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 marvelous 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. Nine days’ wonder, and allusive uses: see NINE a. 3 a and 4 b.
Beowulf, 840. Ferdon folctoʓan … ʓeond widweʓas wundor sceawian, laþes lastas.
c. 700. Cædmon, Hymn, 3. Sue he uundra ʓihuaes … or astelidæ.
a. 1000. Sal. & Sat., 281. Ac hwæt is ðæt wundor ðe ʓeond ðas worold færeð, styrnenga gæð?
c. 1205. Lay., 21738. Þa … gunnen to fleonnen … into þan watere, þer wunderes beoð inoȝe.
1297. R. 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.
1387. Trevisa, Higden (Rolls), I. 43. For þey schulde … write and certifie þe senatoures where and what wondres were i-founde.
1591. Shaks., Two Gent., I. i. 6. I rather would entreat thy company, To see the wonders of the world abroad. Ibid. (1592), Rom. & Jul., III. iii. 36. Carrion Flies … may seaze On the white wonder of deare Iuliets hand.
1616. R. 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 sb.1 3].
1712–4. Pope, Rape Lock, I. 142. The fair … Repairs her smiles,… And calls forth all the wonders of her face.
1774. Goldsm., Nat. Hist. (1776), I. 267. All the wonders of the Mediterranean sea are described in much higher colours than they merit.
1878. Browning, La Saisiaz, 71. We must have our journey marge Ample for the wayside wonders.
b. Marvelous character or quality; wonderfulness; marvels collectively. (Cf. MARVEL sb. 2 c.)
c. 1220. Bestiary, 266. Ȝet is wunder of ðis wirm [sc. the ant] More ðanne man weneð.
1605. Shaks., Macb., I. v. 6. Whiles I stood rapt in the wonder of it, came Missiues from the King. Ibid. (1610), Temp., V. i. 181. Mir. O wonder! How many goodly creatures are there heere? Ibid. (1613), Hen. VIII., V. v. 41. As when The Bird of Wonder dyes, the Mayden Phoenix, Her Ashes new create another Heyre.
1667. Milton, P. L., VII. 70. Great things, and full of wonder in our eares.
1738. Gray, Tasso, 35. Great things and full of wonder in your ears I shall unfold.
1801. ‘Monk’ Lewis (title), Tales of Wonder.
1842. Tennyson, Locksley Hall, 16. When I dipt into the future … Saw the Vision of the world, and all the wonder that would be.
1872. Black, 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).
1591. Shaks., 1 Hen. VI., IV. vii. 48. Hack their bones assunder, Whose life was Englands glory, Gallia’s wonder.
1597. Hooker, Eccl. Pol., V. xi. § 1. The bewtie whereof … was such, that euen this was … the wonder of the whole world.
1607. Ld. Coke’s Sp. & Charge, F. This Sea-Inuyrond-Iland, the beauty, and wonder of the world.
1639. Mayne, City Match, I. iv. She’s the wonder of the Court, And talke oth’ Towne.
1671. Milton, P. R., III. 280. Babylon the wonder of all tongues.
1706. Phillips (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.
1733. Pope, Ep. Cobham, 180. Wharton, the scorn and wonder of our days.
1831. E. 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 marvelous specimen or example (of something); in Sc. used contemptuously.
1721. Bradley, Philos. Acc. Wks. Nat., 182. In this Wonder of a Garden there is neither Grass-work nor Gravel.
1786. Burns, Twa Dogs, 65. Our Whipper-in, wee blastit wonner, Poor worthless elf.
1855. Kingsley, Westw. Ho! xxiii. But surely she was a very wonder of beauty!
1898. B. Torrey, in Atlantic Monthly, LXXXII. 499/2. It was a wonder of beauty, with nothing in the least to mar its perfection,—the fairest piece of earth my eye ever rested upon.
e. U.S. A kind of cake; = CRULLER.
1848. Drake, Pioneer Life in Kentucky (1870), 97. Other dainties awaited us as the result of killing hogs. They were ‘dough-nuts’ and ‘wonders.’
1859. Mrs. Stowe, Minister’s Wooing, iv. 34. A plate of crullers or wonders, as a sort of sweet fried cake was commonly called.
2. A deed performed or an event brought about by miraculous or supernatural power; a miracle. To do or work wonders, to perform miracles. arch.
c. 950. Lindisf. Gosp., John ii. 11. Ðis uorhte frumma ðara uundra se hælend in ðær byriʓ.
971. Blickl. Hom., 15. Eal þæt folc þe þis wundor ʓeseah, his noman myccledon.
c. 1200. Ormin, 9499. Crist … wrohhte wunndre miccle ma þann icc ȝuw maȝȝ nu tellenn.
c. 1275. Passion our Lord, 60, in O. E. Misc., 39. Hi seyden … Alle his wndres þat he doþ is þurch þene vend.
1387. Trevisa, Higden (Rolls), III. 125. By wycchecraft he schal wirche wondres.
c. 1400. Maundev. (Roxb.), xi. 43. With þat ilke ȝerde Moyses … didd many wonders.
c. 1450. Holland, Howlat, 785. He couth werk wounderis quhat way that he wald.
1526. Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W., 1531), 3. For they se hym in his great myracles & wonders.
1562. Winȝet, Cert. Tractatis, ii. Wks. (S.T.S.), I. 17. He send His Apostolis and seuinty-twa Discipulis … geuand thaim also power to wyrk wounderis.
1591. Shaks., 1 Hen. VI., V. iv. 48. You iudge it straight a thing impossible To compasse Wonders, but by helpe of diuels.
1662. Stillingfl., Orig. Sacræ, II. iii. § 6. That doctrine which was confirmed by undoubted miracles, hath assured us of the coming of lying wonders.
1781. Cowper, Expost., 155. They saw distemper heal’d, and life restor’d,… Confess’d the wonder.
1846. Trench, 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.
1297. R. 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.
1340. Hampole, Pr. Consc., 4004. For wonders þat shuld falle, als I trow, Agayn þe worldes hende er sene now.
c. 1400. Destr. Troy, 11827. When he wist of thies wondres, thies wordes he said: ‘Yonder towne wilbe takon in a tyme short.’
1513. Douglas, Æneis, VIII. viii. 36. We haue bot sobir pissance, and no wonder, To help in battale.
1560. Daus, trans. Sleidane’s Comm., 422. He rekened vp the wonders that went before his death.
1596. Dalrymple, trans. Leslie’s Hist. Scot. (S.T.S.), I. 13. Mony sygnes be God war schawne and wonndiris.
1655. Stanley, Hist. Philos., II. iii. (1687), 66/1. Of the Wonder [sc. a meteor] Aristotle gives a very slight account.
1681. Dryden, Abs. & Achit., I. 320. My Father Governs with unquestion’d Right;… And Heav’n by Wonders has espous’d his Cause.
3. A marvelous act or achievement. To work, do, or perform wonders: to do marvelous acts or bring about marvelous results; hence gen. to do surprising things.
c. 1220. Bestiary, 398. Listneð nu a wunder, Ðat tis der [sc. the fox] doð for hunger.
1390. Gower, 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.
1471. Caxton, Recuyell (Sommer), 378. In this bataill hercules dide wondres & meruailles.
1591. Shaks., 1 Hen. VI., I. i. 122. Where valiant Talbot … Enacted wonders with his Sword and Lance.
1660. F. Brooke, trans. Le Blanc’s Trav., 295. Don Sebastian did wonders in his own person, but overpowred with number, he [etc.].
1727. E. Laurence, Duty of Steward, 207. Lay on Twenty Loads of Chalk alone upon an Acre, and it will perform wonders.
1731. in 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.
1784. Cowper, Tiroc., 23. For her the fancy, roving unconfin’d,… Works magic wonders. Ibid. (1784), Task, IV. 87. Katterfelto, with his hair on end At his own wonders.
1827. Disraeli, Viv. Grey, V. vi. Inspired by your Ladyship’s approbation, my steward has really done wonders.
1834. L. Ritchie, Wand. by Seine, 192. Habit effects wonders.
4. gen. An astonishing occurrence, event or fact; a surprising incident; a wonderful thing.
To hear, read, speak, talk wonders, to hear, etc., surprising accounts.
1297. R. Glouc. (Rolls), 319. A temple hii vovnde vair inou & a maumet amidde Þat ofte tolde wonder gret & ȝwat men bitidde.
1390. Gower, Conf., II. 67. Who that wolde ensample take … Of many a wondre hiere he mihte.
1398. Trevisa, Barth. De P. R., XVI. xlviii. (1495), L iij b/1. Gete … is kyndled in water and quenchid in oyle: and that is wonder.
a. 1425. Cursor M., 11 (Trin.). Man ȝernen … romaunce rede … Of kyng Arthour … Of wondris þat his knyȝtes felle.
1553. T. 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.
1598. Shaks., Merry W., V. i. 13. Bee you in the Parke about midnight, at Hernes-Oake, and you shall see wonders.
1604. E. G[rimstone], trans. D’Acosta’s Hist. Indies, III. xvi. 171. Some of these Lakes be very hote, which is another wonder.
1611. Beaum. & Fl., Philaster, II. i. The love of boyes unto their Lords is strange, I have read wonders of it.
1686. trans. Chardin’s Trav. Persia, 136. They talk Wonders of her Beauty.
1784. Cowper, Task, IV. 563. The chilling tale Of midnight murder was a wonder … told to frighten babes.
1823. Scott, Quentin D., xix. Why should you make a wonder of my wearing the badge of my company?
1890. Hartland, 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 sb. 4. Obs.
1435. Misyn, 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.
1154. O. 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.
c. 1200. Vices & Virtues, 15. Ic ne mai rimen … alle ðo sennes,… ne alle ðo wundren ðe ich, wrecche senfulle, habbe idon.
a. 1225. Ancr. R., 72. Moni mon weneð to don wel þat he deð alto cweade [MS. C. wunder].
c. 1250. Gen. & Ex., 69. Pride made angel deuel dwale, Ðat made … euerilc wunder, and euerilc wo. Ibid., 3588.
c. 1300. K. Horn, 1440 (Cott.). Frykenild me haþ gon vnder Ant do rymenild sum wonder.
† b. Destruction, disaster. Obs.
c. 1205. Lay., 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.
1303. R. Brunne, Handl. Synne, 5262. Yn þe put … He sagh so moche sorowe and wundyr, Of fendes fele þat þere wore.
c. 1430[?]. Syr Tryam., 190 (Percy Fo.). Of this … I haue great wonder; for sorrow my hart will breake assunder.
a. 1600. Northumberland 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.
c. 1000. Ælfric, Saints’ Lives, xxiii. 654. Ealle men hine fram stowe to stowe brudon and to wundre tawedon.
c. 1230. Hali Meid. (1922), 23. Leccherie scið ‘schome þe menske of þi meidenhad,’ & tukeð hire to wundre [v.r. al to wundre].
a. 1300. Cursor 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], marvelously, wonderfully, marvelously well. Obs. or arch.
1661. Glanvill, Van. Dogm., 175. The unparallel’d Des-Cartes hath unridled their dark Physiology, and to wonder solv’d their Motions.
1698. Crowne, Caligula, IV. Y’are to a wonder fair.
a. 1700. Evelyn, Diary, 27 Jan. 1658. Sentences in Latin and Greeke, which on occasion he would produce even to wonder.
