wonder (English)

Where does "wonder" come from?

The English noun and verb 'wonder' trace back through Middle English 'wonder' and Old English 'wundor' and 'wundrian'[1], descending from Proto-Germanic forms like '*wundrą' and '*wundrōną'[1]. These ultimately derive from the Proto-Indo-European root '*wenh₁-', meaning 'to desire, wish for, strive after, win, love'[5], connecting 'wonder' etymologically with English 'wish'[1].

Open questions

The Proto-Germanic suffix *-ōną is analyzed as reflecting earlier forms including *-eh₂yéti or *-e-h₂yéti. [9]

Full etymology tree

wonder (English), 'A sense of awe, astonishment and curiosity, inspired by unexpected events, novel experiences and inexplicable circumstances, sometimes accompanied by surprise, shock or reverence.'
- inherited wonder (Middle English), 'marvel, wonder, strange or extraordinary thing or event'
  - inherited wundor (Old English), 'miracle, wonder, marvel'
    - inherited *wundr (Proto-West Germanic), 'marvel, wonder'
      - inherited *wundrą (Proto-Germanic), 'wonder, miracle'
        inherited *wn̥h₁-tro-m (Proto-Indo-European)
        derived *wenh₁- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to love'

Ancestors

*wenh₁- (Proto-Indo-European)
wonder (Middle English)
wundor (Old English)
*wundr (Proto-West Germanic)
*wundrą (Proto-Germanic)
wondren (Middle English)
wundrian (Old English)
*wundrōną (Proto-Germanic)

Cognates and doublets

wonder (Dutch)
wonderen (Dutch)
wish (English)
Wunder (German)
wundern (German)
undra (Icelandic)
undur (Icelandic)
under (Swedish)
undra (Swedish)

Descendants and derived words

1der (English)
1der (English)
90-day wonder (English)
armless wonder (English)
bird of wonder (English)
boy wonder (English)
chinless wonder (English)
girl wonder (English)
golden wonder killifish (English)
go wonder (English)
gutless wonder (English)
little wonder (English)

Related words

Sources

Updated October 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris