wundrian

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *wundrōn, from Proto-Germanic *wundrōną. Equivalent to wundor +‎ -ian.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈwun.dri.ɑn/

Verb

wundrian

to be amazed or astonished, to marvel
Þā lǣċas wundrodon þæt þū ġīet lifdest.
The doctors were amazed that you were still alive.
- c. 990, Wessex Gospels, Luke 8:56
  Hire māgas wundrodon.
  Her parents were amazed.
- late 9th century, translation of Orosius’ History Against the Pagans
  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's 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 meahte hine lufian.
I wondered how any woman could have ever loved him.
- c. 992, Ælfric, "The First Sunday in Lent"
  Nū wundraþ ġehwā hū sē Dēofol dyrste ġenēalǣċan tō þām Hǣlende þæt hē hine costnode.
  Now everyone will wonder how the Devil dared approach Jesus to tempt him.
- late 9th century, King Alfred's translation of Boethius' The Consolation of Philosophy
  Þȳ iċ wundriġe hwȳ þū ne mæġe onġietan þæt þū eart nū ġīet swīðe ġesǣliġ, nū þū ġīet leofast and eart hāl.
  So I wonder why you can't understand that you're still very lucky, since you're still alive and healthy.
- c. 996, Ælfric, "Saint Maur, Abbot"
  Hē ārās þā ġesund, swelċe of slǣpe āwreaht, and begann tō wundriġenne hū hē wurde þæder ġebrōht.
  Then he got up safe and sound, as if woken from sleep, 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 meniġa 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)

indicative mood	present tense	past tense
infinitive	wundrian	wundrienne
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

Related terms

wundor