1751. Female Foundling, II. 11. He is better to a Wonder.
1792. Cowper, Lett. to Carwardine, 11 June. His motives were not, nor could be, of the amorous kind, for she was ugly to a wonder.
1828. Lytton, Pelham, xxxi. I have flattered him to a wonder!
1843. Thackeray, Mr. & Mrs. Berry, ii. He ties his white neckcloth to a wonder.
† c. To think [THINK v.1] wonder (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 [THINK v.2] it wonder, to be amazed at it. Obs.
971. Blickl. Hom., 33. Þonne ne þineþ us þæt nan wundor.
c. 1000. Ælfric, Hom., II. 484. Wundor me ðincð eower ðingræden.
c. 1200. Ormin, 218. All þe follc … þuhhte mikell wunnderr forrwhi þe preost swa lannge wass … att Godess allterr.
a. 1225. Ancr. R., 8. Ȝif him þuncheð wunder & selkuð of swuch onswere.
c. 1340. Richard Rolle of Hampole, Prick of Conscience, 1786. Of þe dede here men may thynk wonder, For alle thyng it brestes in sonder.
1362. Langl., P. Pl., A. III. 176. Whi þou wraþþest þe now wonder me þinkeþ.
a. 1586. Montgomerie, 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, little, 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.
a. 900. Cynewulf, Crist, 1016. Forþon nis æniʓ wundor hu him woruldmonna seo unclæne ʓecynd cearum sorʓende hearde ondrede.
c. 1175. Lamb. Hom., 23. Hit nis nan wunder þah mon suneȝie oðer hwile unwaldes, ah hit is muchele mare wunder ȝif he nule nefre swiken.
c. 1200. Ormin, 9327. & tatt nass wunnderr þwerrt ut nan þatt he wass wis o lare.
1297. R. 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.
c. 1320. Sir Tristr., 2215. Sore him greued his vene, As it no wonder nes.
1362. Langl., P. Pl., A. V. 102. Ȝif schrift schulde hit þenne swopen out, a gret wonder hit were.
1390. Gower, Conf., III. 382. Though god his grace caste aweie No wondir is.
a. 1400–50. Wars Alex., 811. Þare slike wirschip he wan ware wonder to tell.
c. 1400. Brut, I. 1. Þere þey lyved in ioy and merthe y-now, that it was wonder to wete.
c. 1520. Skelton, Magnyf., 85. And it is wonder that your wylde Insolence Can be content with Measure presence.
c. 1540. trans. 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.
c. 1560. A. Scott, Poems (S.T.S.), ii. 167. For he affeird, it wes na winder, His cursour suld him cast.
1579. W. Fulke, Heskins’ Parl., 168. It was a woonder, howe the corporall nature passed through the impenetrable body.
1596. Shaks., Tam. Shr., III. ii. 193. I must away to day before night come, Make it no wonder.
1600. E. Blount, trans. Conestaggio, 268. It was therefore no woonder, if without the kings consent … he attempted many things.
1651. Hobbes, Leviath., III. xxxv. 279. It were a wonder there is no greater notice taken of it.
1673. Vinegar & Mustard (1873), 19. That’s a wonder you have none of your trollops with you.
1706. E. Ward, Wooden World Diss. (1708), 100. If he has a Reversion clear of Incumbrances, it’s a Wonder.
1741. Warburton, Div. Legat., VI. vi. II. 639. It is no Wonder his Arguments should look asquint.
1749. Fielding, Tom Jones, III. iv. ‘No Man is wise at all Hours’; it is therefore no Wonder that a Boy is not so.
1860. Thackeray, 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.
1390. Gower, Conf., I. 100. No wonder thogh he siketh ofte.
a. 1400. Pistill of Susan, 201. And heo wepte for wo, no wonder, I wene.
c. 1400. T. Chestre, Launfal, 204. No wonther dough me smerte.
c. 1440. Promp. Parv., 360/1. Nowundyr, (P. nowonder), nimirum.
