| 释义 |
▪ I. wonder, n.|ˈwʌndə(r)|
Forms: 1 wundor, 2–5 wunder, (3 wnder, Orm. wunnderr, 4 wondere, wonþer), 4–5 wondre, wondur, wondire, -yr(e, wundyr, 4–6 wundir, woundir, -er, Sc. vounder, vondir, 4–6, 8 Sc. wondir, (5 wundur, wonther, wonþur, 6 Sc. winder, -ir), 6–7 woonder, 8–9 Sc. wonner, 3– wonder.
[OE. wundor neut. = OFris. wunder, OS. wundar, (M)Du. wonder, OHG. wuntar (MHG., G. wunder), ON. undr (Sw., Da. under): of unknown origin.]
I. Something that causes astonishment.
1. a. A marvellous object; a marvel, prodigy.
the seven wonders of the world (= L. septem mira, miracula, or spectacula), the seven monuments regarded as the most remarkable structures of ancient times; so eighth wonder of the world (used hyperbolically of any impressive object, etc.); nine days' wonder, and allusive uses: see nine a. 3 a and 4 b.
Beowulf 840 Ferdon folctoᵹan..ᵹeond widweᵹas wundor sceawian, laþes lastas. c700Cædmon Hymn 3 Sue he uundra ᵹihuaes..or astelidæ. a1000Sal. & Sat. 281 Ac hwæt is ðæt wundor ðe ᵹeond ðas worold færeð, styrnenga gæð? c1205Lay. 21738 Þa..gunnen to fleonnen..into þan watere, þer wunderes beoð inoȝe. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 151 Mirabilia Anglie. Þre wondres beþ in engelond,..Þat water of baþe is þat on, þat euere is iliche hot. Ibid. 155 Vpe þe plein of salesbury þat oþer wonder is Þat ston heng is icluped. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 43 For þey schulde..write and certifie þe senatoures where and what wondres were i-founde. 1591Shakes. Two Gent. i. i. 6, I rather would entreat thy company, To see the wonders of the world abroad. 1592― Rom. & Jul. iii. iii. 36 Carrion Flies..may seaze On the white wonder of deare Iuliets hand. 1616R. Cocks Diary (Hakl. Soc.) I. 194, I doo esteem it [sc. the idol] to be bigger then that at Roads, which was taken for 1 of the 7 wonders of the world. 1681[see Peak n.1 3]. 1712–14Pope Rape Lock. i. 142 The fair..Repairs her smiles,..And calls forth all the wonders of her face. 1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) I. 267 All the wonders of the Mediterranean sea are described in much higher colours than they merit. 1831M. Edgeworth Let. 20 Jan. (1971) 473 A..spoiled child of 30 whose mother and father having not been able to conceal from him that they think him the 8th wonder of the world have at last brought him to acquiesce in their opinion. 1878Browning La Saisiaz 71 We must have our journey marge Ample for the wayside wonders. 1930Amer. Speech VI. Eighth wonder of the world... Ford runabout. 1977H. Fast Immigrants iv. 267, I rode the first cable car on California Street... The Eighth Wonder of the World.
b. Marvellous character or quality; wonderfulness; marvels collectively. (Cf. marvel n.1 2 c.)
c1220Bestiary 266 Ȝet is wunder of ðis wirm [sc. the ant] More ðanne man weneð. 1605Shakes. Macb. i. v. 6 Whiles I stood rapt in the wonder of it, came Missiues from the King. 1610― Temp. v. i. 181 Mir. O wonder! How many goodly creatures are there heere? 1613― Hen. VIII, v. v. 41 As when The Bird of Wonder dyes, the Mayden Phoenix, Her Ashes new create another Heyre. 1667Milton P.L. vii. 70 Great things, and full of wonder in our eares. 1738Gray Tasso 35 Great things and full of wonder in your ears I shall unfold. 1801‘Monk’ Lewis (title) Tales of Wonder. 1842Tennyson Locksley Hall 16 When I dipt into the future..Saw the Vision of the world, and all the wonder that would be. 1872Black Adv. Phaeton ix. 129 We went out into the bright wonder of the moonlight.
c. (transf. from 7.) The object of astonishment (usually implying profound admiration) for a particular country, people, age, or the like.
world's wonder: the Marvel of Peru. wonder of the world, the ginseng, Panax Shinseng (Treas. Bot. 1866).
1591Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, iv. vii. 48 Hack their bones assunder, Whose life was Englands glory, Gallia's wonder. 1597Hooker Eccl. Pol. v. xi. §1 The bewtie whereof..was such, that euen this was..the wonder of the whole world. 1607Ld. Coke's Sp. & Charge F, This Sea-Inuyrond-Iland, the beauty, and wonder of the world. 1639Mayne City Match i. iv, She's the wonder of the Court, And talke oth' Towne. 1671Milton P.R. iii. 280 Babylon the wonder of all tongues. 1706Phillips (ed. Kersey), Marvel of Peru, a kind of Night-shade..with Flowers of such Variety that it is also call'd The World's Wonder. 1733Pope Ep. Cobham 180 Wharton, the scorn and wonder of our days. 1831E. Burton Eccles. Hist. vii. 205 In Ephesus this feeling found an additional vent in the pride of having their temple considered the wonder of the world.
d. A marvellous specimen or example (of something); in Sc. used contemptuously. boneless wonder, a gymnast; fig., someone or something lacking ‘backbone’; chinless wonder: see chinless a. b.
1721Bradley Philos. Acc. Wks. Nat. 182 In this Wonder of a Garden there is neither Grass-work nor Gravel. 1786Burns Twa Dogs 65 Our Whipper-in, wee blastit wonner, Poor worthless elf. 1855Kingsley Westw. Ho! xxiii, But surely she was a very wonder of beauty! 1898Atlantic Monthly LXXXII. 499/2 It was a wonder of beauty,..the fairest piece of earth my eye ever rested upon. 1931W. S. Churchill in Hansard Commons 28 Jan. 1022, I remember, when I was a child, being taken to the celebrated Barnum's Circus... The exhibit on the programme which I most desired to see was the one described as ‘The Boneless Wonder’. My parents judged that that spectacle would be too revolting and demoralising for my youthful eyes, and I have waited 50 years to see the boneless wonder sitting on the Treasury Bench. 1946Boy wonder [see Chattertonian a. and n.]. 1951‘J. Tey’ Daughter of Time xiv. 186 The spectacle of Dr. Gairdner trying to make his facts fit his theory was the most entertaining thing in gymnastics that Grant had witnessed... As a contortionist Dr. Gairdner was the original boneless wonder. 1963Guardian 15 Feb. 20/6 One of those boneless wonders that go by the name of ‘Observer’ editorials. 1967M. Shulman Kill 3 iv. ii. 168 Reconciling more contradictory positions than could be broken up by a boneless wonder on a trapeze.
e. U.S. A kind of cake; = cruller.
