked

  • IPA(key): /ˈvɔnər/, /ˈvɔndər/

From Dutch wonder.

wonder (plural wondere or wonders, diminutive wondertjie)

  1. miracle, wonder

Formally from Dutch wonderen (“to surprise, take aback”). The intransitive construction has certain antetypes in older Dutch and could also have developed in Afrikaans on its own, but at least the weakening of the sense must be influenced by English wonder.

wonder (present wonder, present participle wonderende, past participle gewonder)

  1. to wonder (be uncertain, ponder, ask oneself)

    Ek het gewonder wat ek moet sê.

    I wondered what I should say.

From Middle Dutch wonder, wunder, from Old Dutch wundar, from Proto-Germanic *wundrą, from Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- (“to wish for, desire, strive for, win, love”). Compare Low German wunder, wunner, German Wunder, West Frisian wonder, wûnder, English wonder, Danish under.

wonder n (plural wonderen, diminutive wondertje n)

  1. wonder, miracle

    De genezing van de zieke werd beschouwd als een groot wonder.

    The healing of the sick was considered a great miracle.

    Volgens de legende gebeurden er vele wonderen tijdens zijn leven.

    According to the legend, many miracles happened during his lifetime.

    Het onverklaarbare fenomeen werd toegeschreven aan een bovennatuurlijk wonder.

    The unexplainable phenomenon was attributed to a supernatural miracle.

From Old English wundor, from Proto-West Germanic *wundr, from Proto-Germanic *wundrą.

wonder (plural wonders or wonder)

  1. marvel, wonder, strange or extraordinary thing or event
  2. sign, portent, prodigy, extraordinary thing seen as an omen
  3. miracle; supernatural or divine work
  4. atrocity, crime, terrible deed
  5. something perplexing or puzzling, enigma, conundrum
  6. report of something strange or extraordinary
  7. the feeling of wonder, amazement, puzzlement or awe

wonder

  1. exciting feelings of wonder; strange, extraordinary, wonderful
  2. miraculous, supernatural, magical
  3. excellent, wonderful, very good or admirable
  4. dreadful, terrible, dire
  5. (usually in the phrase wonder thing) perplexing, puzzling, surprising
  6. great in degree, high, great
  7. great in quantity, a great deal of, much

wonder

  1. to a great degree; very, extraordinarily, extremely