1513. Douglas, Æneis, III. viii. 103. Na wondir, this is the selcouth Caribdis.
1611. Shaks., Cymb., III. vi. 11. Will poore Folkes lye…? Yes; no wonder, When Rich ones scarse tell true.
1667. Milton, P. L., III. 606. What wonder then if fields and regions here Breathe forth Elixir pure.
1795–6. Wordsw., Borderers, II. 812. Her. I was alarmed. Mar. No wonder; this is a place That well may put some fears into your heart.
1853. Dickens, Bleak Ho., iv. Pa’s miserable, and no wonder!
1862. H. Kingsley, Ravenshoe, xviii. She has given her honest little heart away—and what wonder!
1891. Farrar, Darkn. & Dawn, xxxix. No wonder Nero loves her better than that pale snd lady who sits among the six Vestals.
1913. H. L. Jackson, Eschatol. Jesus, 5–6. If ‘the great authorities differ’ small wonder that weaker minds are in doubt.
f. The wonder is..., what is surprising is….
1605. Shaks., Lear, V. iii. 316. Edg. He is gon indeed. Kent. The wonder is, he hath endur’d so long.
1842. Dickens, Amer. Notes, xi. The wonder is, not that there should be so many fatal accidents, but that any journey should be safely made.
1856. Miss 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.
1856. Reade, Never too late, xxxvi. For a wonder he was not sea-sick.
1881. Saintsbury, 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.
1626. Massinger, Roman Actor, IV. ii. In the name of wonder, What’s Cæsar’s purpose?
1716. Addison, Freeholder, No. 9, ¶ 12. What in the name of wonder do you mean?
1862. Mrs. H. Wood, Mrs. Hallib., xxxv. How the wonder do you manage it?
1889. R. Bridges, Feast of Bacchus, III. 814. Who in the name of wonder are these queer foreigners?
II. 7. 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.
c. 1290. St. Dunstan, 8, in S. Eng. Leg., 19. Þat folk stod al in gret wonder.
1382. Wyclif, Luke v. 26. And greet wondir took alle men, and thei magnyfieden God.
c. 1450. Mirk’s Festial, 18. When Thomas had soo ydo, anon he criet for wondyr and for fere.
1561. T. Hoby, trans. 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.
1599. Shaks., Hen. V., II. iv. 135. You’le find a diff’rence, As we his Subiects haue in wonder found.
1611. Bible, Acts iii. 10. They were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened vnto him.
1659. Vulg. Err. Cens., 31. Galen was husht into a wonder by some anatomicall observations.
1667. Milton, P. L., III. 542. Satan … Looks down with wonder at the sudden view Of all this World at once.
a. 1700. Evelyn, Diary, 23 Nov. 1690. Lord Godolphin, now resuming the commission of the Treasury to the wonder of all his friends.
1738. Gray, Tasso, 25. Fix’d in wonder stood the warlike pair.
1770. Goldsm., Des. Vill., 215. And still they gazed, and still the wonder grew, That one small head could carry all he knew.
1814. Cary, Dante, Parad., XXXI. 31. The grim brood … Stood in mute wonder ’mid the works of Rome.
1848. Thackeray, Van. Fair, lxv. Max and Fritz were at the door listening with wonder to Mrs. Becky’s sobs and cries.
1870. Lowell, 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.
a. 1300. Cursor M., 17288 + 171. It was our lordez ordinans, for-þi no wonder has.
1375. Barbour, Bruce, III. 485. And quhen he hard sa blaw & cry, He had wondir quhat it mycht be.
c. 1375. Sc. Leg. Saints, x. (Mathou) 121. All þat harde hyme, ȝald or ȝynge, Had wondyre þat sik grace suld be In ony manne.
1470–85. Malory, Arthur, I. xiv. 55. Thenne syre Arthur dyd so merueillously in armes that all men had wondyr.
1500–20. Dunbar, Poems, lxxxi. 37. Thay saw that I nocht glaidder wax of cheir, And thairof had thai winder.
† c. Profound admiration. Obs.
a. 1586. Sidney, 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.
1588. Shaks., L. L. L., IV. ii. 117. All ignorant that soule, that sees thee without wonder. Ibid. (1605), Macb., I. iii. 92. His Wonders and his Prayses doe contend, which should be thine, or his.
1607. Bp. 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.
1853. Mrs. 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, -child (after G. wunderkind), -flower, -night, -sight (after G. wundergesicht), -treasure.
1838. Longf., in Life (1891), I. 293. The great wonder-flowers bloom but once in a lifetime; as marriage and death.
1845. J. C. Mangan, German Anthol., I. 185.
| But, lo! a wonder-sight!—Ere long | |
| Rose, blooming, from that verdant mound, | |
| The fairest lily ever seen. |
1866. Howells, 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. Ibid. (1890), Col. Reformer, xviii. A Pharos, a wonder-sign, an exemplar throughout all the civilised world.
1896. Catholic Mag., May, 258. Hermann Cohen, by reason of his marvellous piano-playing, was looked upon as a ‘wonder-child.’
b. = ‘of wonder or wonders,’ as wonder-book, -city, -literature, -story, -tale, -world (cf. G. wunderwelt).
1851. Hawthorne (title), A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys, (including ‘Tanglewood Tales’).
1851. H. Melville, Whale, i. 7. The great flood-gates of the wonder-world swung open.
1854. W. T. Burnett, in Zoologist, XII. 4487. They [Aphides or plant-lice] have been the theme of a kind of wonder-story in zoology and physiology.
1865. Tylor, Early Hist. Man., vi. 144. The native wonder-tales must only be told in the winter. Ibid. (1881), Anthropol., 380. It is known to be only a version of the … wonder-tale told by Herodotus.
1896. Casartelli, in Tablet, 15 Feb., 257/2. Aden … is the natural toll-house of that Asiatic wonder-world, the Indian Empire.
1896. J. Davidson, Fleet St. Ecl., Ser. II. 78. To wonder-worlds of old romance Our aching thoughts for solace run.
1905. T. Roosevelt, Outdoor Pastimes, xi. 339. To read and enjoy the wonder-book of nature.
1907. Westm. 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.
c. = ‘miraculous, magic, magical,’ as wonder-offspring, -staff (cf. G. wunderstab magic wand), -stroke.
1846. Trench, 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.
1907. N. & Q., 10th Ser. VIII. 208/2. The belief in such wonder-offspring was once as common in Europe.
10. Objective and obj. genitive, as wonder-bearing, -exciting, -hiding, -loving, -promising, -raising, -seeking, -stirring, -writing adjs.; † wonders-doing adj.; wonder-hider, -seeker; wonder-worth, -worthy adjs.; instrumental, as wonder-dumb, -fed, -smit, -stricken, -struck, † -strucken, -wounded adjs.; wonder-beaming, -striking, -teeming, -waiting adjs.; † wonder-rap [RAP v.3], -strike vbs.
1799. Campbell, Pleas. Hope, I. 130. Wilt thou, with him [sc. Newton],… watch the shrine with *wonder-beaming eye?
1552. Huloet, *Wonders doynge, mirificus.
1898. T. Hardy, Wessex Poems, 167. Shy birds stood Watching us, *wonder-dumb.
1855. Milman, Lat. Christ., XIV. ii. (1864), IX. 77. This *wonder-fed and wonder-seeking worship.
1831. Carlyle, Sart. Res., III. viii. The deceptions, and *wonder-hiding stupefactions, which Space practises on us.
1851. A. C. Smith, in Zoologist, IX. 3167. Given rise to more fabulous tales among the *wonder-loving and credulous Northmen.