1848Drake Pioneer Life in Kentucky (1870) 97 Other dainties awaited us as the result of killing hogs. They were ‘dough-nuts’ and ‘wonders’. 1859Mrs. Stowe Minister's Wooing iv. 34 A plate of crullers or wonders, as a sort of sweet fried cake was commonly called.
2. a. A deed performed or an event brought about by miraculous or supernatural power; a miracle. to do wonders or work wonders, to perform miracles. arch.
c950Lindisf. Gosp. John ii. 11 Ðis uorhte frumma ðara uundra se hælend in ðær byriᵹ. 971Blickl. Hom. 15 Eal þæt folc þe þis wundor ᵹeseah, his noman myccledon. c1200Ormin 9499 Crist..wrohhte wunndre miccle ma þann icc ȝuw maȝȝ nu tellenn. c1275Passion our Lord 60 in O.E. Misc. 39 Hi seyden..Alle his wndres þat he doþ is þurch þene vend. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) III. 125 By wycchecraft he schal wirche wondres. c1400Mandeville (Roxb.) xi. 43 With þat ilke ȝerde Moyses..didd many wonders. c1450Holland Howlat 785 He couth werk wounderis quhat way that he wald. 1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 3 For they se hym in his great myracles & wonders. 1562Winȝet Cert. Tractatis ii. Wks. (S.T.S.) I. 17 He send His Apostolis and seuinty-twa Discipulis..geuand thaim also power to wyrk wounderis. 1591Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, v. iv. 48 You iudge it straight a thing impossible To compasse Wonders, but by helpe of diuels. 1662Stillingfl. Orig. Sacræ ii. iii. §6 That doctrine which was confirmed by undoubted miracles, hath assured us of the coming of lying wonders. 1781Cowper Expost. 155 They saw distemper heal'd, and life restor'd,..Confess'd the wonder. 1846Trench Mirac. 6 The healing of the paralytic..was a wonder, for ‘they were all amazed’.
†b. An extraordinary natural occurrence, esp. when regarded as supernatural or taken as an omen or portent. Chiefly pl. Obs.
1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 8612 Wanne me sede him of suche wondres þat god on erþe sende Þat it was vor is luþernesse to trufle he it wende. 1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 4004 For wonders þat shuld falle, als I trow, Agayn þe worldes hende er sene now. c1400Destr. Troy 11827 When he wist of thies wondres, thies wordes he said: ‘Yonder towne wilbe takon in a tyme short.’ 1513Douglas æneis viii. viii. 36 We haue bot sobir pissance, and no wonder, To help in battale. 1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 422 He rekened vp the wonders that went before his death. 1596Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 13 Mony sygnes be God war schawne and wonndiris. 1655Stanley Hist. Philos. ii. iii. (1687) 66/1 Of the Wonder [sc. a meteor] Aristotle gives a very slight account. 1681Dryden Abs. & Achit. i. 320 My Father Governs with unquestion'd Right;..And Heav'n by Wonders has espous'd his Cause.
3. A marvellous act or achievement. to work wonders, do wonders, or perform wonders: to do marvellous acts or bring about marvellous results; hence gen. to do surprising things.
c1220Bestiary 398 Listneð nu a wunder, Ðat tis der [sc. the fox] doð for hunger. 1390Gower Conf. I. 5 This bok schal afterward ben ended Of love, which doth many a wonder. Ibid. 136 With strengthe he [sc. Nebuchadnezzar] putte kinges under, And wroghte of Pride many a wonder. 1471Caxton Recuyell (Sommer) 378 In this bataill hercules dide wondres & meruailles. 1591Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, i. i. 122 Where valiant Talbot..Enacted wonders with his Sword and Lance. 1660F. Brooke tr. Le Blanc's Trav. 295 Don Sebastian did wonders in his own person, but overpowred with number, he [etc.]. 1727E. Laurence Duty of Steward 207 Lay on Twenty Loads of Chalk alone upon an Acre, and it will perform wonders. 1731in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. i. 270 The Millypedes or Wood-lice have a sulphureous spirit in them wch I have known do wonders on weak constitutions. 1784Cowper Tiroc. 23 For her the fancy, roving unconfin'd,..Works magic wonders. 1784― Task iv. 87 Katterfelto, with his hair on end At his own wonders. 1827Disraeli Viv. Grey v. vi, Inspired by your Ladyship's approbation, my steward has really done wonders. 1834L. Ritchie Wand. Seine 192 Habit effects wonders.
4. a. gen. An astonishing occurrence, event, or fact; a surprising incident; a wonderful thing.
to hear wonders, read wonders, speak wonders, talk wonders, to hear, etc., surprising accounts.
1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 319 A temple hii vovnde vair inou & a maumet amidde Þat ofte tolde wonder gret & ȝwat men bitidde. 1390Gower Conf. II. 67 Who that wolde ensample take..Of many a wondre hiere he mihte. 1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xvi. xlviii. (1495) L iij b/1 Gete..is kyndled in water and quenchid in oyle: and that is wonder. a1425Cursor M. 11 (Trin.) Man ȝernen..romaunce rede..Of kyng Arthour..Of wondris þat his knyȝtes felle. 1553T. Wilson Rhet. 47 b, I ought..not turne my tale to talke of Robbyn Hoode,..or to speake wounders of the man in the Mone. 1598Shakes. Merry W. v. i. 13 Bee you in the Parke about midnight, at Hernes-Oake, and you shall see wonders. 1604E. G[rimstone] tr. D'Acosta's Hist. Indies iii. xvi. 171 Some of these Lakes be very hote, which is another wonder. 1611Beaum. & Fl. Philaster ii. i, The love of boyes unto their Lords is strange, I have read wonders of it. 1686tr. Chardin's Trav. Persia 136 They talk Wonders of her Beauty. 1784Cowper Task iv. 563 The chilling tale Of midnight murder was a wonder..told to frighten babes. 1823Scott Quentin D. xix, Why should you make a wonder of my wearing the badge of my company? 1890Hartland Science of Fairy Tales i. (1891) 1 The weary hunters beguile the long silence of a desert night with the mirth and wonders of a tale.
†b. app. = miracle n. 4. Obs.
1435Misyn Fire of Love 5 Noȝt standyng in ydilnes, nor to plays no wondyrs rynnynge.
†5.
a. Evil or shameful action; evil; pl. evil or horrible deeds. Obs.
1154O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 1137, I ne can ne i ne mai tellen alle þe wunder ne alle þe pines ðæt hi diden wrecce men on þis land. c1200Vices & Virtues 15 Ic ne mai rimen..alle ðo sennes,..ne alle ðo wundren ðe ich, wrecche senfulle, habbe idon. a1225Ancr. R. 72 Moni mon weneð to don wel þat he deð alto cweade [MS. C. wunder]. c1250Gen. & Ex. 69 Pride made angel deuel dwale, Ðat made..euerilc wunder, and euerilc wo. Ibid. 3588. a 1300 K. Horn 1440 (Cott.) Fykenild me haþ gon vnder Ant do rymenild sum wonder.
†b. Destruction, disaster. Obs.
c1205Lay. 7855 Þa scipen wenden to wundre oðer half hundred. Ibid. 12590 Heo sloȝen þer muchel wunder, twa & fifti hundred. 13..Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 16 Bretayn..Where werre, & wrake, & wonder Bi syþez has wont þer-inne.
†c. Great distress or grief. Obs.
1303R. Brunne Handl. Synne 5262 Yn þe put..He sagh so moche sorowe and wundyr, Of fendes fele þat þere wore. c1430Syr Tryam. 190 (Percy Fo.), Of this..I haue great wonder; for sorrow my hart will breake assunder. a1600Northumberland Betrayed by Douglas ii. in Child Ball. III. 411 As woe and wonder be them amonge!
6. Phraseological uses.
†a. to wonder: dreadfully, horribly, terribly. (Cf. sense 5.) Obs.
c1000ælfric Saints' Lives xxiii. 654 Ealle men hine fram stowe to stowe brudon and to wundre tawedon. c1230Hali Meid. (1922) 23 Leccherie seið ‘schome þe menske of þi meidenhad,’ & tukeð hire to wundre [v.r. al to wundre]. a1300Cursor M. 22606 Heuen he sal se part in sundre, And he sal here it cri to wonder.
b. to a wonder, in early use also † to wonder [after F. à merveille], marvellously, wonderfully, marvellously well. Obs. or arch.
1661Glanvill Van. Dogm. 175 The unparallel'd Des-Cartes hath unridled their dark Physiology, and to wonder solv'd their Motions. 1698Crowne Caligula iv, Y'are to a wonder fair. a1700Evelyn Diary 27 Jan. 1658, Sentences in Latin and Greeke, which on occasion he would produce even to wonder. 1751Female Foundling II. 11 He is better to a Wonder. 1792Cowper Let. to Carwardine 11 June, His motives were not, nor could be, of the amorous kind, for she was ugly to a wonder. 1828Lytton Pelham xxxi, I have flattered him to a wonder! 1843Thackeray Mr. & Mrs. Berry ii, He ties his white neckcloth to a wonder.
†c. to think wonder [think v.1] (const. dative of person): to seem a matter of astonishment (to); hence, of the person, to be astonished, to marvel, wonder. So, rarely, to think it wonder, [think v.2] to be amazed at it. Obs.
971Blickl. Hom. 33 Þonne ne þincþ us þæt nan wundor. c1000ælfric Hom. II. 484 Wundor me ðincð eower ðingræden. c1200Ormin 218 All þe follc..þuhhte mikell wunnderr forrwhi þe preost swa lannge wass..att Godess allterr. a1225Ancr. R. 8 Ȝif him þuncheð wunder & selkuð of swuch onswere. 1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 1786 Of þe dede here men may thynk wonder, For alle thyng it brestes in sonder. 1362Langl. P. Pl. A. iii. 176 Whi þou wraþþest þe now wonder me þinkeþ. a1586Montgomerie Misc. Poems xl. 54 Quhat Natur works, we may not think it wonder.
d. it (or † that) is (was, were, etc.) no wonder: it is (etc.) not surprising; usually with dependent that- or if-clause. Similarly, it is † great wonder, little wonder, small wonder, it is very, not very surprising; it is (a) wonder, wonder it is, it is wonderful.
† a wonder is to speak, it is surprising to tell..† make it no wonder, do not be surprised at it.
a900Cynewulf Crist 1016 Forþon nis æniᵹ wundor hu him woruldmonna seo unclæne ᵹecynd cearum sorᵹende hearde ondrede. c1175Lamb. Hom. 23 Hit nis nan wunder þah mon suneȝie oðer hwile unwaldes, ah hit is muchele mare wunder ȝif he nule nefre swiken. c1200Ormin 9327 & tatt nass wunnderr þwerrt ut nan þatt he wass wis o lare. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 378, & lute wonder it was Þat strange men in is owe lond dude a such trespas. 13..Cursor M. 746 (Gött.) Wonþer was hu he þider wan. c1320Sir Tristr. 2215 Sore him greued his vene, As it no wonder nes. 1362Langl. P. Pl. A. v. 102 Ȝif schrift schulde hit þenne swopen out, a gret wonder hit were. 1390Gower Conf. III. 382 Though god his grace caste aweie No wondir is. a1400–50Wars Alex. 811 Þare slike wirschip he wan ware wonder to tell. c1400Brut i. 1 Þere þey lyved in ioy and merthe y-now, that it was wonder to wete. c1520Skelton Magnyf. 85 And it is wonder that your wylde Insolence Can be content with Measure presence. c1540tr. Pol. Verg. Engl. Hist. (Camden No. 29) 50 He went.. to the duke of Bedforde, whose arrivall, a wonder is to speake, how much it encouraged his owne frendes. c1560A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) ii. 167 For he affeird, it wes na winder, His cursour suld him cast. 1579W. Fulke Heskins' Parl. 168 It was a woonder, howe the corporall nature passed through the impenetrable body. 1596Shakes. Tam. Shr. iii. ii. 193, I must away to day before night come, Make it no wonder. 1600E. Blount tr. Conestaggio 268 It was therefore no woonder, if without the kings consent..he attempted many things. 1651Hobbes Leviath. iii. xxxv. 219 It were a wonder there is no greater notice taken of it. 1673Vinegar & Mustard (1873) 19 That's a wonder you have none of your trollops with you. 1706E. Ward Wooden World Diss. (1708) 100 If he has a Reversion clear of Incumbrances, it's a Wonder. 1741Warburton Div. Legat. vi. vi. II. 639 It is no Wonder his Arguments should look asquint. 1749Fielding Tom Jones iii. iv, ‘No Man is wise at all Hours’; it is therefore no Wonder that a Boy is not so. 1860Thackeray Lovel ii, You consume more tea than all my family,..and as much sugar and butter—well, it's no wonder you are bilious!
e. Without verb, esp. in no wonder that, if, or though; similarly, small wonder that (etc.), what wonder if..? Also interjectionally in (and) no wonder!, and what wonder!
Cf. L. nimirum, Gr. οὐ θαῦµα, θαῦµα οὐδέν.
1390Gower Conf. I. 100 No wonder thogh he siketh ofte. a1400Pistill of Susan 201 And heo wepte for wo, no wonder, I wene. c1400T. Chestre Launfal 204 No wonther dough me smerte. c1440Promp. Parv. 360/1 Nowundyr, (P. nowonder), nimirum. 1513Douglas æneis iii. viii. 103 Na wondir, this is the selcouth Caribdis. 1611Shakes. Cymb. iii. vi. 11 Will poore Folkes lye..? Yes; no wonder, When Rich ones scarse tell true. 1667Milton P.L. iii. 606 What wonder then if fields and regions here Breathe forth Elixir pure. 1795–6Wordsw. Borderers ii. 812 Her. I was alarmed. Mar. No wonder; this is a place That well may put some fears into your heart. 1853Dickens Bleak Ho. iv, Pa's miserable, and no wonder! 1862H. Kingsley Ravenshoe xviii, She has given her honest little heart away—and what wonder! 1891Farrar Darkn. & Dawn xxxix, No wonder Nero loves her better than that pale sad lady who sits among the six Vestals. 1913H. L. Jackson Eschatol. Jesus 6 If ‘the great authorities differ’ small wonder that weaker minds are in doubt.
f. the wonder is.., what is surprising is...
1605Shakes. Lear v. iii. 316 Edg. He is gon indeed. Kent. The wonder is, he hath endur'd so long. 1842Dickens Amer. Notes xi, The wonder is, not that there should be so many fatal accidents, but that any journey should be safely made. 1856C. M. Yonge Daisy Chain i. iv, The only wonder was, that it had not happened sooner.
g. for a wonder: as an instance of a surprising fact; strange to say.
1782Boswell Jrnl. 16 July in Boswell, Laird of Auchinleck (1977) 456 While she was out, my father and Lady Auchinleck called, for a wonder. 1811Princess Charlotte Let. 13 Nov. (1949) 12 Soon for a wonder I plucked up courage & went in. 1856Reade Never too Late xxxvi, For a wonder he was not sea-sick. 1881Saintsbury Dryden vii. 145 For a wonder Dryden resists..his unhappy tendency to exaggerate the coarseness of his subjects.
h. in the name of wonder: used with an interrogative word to give emphasis to a question; also colloq. or dial. shortened to the wonder.
1626Massinger Roman Actor iv. ii, In the name of wonder, What's Cæsar's purpose? 1716Addison Freeholder No. 9 ⁋12 What in the name of wonder do you mean? 1862Mrs. H. Wood Mrs. Hallib. xxxv, How the wonder do you manage it? 1889R. Bridges Feast of Bacchus iii. 814 Who in the name of wonder are these queer foreigners?
i. wonders will never cease: that is indeed surprising; now freq. ironic.
1828T. Creevey Let. 11 Feb. in Creevey's Life & Times (1934) xii. 258 Off he went with, ‘Well, Creevey, wonders will never cease!’ I met Lord Bathurst at the Duke of Buccleuch's [etc.]. 1837Dickens Pickw. xlv. 489 Vonders vill never cease... I'm wery much mistaken if that 'ere Jingle worn't a doin' somethin' in the vater⁓cart vay! 1902Conrad Typhoon xxiv. 191 ‘Solomon says wonders will never cease,’ cried Mrs. Rout joyously. 1962M. Summerton Nightingale at Noon (1963) viii. 105, I offered: I'll help you...’ She..gave me a cheeky grin. ‘Hear that! Wonders will never cease!’ 1974A. Price Other Paths to Glory i. vii. 88 Wonders will never cease... Early Tudor—practically untouched.
II.
7. a. The emotion excited by the perception of something novel and unexpected, or inexplicable; astonishment mingled with perplexity or bewildered curiosity. Also, the state of mind in which this emotion exists; † an instance of this, a fit of wonderment.
c1290St. Dunstan 8 in S. Eng. Leg. 19 Þat folk stod al in gret wonder. 1382Wyclif Luke v. 26 And greet wondir took alle men, and thei magnyfieden God. c1450Mirk's Festial 18 When Thomas had soo ydo, anon he criet for wondyr and for fere. 1561Hoby tr. Castiglione's Courtyer ii. (1577) K vij b, Then he turning about, and beholding him..with a wonder [orig. con marauiglia] stayed a while wythout any word. 1599Shakes. Hen. V, ii. iv. 135 You'le find a diff'rence, As we his Subiects haue in wonder found. 1611Bible Acts iii. 10 They were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened vnto him. 1659Vulg. Err. Cens. 31 Galen was husht into a wonder by some anatomicall observations. 1667Milton P.L. iii. 542 Satan..Looks down with wonder at the sudden view Of all this World at once. a1700Evelyn Diary 23 Nov. 1690, Lord Godolphin, now resuming the commission of the Treasury to the wonder of all his friends. 1738Gray Tasso 25 Fix'd in wonder stood the warlike pair. 1770Goldsm. Des. Vill. 215 And still they gazed, and still the wonder grew, That one small head could carry all he knew. 1814Cary Dante, Parad. xxxi. 31 The grim brood..Stood in mute wonder 'mid the works of Rome. 1848Thackeray Van. Fair lxv, Max and Fritz were at the door listening with wonder to Mrs. Becky's sobs and cries. 1870Lowell Among my Books Ser. i. 143 The faculty of wonder is not defunct, but is only getting more and more emancipated from the unnatural service of terror.
†b. to have wonder, to be greatly surprised; to marvel: = wonder v. 1, 2. Obs.
a1300Cursor M. 17288 + 171 It was our lordez ordinans, for-þi no wonder has. 1375Barbour Bruce iii. 485 And quhen he hard sa blaw & cry, He had wondir quhat it mycht be. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints x. (Mathou) 121 All þat harde hyme, ȝald or ȝynge, Had wondyre þat sik grace suld be In ony manne. 1470–85Malory Arthur i. xiv. 55 Thenne syre Arthur dyd so merueillously in armes that all men had wondyr. 1500–20Dunbar Poems lxxxi. 37 Thay saw that I nocht glaidder wax of cheir, And thairof had thai winder.
†c. Profound admiration. Obs.
a1586Sidney Apol. Poetry (Arb.) 19 To so vnbeleeued a poynt hee proceeded, as that no earthly thing bred such wonder to a Prince, as to be a good horseman. 1588Shakes. L.L.L. iv. ii. 117 All ignorant that soule, that sees thee without wonder. 1605― Macb. i. iii. 92 His Wonders and his Prayses doe contend, Which should be thine, or his. 1607Bp. Hall Holy Observ. i. xx. (1609) 32 No man hath beene so exquisite, but some haue detracted from him, euen in those quallities which haue seemed most worthy of wonder to others.
8. [f. wonder v. 2.] A state of wondering (whether, etc.). rare.
1853Mrs. Gaskell Ruth xix, Many profound secrets..most of which related to their wonders if Jemima and Mr. Farquhar would ever be married. 1889‘J. S. Winter’ Mrs. Bob iv. (1891) 45 Haunted by..a wonder whether he would find his way to St. Eve's.
III. attrib. and Comb.
9. Simple attrib. (sometimes passing into adj.).
a. = ‘that is a wonder, marvel, or prodigy’, as wonder-avenue, wonder-beauty, wonder boy, wonder-child (after G. wunderkind), wonder drug, wonder-flower, wonder-gleam, wonder goal, wonder-horse, wonder-look, wonder-night, wonder-sight (after G. wundergesicht), wonder-treasure, wonder-woman.
1838Longfellow in Life (1891) I. 293 The great wonder-flowers bloom but once in a lifetime; as marriage and death. 1845J. C. Mangan German Anthol. I. 185 But, lo! a wonder-sight!—Ere long Rose, blooming,..The fairest lily ever seen. 1866Howells Venetian Life viii. 120 That wonder-avenue of palaces [the Grand Canal]. 1890‘R. Boldrewood’ Miner's Right xli, You..discover so many wonder-treasures..that you will never consent to return. 1890― Col. Reformer xviii, A Pharos, a wonder-sign, an exemplar throughout all the civilised world. 1896Catholic Mag. May 258 Hermann Cohen, by reason of his marvellous piano-playing, was looked upon as a ‘wonder-child’. 1921D. H. Lawrence Sea & Sardinia v. 210 Real fresh wonder-beauty all around. 1922― Aaron's Rod xviii. 269 The glimmer of the open flower, the wonder⁓look, still lasted. 1927E. O'Neill Marco Millions iii. i. 167 Worth while your waiting, eh?.. Yes, my wonder boy! 1927A. Conan Doyle Case-Bk. Sherlock Holmes 15 A wonder-woman in every way. 1929R. Bridges Test. Beauty iv. 188 The shifting hues that sanctify the silent dawn with wonder-gleams. 1938Encycl. Brit. Bk. of Year 38/2 The one signed work in the series..was the wonder-child of the project. 1939Time 14 Aug. 50/2 Sulfanilamide, the ‘wonder drug’, introduced into the U.S. in 1936, is credited with remarkable cures. 1939Wonder horse [see second-guesser]. 1939Joyce Finnegans Wake 395 You know her, our angel being, one of romance's fadeless wonderwomen. 1948Wonder drug [see subtilin]. 1958P. Scott Mark of Warrior i. 82 Old Ramsay's something of a wonder boy. He'll be top cadet of the course. 1975Daily Tel. 18 June 2/8 Experts..began work on the vaccines following the failure of the post-war ‘wonder drugs’ such as sulphonamides and penicillin to wipe out these two diseases. 1976West Lancs. Evening Gaz. 15 Dec. i. 4/7 He scored a superb hat trick with a wonder goal to round it off. 1976Liverpool Echo 23 Nov. 7/1 Southport's golden sands, world famous as the training track of wonderhorse Red Rum. 1980‘R. B. Dominic’ Attending Physician xiv. 117 Senator Gerald Ewell was a Democrat... ‘What's Wonder Boy done this time?’ demanded Tony. 1980I. Hunter Malcolm Muggeridge iv. 59 Various bizarre proposals to sort out and rearrange our genes so that everyone will become superman and wonderwoman. 1985Times 2 Jan. 15/2 The word from the market is that a replacement ‘wonder drug’ is now in clinical trials.
b. = ‘of wonder or wonders’, as wonder-book, wonder-city, wonder-life, wonder-literature, wonder song, wonder-story, wonder-tale, wonder-world (cf. G. wunderwelt).
1851Hawthorne (title) A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys, (including ‘Tanglewood Tales’). 1851H. Melville Whale i. 7 The great flood-gates of the wonder-world swung open. 1854Zoologist XII. 4487 A kind of wonder-story in zoology. 1865Tylor Early Hist. Man. vi. 144 The native wonder-tales must only be told in the winter. 1881― Anthropol. 380 It is known to be only a version of the..wonder-tale told by Herodotus. 1895Kipling Seven Seas (1896) 84 The everlasting Wonder Song of Youth! 1896Tablet 15 Feb. 257 That Asiatic wonder-world, the Indian Empire. 1896J. Davidson Fleet St. Ecl. Ser. ii. 78 To wonder-worlds of old romance Our aching thoughts for solace run. 1905Roosevelt Outdoor Pastimes xi. 339 To read and enjoy the wonder-book of nature. 1907Westm. Gaz. 14 Sept. 6/2 All our wonder-literature. Ibid. 20 Sept. 2/1 Everything in that wonder-city [sc. Fez] was so like a half-remembered dream. 1929R. Bridges Test. Beauty iii. 105 With what other numberless wonder-lives of the Saints they wrote.
c. = ‘miraculous, magic, magical’, as wonder-offspring, wonder-staff (cf. G. wunderstab magic wand), wonder-stroke.
1846Trench Mirac. Introd. iv. §3. 46 By a mighty wonder-stroke of grace the polarity in the man is shifted. Ibid. xxix. 421 note, Sometimes [in early Christian art] he [sc. Jesus] is touching with his wonder-staff the head of Lazarus. 1907N. & Q. 10th Ser. VIII. 208/2 The belief in such wonder-offspring was once as common in Europe.
10. a. Objective and obj. genitive, as wonder-bearing, wonder-exciting, wonder-hiding, wonder-loving, wonder-promising, wonder-raising, wonder-seeking, wonder-stirring, wonder-writing adjs.; † wonders-doing adj.; wonder-hider, wonder-seeker; wonder-worth, wonder-worthy adjs; instrumental, as wonder-dumb, wonder-fed, wonder-ridden, wonder-smit, wonder-stricken, wonder-struck, † wonder-strucken, wonder-wide, wonder-wounded adjs.; wonder-beaming, wonder-striking, wonder-teeming, wonder-waiting adjs.; † wonder-rap [rap v.3], wonder-strike vbs.
1799Campbell Pleas. Hope i. 130 Wilt thou, with him [sc. Newton],..watch the shrine with *wonder-beaming eye?
1552Huloet, *Wonders doynge, mirificus.
1898Hardy Wessex Poems 167 Shy birds stood Watching us, *wonder-dumb.
1855Milman Lat. Christ. xiv. ii. (1864) IX. 77 This *wonder-fed and wonder-seeking worship.
1831Carlyle Sart. Res. iii. viii, The deceptions, and *wonder-hiding stupefactions, which Space practises on us.
1851Zoologist IX. 3167 The *wonder-loving and credulous Northmen.
1817Coleridge Biog. Lit. viii. (Bohn) 64 The *wonder-promising Matter, that was to perform all these marvels.
1813― Remorse Epil. 28 Saintly hermits' *wonder-raising acts.
1612J. Davies Muses Sacrif. Wks. (Grosart) II. 27/2 O sight of force to *wonder-rap all Eyes!
1791Cowper Odyssey vi. 199 *Wonder-rapt I gaze.
1916D. H. Lawrence Amores 76, I see each shadow start with recognition, and I Am *wonder-ridden.
1599T. M[oufet] Silkwormes 53 Then list a while, you *wonder-seekers great. 1856Froude Hist. Eng. I. iv. 296 The phenomena known to modern wonder-seekers as those of somnambulism or clairvoyance. 1855*Wonder-seeking [see wonder-fed].
1615Sylvester Job Triumph. iii. 99 Therefore, before Him, am I *wonder-smit.
1799Cupid & Psyche 33 He'll tell the *wonder-stirring tales.
1818Shelley Laon & Cythna v. xliii. 114 The morning's golden mist, Which now the *wonder-stricken breezes kist With their cold lips, fled. 1855Singleton Virgil I. 51 At whose lay wonder-stricken were the pards.
