wundrian
Old English
Alternative forms
- ƿundrian — wynn spelling
Etymology
From Anglo-Frisian *wundrōjąn, from West Germanic *wundrōn, from Proto-Germanic *wundrōną, derived from *wundrą (“miracle”) (Old English wundor). Cognate with Old High German wuntarōn (German wundern), Old Norse undra (Swedish undra, Icelandic undra).
Pronunciation
Verb
wundrian
- to be amazed or astonished, to marvel
- Þā lǣċas wundrodon þæt hēo mid swā lȳtlum mete libban meahte.
- The doctors were amazed that she could live with so little food.
- c. 990, Wessex Gospels, Luke 8:56
- Hiere māgas wundrodon.
- Her parents were amazed.
- c. 900, the Old English Orosius
- Þæt is tō wundriġenne þæt þā Ēgypte swā lȳtle þancunge wiston Iōsēpe þæs þe hē hīe æt hungre āhredde.
- It's amazing that the Egyptians felt so little gratitude to Joseph for saving them from famine.
- to be surprised
- Þæs iċ ne wundriġe.
- That doesn't surprise me. (Literally: "I am not surprised at that.")
- Ne wundra þū ġif mīn ġeþeaht wyrcþ!
- Don't be surprised if my plan works!
- 10th century, the Blickling Homilies, "The First Sunday in Lent"
- Nis þæt tō wundriġenne þæt hē ācweald bēon wolde.
- It is not surprising that he would have been killed.
- to wonder
- Hē wundrode hwȳ his frēond wǣre swā læt.
- He wondered why his friend was so late.
- Iċ wundrode hū ǣniġ wīf ǣfre mihte hine lufian.
- I wondered how any woman could have ever loved him.
- late 10th century, Ælfric, "The First Sunday in Lent"
- Nū wundraþ ġehwā hū se Dēofol dyrste ġenēalǣċan tō þām Hǣlende þæt hē hine costnode.
- Now everyone will wonder how the Devil dared approach Jesus to tempt him.
- c. 900, The Consolation of Philosophy
- Iċ wundriġe hwȳ þū ne mæġe onġietan þæt þū eart nū ġīet swīðe ġesǣliġ.
- I wonder why you can't understand that you're still very lucky.
- late 10th century, Ælfric, "Saint Maur, Abbot"
- Hē ārās þā ġesund, swelċe of slǣpe āwreaht, and begann tō wundriġenne hū hē wurde þider ġebrōht.
- Then he got up safe and sound, as if woken from a nap, and began to wonder how he got there.
Usage notes
- Wundrian most often takes an object in the genitive: Hwā ne wundraþ fulles mōnan? ("Who doesn't marvel at a full moon?"), Iċ wundriġe þīn ("I wonder about you"). However, the object is occasionally accusative: Iċ wundrode þā wynsumnesse and fæġernesse þæs landes ("I was amazed by the loveliness and beauty of the land").
- It was also frequently used with various prepositions to express the same meaning: Hē wundrode æfter þǣre ġesihte ("He marveled at the sight"), Þā meniġu wundrodon be his lāre ("The crowds were astonished at his teaching"), Hīe wundrodon on his lāre ("They were astonished at his teaching"), Þā apostolas wǣron swīðe wundriġende fram him ("The apostles were very astonished at him").
- In sense 3 ("to wonder"), verbs following wundrian were normally subjunctive: Iċ wundriġe for hwȳ God lǣte ǣniġ yfel bēon ("I wonder why God lets any evil exist").
Conjugation
Conjugation of wundrian (weak class 2)
infinitive | wundrian | wundrienne |
---|---|---|
indicative mood | present tense | past tense |
first person singular | wundriġe | wundrode |
second person singular | wundrast | wundrodest |
third person singular | wundraþ | wundrode |
plural | wundriaþ | wundrodon |
subjunctive | present tense | past tense |
singular | wundriġe | wundrode |
plural | wundriġen | wundroden |
imperative | ||
singular | wundra | |
plural | wundriaþ | |
participle | present | past |
wundriende | (ġe)wundrod |