Wiktionary

wonder

See also: Wonder

EnglishEdit

Alternative formsEdit

EtymologyEdit

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.

PronunciationEdit

NounEdit

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. Lincoln, chapter 8, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:
      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.
    • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Acts 3:10, column 1:
      And they knew that it was hee which ſate for almes at the beautifull gate of the Temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened vnto him.
    • 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).
  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.

Derived termsEdit

TranslationsEdit

VerbEdit

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, Samuel Johnson, “No. 163. Tuesday, October 8. 1751 [Julian calendar].”, 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.

ConjugationEdit

Conjugation of wonder
infinitive (to) wonder
present tense past tense
1st-person singular wonder wondered
2nd-person singular
3rd-person singular wonders
plural wonder
subjunctive wonder wondered
imperative wonder —
participles wondering wondered

SynonymsEdit

Derived termsEdit

TranslationsEdit

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

AnagramsEdit

DutchEdit

 
Dutch Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia nl

EtymologyEdit

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.

PronunciationEdit

NounEdit

wonder n (plural wonderen, diminutive wondertje n)

  1. wonder, miracle

SynonymsEdit

Derived termsEdit

DescendantsEdit

  • Jersey Dutch: wonder
  • Negerhollands: wonder
  • → Sranan Tongo: wondru
    • → Caribbean Javanese: wonder

AnagramsEdit

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