1856Hawthorne Engl. Note-bks. (1870) II. 65 The..mysterious plan which perplexes and *wonder-strikes me in most cathedrals.
1644Vicars God in Mount 4 The memorable and *wonder-striking Parliamentarie-mercies.
1598Sylvester Du Bartas ii. ii. i. Noah 597 Ashamed, *wonder-strook. 1638–56Cowley Davideis iv. 855 If wonder-strook I at your words appear, My wonder yet is Innocent of Fear. 1796F. Burney Camilla ii. xiii, [She] seemed wonder-struck, without knowing why. 1817Malthus Popul. II. 210 Great and astonishing as this difference is, we ought not to be so wonder-struck at it.
1628Mure Doomesday 562 *Wonder-strucken wights.
1798Southey Blenheim v, With *wonder-waiting eyes.
1922Joyce Ulysses 530 Milly Bloom..calls, her young eyes *wonderwide.
1864Browning Dram. Pers., Abt Vogler 44 Had I painted the whole, Why, there it had stood, to see, nor the process so *wonder-worth.
1622Middleton Honour & Virtue Wks. (Bullen) VII. 361 Which is not the least *wonder-worthy note. 1905G. Blount Rustic Renaiss. i. 10 [This] is in itself a wonder-worthy paradox.
1602Shakes. Ham. v. i. 280 Like *wonder-wounded hearers.
1603in J. Davies Microcosmos Wks. (Grosart) I. 103/1 His *wonder-writing Hand.
b. advb., = ‘wonderfully’. (After G. wundergross, wunderschön, etc.; cf. wonder adv.) wonder-fine.
1872J. Payne Songs Life & Death 214 Oh, wonder-lovely maidens were the seven! 1903Westm. Gaz. 14 Feb. 2/1 Oh, how wonder-beautiful! 1904Ibid. 12 Feb. 2/3 Delicate wonder-white crystals. 1929R. Bridges Test. Beauty i. 29 Not to these look we with grateful pleasur or satisfaction of soul, wonder-fine tho' they be.
11. Special comb.: wonder-bag, a Negro amulet, = obeah 1; wonder-horn, (a) a cornucopia of marvels; (b) a magical horn; wonder-man, a wonder-worker; also in weakened sense, a man whose achievements are admired; † wonder-master, a magician; † wonder-maze v. intr. and trans., to be amazed, or to amaze, with wonder; wonder rabbi, in the Chasidic movement, a tsaddik; Wonder State U.S., a nickname for the state of Arkansas.
1793Wolcot (P. Pindar) Ep. the Pope Wks. 1812 III. 209 Quako..full of negro faith in conjuration, Loaded his jackass deep with *wonder-bags Of Monkeys' teeth, glass, horsehair, and red rags.
1864Lowell Fireside Trav. 178 Their world was a huge *wonder-horn. 1906Edin. Rev. Jan. 231 Was it that the wonder-horn was still echoing from the far-off, summoning the man..to the soul-roads?
1883Stallybrass tr. Grimm's Teut. Mythol. III. 1232 He was the greatest magician or *wonder-man of them all. 1901Daily News 9 Feb. 6/1 Cornelius Drebbel, ‘the wonder-man of Alkmaar’. 1933Amer. Speech VIII. iii. 39/2 Wonderman. Foreign fighters are often thus described [by sports writers]. 1935Wodehouse Luck of Bodkins xv. 173 They get the idea that they are sort of wonder-men who can just look around and find talent where nobody else would suspect it. 1961Catholic Herald 23 June 3/1 (heading) De Gaulle, hero and wonderman. 1962A. Sampson Anat. of Britain xxvii. 450 In Whitehall he had the reputation of a wonderman, and had even been tipped by some as an eventual head of the Treasury.
1603Harsnet Pop. Impost. 57 This foule *wonder-maister is too full of wonders euer to be good.
1603in J. Davies Microcosmos Wks. (Grosart) I. 7/2 Men did *wonder-maze, Which wonderment, this later worke of thine (Not by detracting from it) doth deface. a1618J. Davies Wit's Pilgr. ibid. II. 51/1 Hee taught..Rights Ruines to repaire..with Words, that wonder-mazed men.
1907I. Zangwill Ghetto Comedies 409 We Chassidim have no fear. Our *wonder-rabbi has power over all the spheres. 1970C. Kersh Aggravations of Minnie Ashe i. 11 [Her] father had been a wonder rabbi in some obscure Jewish village in Galicia—a worker of miracles.
1923Gen. Acts Arkansas 804 Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Arkansas... That hereafter Arkansas shall be known and styled ‘The *Wonder State’.
▪ II. † ˈwonder, a. Obs.
Forms: see prec.
[repr. OE. wundor wonder n. in compounds, as wundorcræft marvellous skill or power, wundordǽd miracle, wundortácen wondrous sign, miracle, prodigy (so OS. wundarquâla extreme torment, OHG. wuntarsiht ‘spectaculum’, MHG., G. wundertat miracle, ON. undrsjón spectacle, etc.; see also wonder thing); cf. the similar origin of main a., and see wonders a.]
Wonderful, wondrous, marvellous. on or in (a) wonder wise, wonderfully (cf. MLG. wunderwîs(e adv.). See also wonder thing, wonder-work.
a1175Cott. Hom. 235 He cweð a wunder word to þar sawle bi þa witie ysaiam. c1205Lay. 1147 Heo dude wnder craftes. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 6919 Þat folc com þikke amorwe to se þis wonder dede. Ibid. 8593 Þe sixte ȝer þer com also a wel wonder cas. c1350Will. Palerne 1873 So wonder a wilde best þat weldes no mynde. 13..E.E. Allit. P. A. 1095 So sodanly on a wonder wyse, I was war of a prosessyoun. c1374Chaucer Troylus i. 419 Allas what is þis wonder maladye. c1382Pol. Poems (Rolls) I. 250 This warnynges beoth wonder and feole. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. ii. 126 In wonderwyse holy wryt tellith how þei fullen. a1400Hymns Virg. (1895) 46 Wiyn of watir he makiþ blyue, And dooþ manye a wondir dede. c1425Engl. Conq. Irel. 130 About that tyme, befel a wonder aduentur yn a wodde of Myth. c1425Seven Sag. (P.) 2643 Thou schalt telle me of that cas; Hyt hys the wounderest that ever I herde. 1470–85Malory Arthur xvii. i. 689 He passed by a Castel where was a wonder turnement. a1529Skelton E. Rummyng 73 With clothes vpon her hed..Wrythen in wonder wyse, After the Sarasyns gyse. 1535Coverdale 2 Chron. xxxii. 24 And he prayed vnto the Lorde, which made him promes, and gaue him a wonder-token. c1590Greene Fr. Bacon iv. 58 And, wonder Vandermast, welcome to me.
▪ III. wonder, v.|ˈwʌndə(r)|
Forms: 1 wundrian, 3–4 wondri, 4–5 woundre, 4–6 wondre, wondir, (3 wundren, wundre, wndre, wundrie, wondry, Orm. wunndrenn, 4 wondur, 5 wondyr, wundur, wunderon, wonderyn), 5–6 wunder, wounder, -ir, 6–7 woonder, 4– wonder.
[OE. wundrian = OS. wundrôn, (M)Du. wonderen, OHG. wuntarôn (MHG., G. wundern), ON. undra (Sw. undra, Da. undre): f. wonder n.]
1. intr. To feel or be affected with wonder; to be struck with surprise or astonishment, to marvel. Also occas. to express wonder in speech.
a. in OE. const. genitive of the object of wonder, also with preps., now nearly always at, occas. over, formerly also on, upon, of.
c888ælfred Boeth. xxxiv. §10, Hwa mæᵹ þæt he ne wundrie swelcra ᵹesceafta ures scyppendes? 971Blickl. Hom. 33 Nis þæt to wundriᵹenne..þæt he acweald beon wolde. Ibid. 153 He ᵹehyrde heora þrowunga & he þa wundrode æfter þære ᵹesihþe. a1000Phœnix 331 Ðonne wundriað weras ofer eorþan wlite & wæstma. c1000Ags. Gosp. Mark vi. 2 Maneᵹe ᵹehyrdon & wundrodon on his lare. c1200Ormin 7633 Josæp..& Marȝe..wundredenn baþe off all þatt hemm wass cwiddedd tære off Criste. a1250Owl & Night 228 Þu fliȝst a niȝt and noȝt a-dai, Þar-of ich wndri. c1250Gen. & Ex. 3716 Ȝetenisse men ben in ebron, Quilc men mai ȝet wundren on. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 5353 In lepes & in coufles so moche viss hii ssolleþ hom bringe, Þat ech mon ssal wondry of so gret cacchinge. a1300Cursor M. 18774 Godmen o galilee, apon quat thing sa wonder yee? c1386Chaucer Sqr.'s T. 217 Somme of hem wondred on the Mirour..Hou men myghte in it swiche thynges se. c1430Syr Gener. (Roxb.) 7599 Mirabel wondred of hir woo, Whi hir ladie ferd soo. 1483Caxton Gold. Leg. 125 b/1 All the peple drewe to hym and wondred on hym. 1529More Dyaloge x. 16 b/2 We nothyng wonder at the ebbyng and flowyng of the see. 1590Shakes. Mids. N. iv. i. 136, I wonder of this being heere together. a1600Montgomerie Misc. Poems xxiv. 16 O, wareit be my weird, For wondring on a deitie divyne. 1667Milton P.L. ix. 856 Hast thou not wonderd, Adam, at my stay? 1753Richardson Grandison (1754) IV. 191, I wonder at you. 1780Cowper Progr. Err. 191 Rufillus..Wonders at Clodio's follies, in a tone As tragical, as others at his own. 1818J. W. Croker Jrnl. 7 Dec. in C. Papers (1884) I. iv. 123, I cannot but wonder at her living here and bearding the Prince in a way so indelicate. 1844Emerson Lect. New Eng. Ref. Wks. (Bohn) I. 273 The unwise..wonders at what is unusual, the wise man wonders at the usual. 1919B. Capes Skel. Key xvii. 213 His benevolent truthfulness was a thing to wonder over.
b. with clause expressing the motive or object of wonder.
c1000Ags. Gosp. Luke i. 21 Þæt folc wæs zachariam ᵹeanbidiende, & wundrodon þæt he on þam temple læt wæs. c1386,c1430[see a]. 1553Respublica 602 Nowe I doe lesse woonder that lost men, life to save, Ferre from lande dooe Laboure againste the roring wave. 1596Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 36 This causes men meruellouslie to wondir, that vndir that earth ar fund gret stokis..of wondirful akes and vthir tries. 1599Shakes. Much Ado i. i. 117, I wonder that you will still be talking, signior Benedicke, no body markes you. 1671Milton Samson 215, I oft have heard men wonder Why thou shouldst wed Philistian women rather Then of thine own Tribe fairer. 1676in 12th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 33, I wonder my father would not ease himselfe from his Haddon inquietudes by staying at Belvoire. 1708Swift Bickerstaff Detected 5 A Third Rogue tips me by the Elbow, and wonders how I have the Conscience to sneak abroad. 1846Greener Sci. Gunnery 133 We wonder the parties did not take a patent for the discovery. 1885‘Mrs. Alexander’ At Bay vii, I wonder he is not more confidential with you.
c. const. to with inf. (usually = at with gerund).
1604E. G[rimstone] tr. D'Acosta's Hist. Indies iii. xix. 183 When wee goe..to the Indies, wee woonder to see the land so pleasant, greene and fresh. 1711Addison Spect. No. 34 ⁋4 He wondered to hear a Man of his Sense talk after that Manner. 1798Ferriar Illustr. Sterne, etc. 222 We cannot wonder to find a joint occasionally added to this part. 1840Thackeray Pict. Rhapsody Concl., Wks. 1900 XIII. 354 The drawing is executed in a manner so loose and slovenly that one wonders to behold it.
d. in indirect passive (now only in to be wondered at as adj. or pred. phr.).
1532More Confut. Barnes viii. Wks. 741/2 He had so monstrouslye dressed himself because he would be wondred on. 1549Coverdale, etc. Erasm. Par. Rom. xii. 16–19 That to hymself..he seme a stoute felow and one to be wondered at. 1588Shakes. L.L.L. v. ii. 266 Are these the breed of wits so wondered at? a1701Maundrell Journ. Jerus. (1732) 28 Nor is this ignorance to be much wondred at. 1825Scott Talism. xi, It cannot be wondered at if he took such opportunities as offered.
e. Without construction. Now rare.
c1205Lay. 473 Ȝif heo wlleð frescipe bi-winnen ne wndre þou nawiht þer fore. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 11409 A sterre..þat comete icluped is Aros..Þat ech man miȝte wondri þat þe sterre isei. c1380Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. II. 306 Herfore þei alle abaishiden and woundriden. 1390Gower Conf. I. 185 Wherof thei merveile everychon, Bot Elda wondreth most of alle. 1533Frith Answ. More (1548) D vj b, They..vnderstoode not the Spirituall wordes of our Sauioure Christe, and therfore wondered and murmured. 1567Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.) 100 Quhen men sall se this haistie suddand change, Than sall thay wunder. 1611Shakes. Cymb. i. vi. 81, Whil'st I am bound to wonder, I am bound To pitty too.
f. pass. (obs.) and refl. (obs. or dial.) in the same sense. Also † impers. (me wondreth = I wonder).
a1225Ancr. R. 376 Ne wundrie heo hire nowiht, ȝif heo nis nout Marie. a1300Floriz & Bl. 354 Muche he wule þonki þe And of þe suþe iwundred beo. a1330Roland & V. 161 Me wondreþ..Þat þou comest nouȝt to do batayl. c1330R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 4295 Vs wondreþ at ȝowre nurture of pris, Þat swylke vilenie in þe now lys. c1400Destr. Troy 9821 Þof þow wylne to þe wer, wonders vs noght. a1400–50Wars Alex. 2856 Þai ware so woundird of þat werke. c1430Pilgr. Lyf Manhode i. iv. (1869) 3 Yit more j wundrede me of a thing that j seygh. 1533Tindale Supper of Lord B vj b, I wonder me, that hys scholemaister here fayled him so conynge as he maketh hym selfe therin.
g. I shouldn't wonder (colloq.): I should not be surprised (if, etc.).