1817. Coleridge, Biog. Lit., viii. (Bohn), 64. The *wonder-promising Matter, that was to perform all these marvels. Ibid. (1813), Remorse, Epil. 28. Saintly hermits’ *wonder-raising acts.
1612. J. Davies, Muses Sacrif., Wks. (Grosart), II. 27/2. O sight of force to *wonder-rap all Eyes!
1791. Cowper, Odyssey, VI. 199. *Wonder-rapt I gaze.
1599. T. M[oufet], Silkwormes, 53. Then list a while, you *wonder-seekers great.
1856. Froude, Hist. Eng., I. iv. 296. The phenomena known to modern wonder-seekers as those of somnambulism or clairvoyance.
1855. *Wonder-seeking [see wonder-fed].
1615. Sylvester, Job Triumph., III. 99. Therefore, before Him, am I *wonder-smit.
1799. Cupid & Psyche, 33. He’ll tell the *wonder-stirring tales.
1855. Singleton, Virgil, I. 51. At whose lay *wonder-stricken were the pards.
1856. Hawthorne, Engl. Note-bks. (1870), II. 65. The … mysterious plan which perplexes and *wonder-strikes me in most cathedrals.
1644. Vicars, God in Mount, 4. The memorable and *wonder-striking Parliamentarie-mercies.
1598. Sylvester, Du Bartas, II. ii. I. Noah, 597. Ashamed, *wonder-strook.
1638–56. Cowley, Davideis, IV. 855. If wonder-strook I at your words appear, My wonder yet is Innocent of Fear.
1796. Mme. D’Arblay, Camilla, II. xiii. [She] seemed wonder-struck, without knowing why.
1817. Malthus, Popul., II. 210. Great and astonishing as this difference is, we ought not to be so wonder-struck at it.
1628. Mure, Doomesday, 562. *Wonder-strucken wights.
1798. Southey, Blenheim, v. With *wonder-waiting eyes.
1864. Browning, Dram. Pers., Abt Vogler, 44. Had I painted the whole, Why, there it had stood, to see, nor the process so *wonder-worth.
1622. Middleton, Honour & Virtue, Wks. (Bullen), VII. 361. Which is not the least *wonder-worthy note.
1905. G. Blount, Rustic Renaiss., i. 10. That organized efforts to popularize handwork should be made in these days of triumphant mechanism is in itself a wonder-worthy paradox.
1602. Shaks., Ham., V. i. 230. Like *wonder-wounded hearers.
1603. in J. Davies, Microcosmos, Wks. (Grosart), I. 103/1. His *wonder-writing Hand.
b. advb., = ‘wonderfully.’ (After G. wundergross, wunderschön, etc.; cf. WONDER adv.)
1872. J. Payne, Songs Life & Death, 214. Oh, wonder-lovely maidens were the seven!
1903. Westm. Gaz., 14 Feb., 2/1. Oh, how wonder-beautiful! Ibid. (1904), 12 Feb., 2/3. Delicate wonder-white crystals.
II. 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; † wonder-master, a magician; † wonder-maze v. intr. and trans., to be amazed, or to amaze, with wonder.
1793. Wolcot (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.
1864. Lowell, Fireside Trav., 178. Their world was a huge *wonder-horn.
1906. Edin. Rev., Jan., 231. Was it that the wonder-horn was still echoing from the far-off, summoning the man … to the soul-roads?
1883. Stallybrass, trans. Grimm’s Teut. Mythol., III. 1232. He was the greatest magician or *wonder-man of them all.
1901. Daily News, 9 Feb., 6/1. Cornelius Drebbel, ‘the wonder-man of Alkmaar.’
1603. Harsnet, Pop. Impost., 57. This foule *wonder-maister is too full of wonders euer to be good.
1603. in 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.
a. 1618. J. Davies, Wit’s Pilgr., ibid. II. 51/1. Hee taught … Rights Ruines to repaire … with Words, that wonder-mazed men.
