yonder

English

WOTD – 2 December 2006

Etymology

From Middle English yonder, yondre, ȝondre, ȝendre, from Old English ġeonre (“thither; yonder”, adverb), equivalent to yond (from Old English ġeond, from Proto-Germanic *jend-, *jand-) + -er, as in hither, thither. Cognate with Scots ȝondir (“yonder”), Dutch ginder (“over there; yonder”), Gothic 𐌾𐌰𐌹𐌽𐌳𐍂𐌴 (jaindrē, “thither”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈjɒndə(ɹ)/
• (US) IPA: /ˈjɑndə(ɹ)/

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒndə(ɹ)

Adverb

yonder (not comparable)

1. (archaic or dialectal) At or in a distant but indicated place.
   • 1602, William Shakespeare, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Act II, Scene i, l. 149:

     See who yonder is.

   • 1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, OCLC 639762314, page 0124:

     "A fine man, that Dunwody, yonder," commented the young captain, as they parted, and as he turned to his prisoner. "We'll see him on in Washington some day. He is strengthening his forces now against Mr. Benton out there."

   Whose doublewide is that over yonder?

2. (archaic or dialectal) Synonym of thither: to a distant but indicated place.
   • 1535, Bible (Coverdale), Genesis, 22:

     As for me and the childe, we wyl go yonder.

   They headed on over yonder.

Synonyms

• (all senses): there, over there, away there

Derived terms

• here and yonder, hither and yonder

Translations

in a distant, indicated place

• Albanian: atje (sq)
• Arabic: هُنَاك‎ (hunāk), هُنَالِك‎ (hunālik)
• Breton: hont (br), ahont (br)
• Catalan: allà (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: （在）那邊 (zh), （在）那边 (zh) ((zài) nàbiān)

• Cornish: hons, enos, en-hons
• Czech: tam (cs)
• Dutch: ginder (nl)
• Finnish: tuolla (fi)
• French: là-bas (fr)
• Georgian: იქით (ikit)
• German: dort drüben, dort (de), drüben (de)
• Icelandic: þarna (is)
• Irish: ansiúd
• Italian: laggiù (it)
• Japanese: あそこに (ja) (asoko ni), 彼方 (ja) (kanata)

• Korean: 저편 (ko) (jeopyeon)
• Macedonian: онде (ónde), ондека (óndeka)
• Malay: sana, di sana
• Maori: korā
• Mongolian: энэ хавьд (ene havʹd)
• Portuguese: além (pt), acolá (pt)
• Russian: вон та́м (von tám), там (ru) (tam)
• Scottish Gaelic: an siud
• Serbo-Croatian: онде, onde (sh)
• Sicilian: ddassutta, ddocu sutta
• Spanish: de allá
• Turkish: orada (tr)
• Ukrainian: он (uk) (on), там (uk) (tam), отам (otam), онде (onde); тамо (tamo), оно (ono) (colloquial)
• Welsh: acw, draw
• West Frisian: jinder

Adjective

yonder (comparative more yonder, superlative most yonder)

1. (archaic or dialectal, with "the") The farther, the more distant of two choices.

Synonyms

• see farther

Determiner

yonder

1. (archaic or dialectal, as an adj.) Who or which is over yonder, usually distant but within sight.
   • 1599, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Romeo and Iuliet (First Folio), Act II, Scene ii:

     But ſoft, what light through yonder window breaks?
     It is the Eaſt, and Iuliet is the Sunne...

   • 1826, Mary Shelley, The Last Man, Pt. II, ch. 2:

     Fire, the Sword, and Plagueǃ They may all be found in the yonder city; on my head alone may they fallǃ

   • 2006, Cécile Corbel (lyrics and music), “Siúil a Ruin”, in Songbook 1‎^[1], Brittany: Keltia Musique, performed by Cécile Corbel:

     I wish I were on yonder hill
     and there I’d sit and I’d cry my fill,
     and ev’ry tear would turn a mill,
     And a blessing walk with you, my love

   Yonder lass, who be she?

2. (archaic or dialectal, as a pron.) One who or which is over yonder, usually distant but within sight.

   The yonder is Queen Niobe.

Synonyms

• (distant but within sight): yon

Derived terms

• yonderly, yondermair, yondermost, that yonder, this yonder

Translations

distant but within sight

• Albanian: atje (sq)
• Breton: hont (br)
• Catalan: aquell (ca) m, aquella (ca) f
• Cornish: enos
• Finnish: tuo (fi)
• French: là-bas (fr)
• Japanese: あの (ja) (ano)

• Korean: 그 (ko) (keu), 그것 (ko) (keu-geot)
• Macedonian: онде (ónde), ондека (óndeka), оној (onoj)
• Portuguese: aquele (pt) m, aquela (pt) f, aquilo (pt) n
• Russian: вон то́т m (von tót), вон та́ f (von tá), вон то́ n (von tó), вон те́ pl (von té)
• Spanish: aquel (es) m, aquella (es) f
• Turkish: oradaki
• Welsh: acw

Noun

yonder (plural yonders)

1. (literary) The vast distance, particularly the sky or trackless forest.
   • 1939, Robert MacArthur Crawford‎, "Army Air Corps:"

     Off we go in to the wild blue yonder,
     Climbing high into the sun...

Derived terms

• yonderward, yonderway

Translations

the vast distance

• Finnish: tuo (fi)
• German: dort drüben

• Japanese: あれ (ja) (are)
• Russian: далёко (ru) (daljóko)

See also

• yon
• beyond

Anagrams

• Dorney, Rodney, droney

References

• “yonder, adv., adj., pron., & n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1921.