1836Dickens Sk. Boz, Gt. Winglebury Duel, ‘Do you think you could manage to leave a letter there?’ interrogated Trott. ‘Shouldn't wonder,’ responded boots. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 19, I should not wonder if he who said this did not understand what he was saying. 1913E. Wharton Custom of County i. iii. 35 Saying..‘I wouldn't wonder’ when she thought any one was trying to astonish her.
2. Usually with clause: To ask oneself in wonderment; to feel some doubt or curiosity (how, whether, why, etc.); to be desirous to know or learn.
I wonder is often placed after a question which expresses the object of curiosity or doubt; e.g. ‘How can that be, I wonder?’ = I wonder how that can be. Also I wonder!, colloq. exclamation expressing doubt, incredulity, or reserve of judgement.
1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 160 Þe stones stondeþ þere so grete..& oþere liggeþ heie aboue..Þat eche man wondry may hou hii were ferst arered. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xix. 199, I wondred what þat was. 1390Gower Conf. I. 210 Thei wondren what sche wolde mene, And riden after softe pas. a1425tr. Arderne's Treat. Fistula etc. 6 Ȝif the pacient considere or wondre or aske why that he putte hym so long a tyme of curyng. 1590Shakes. Mids. N. iii. ii. 1, I wonder if Titania be awak't. 1611― Wint. T. iii. iii. 71 What haue we heere? Mercy on's, a Barne?.. A boy, or a Childe I wonder? 1651Hobbes Leviath. ii. xxvi. 139 A man may wonder from whence proceed such opinions. 1681Evelyn Let. to Pepys 6 Dec., P.'s Diary 1879 VI. 138, I know it has been wondered upon what pretence I should have sought to sit at the Navy Board. 1716Addison Freeholder No. 43 ⁋1 One would wonder how any Person endow'd with..ordinary..Prudence..should [etc.]. 1782Cowper John Gilpin 96 His horse..What thing upon his back had got Did wonder more and more. 1784― Task i. 469 The heart..finds no music in the song,..and wonders why. 1847Tennyson in Ld. Tennyson Mem. (1897) I. 244, I wonder whether you can read this scrawl. 1853Dickens Bleak Ho. iv, I still remained before the fire, wondering and wondering about Bleak House. 1858Punch XXXIV. 2 Well, I'm sure! What next, I wonder! 1864Mrs. H. Wood Ld. Oakburn's Dau. xvii, ‘But what is it all to me?’ wondered the captain. 1885–94R. Bridges Eros & Psyche Feb. v, Wondering of her wiles, and what the charge Shut in the dark obsidian pyx might be. 1898J. K. Jerome 2nd Thoughts of Idle Fellow 5 She wonders would they change it, if she went back. 1922Storer Clouston Lunatic at large again i. vi. 70 ‘Oh, it was entirely his own idea.’ Mr. Mason threw him a curious look. ‘I wonder!’ said he.
†3. trans. To regard with wonder; to marvel at: often implying profound admiration (cf. wonder n. 7 c). Obs.
1535Coverdale Ecclus. ix. 8 Many a man wonderinge the bewtye of a straunge woman, haue bene cast out. 1567Painter Pal. Pleas. II. 156 b, That which was more to be wondred in hym. 1593R. Barnes Parthenophil xxvi. in Arber's Garner V. 354 If She be silent, every man in place With silence, wonders her! 1631Heywood 2nd Pt. Fair Maid West i. C 2, Goodl. You wonder me. Mull. No, thou art dull, or fearfull, fare thee well. 1821Lamb Elia Ser. i. My first Play, I knew nothing, understood nothing, discriminated nothing. I felt all, loved all, wondered all.
b. impers. pass. it is to be wondered = it is to be wondered at (1 d). Now rare or Obs.
1654Earl of Monmouth tr. Bentivoglio's Wars Flanders 2 You shall see them so favour'd..as it is not to be wondred if they have made so long opposition. 1771Goldsm. Hist. Eng. I. 350 It is not then to be wondered, that there were many complaints. 1827Westm. Rev. Apr. 284 If it is wondered that they abused what was in their power. 1886Symonds Renaiss. It., Cath. Reaction ii. 434 It is not to be wondered that..a mournful discouragement should have descended on the age.
†4. To affect or strike with wonder; to cause to marvel, amaze, astound. (See also 1 f.) Obs.
1558G. Cavendish Poems (1825) II. 123 But how they durst presume it wonders me therefore. 1627W. Sclater Expos. 2 Thess. (1629) 187 It wonders me to hear the desperate inference. 1638― Serm. Experimentall 28 Of all passages in the story of Job, that one thing wonders me. 1788F. Burney Diary 25 Oct., She alarms me sometimes for herself, at other times she has a sedateness that wonders me still more.
5. intr. To perform wonders. nonce-use.
1784Cowper Task iv. 87 Katterfelto, with his hair on end At his own wonders, wond'ring for his bread.
▪ IV. ˈwonder, adv. Obs. or arch. (in later use Sc.).
Forms: see wonder n.
[Partly OE. wundor wonder n. in compounds, as wundorágræfen wonderfully carved (so in OFris. wundergrât wonderfully great, OHG. wunterwas very sharp, MHG. wunderschœne very beautiful); partly OE. wundrum, advb. dative pl. of wundor (cf. MHG. wundernalt very old, etc., and the similar use of gen. pl. of ON. undr in undradigr, -hár wondrously big, high, etc.).]
Wondrously, marvellously, surprisingly; exceedingly, very.
c1200Ormin 7284 Wunnderr mikell shame wass till Issraæle þede. c1205Lay. 1154 Þa wnder creftie men. Ibid. 1744 Þat feht wes wnder strong. 13..Cursor M. 4448 (Gött.) Þe king wid þaim was wonder wrath. c1369Chaucer Dethe Blaunche 452 (Fairf.) Than founde I sitte even vpryght A wonder wel farynge knyght. c1420Prose Life Alex. 46 This prynce was a wyghte man..& wonder trewe till Alexander. c1420Liber Cocorum 23 Wasshe hom and hew hom wondur smalle. 1536Cranmer Let. in Misc. Writ. (Parker Soc.) 322 Wherein I would wonder fain break my mind unto you. a1550Freiris Berwik 167 in Dunbar's Poems (S.T.S.) 290 With that scho smylit woundir lustely. 1596Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. ii. (S.T.S.) I. 169 Hadrian heiring this, was woundir discontent. 1725Ramsay Gentle Sheph. ii. iv, Now I believe ye like me wonder weel. |