Navigation
Home
Resources
Irregular verbs quizzes English conjugator English-French dictionary French dictionary English dictionary Monolingual dictionaries Scores by institution Free sample tests FAQ Pricing Tourism training Blog Videos
Login Sign up
Blog
Videos
Pricing
FR EN

wondrous

adj, adv — 2 senses

wondrous

adj

/ˈwʌndɹəs/

Etymology From Middle English wondrous, alteration after the suffix -ous of Middle English wonders (“wondrous, wonderful”, adjective), from Old English wundres (“of wonder”), genitive singular of wundor (“wonder, miracle”), from Proto-Germanic *wundrą (“wonder”). Compare Dutch wonder, German Wunder.

1

Wonderful; amazing, inspiring awe; marvelous.

  • We all stared open-mouthed at the wondrous sight.
  • I'll show thee the best springs; I'll pluck thee berries; / I'll fish for thee, and get thee wood enough. / A plague upon the tyrant that I serve! / I'll bear him no more sticks, but follow thee, / Thou wondrous man.1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii]:
1 more example
  • VVhen I ſurvey the vvondrous Croſs / VVhere the young Prince of Glory dy'd, / My richeſt Gain I count but Loſs, / And pour Contempt on all my Pride.1707, I[saac] Watts, “Crucifixion to the World by the Cross of Christ; Gal[atians] 6. 14. [When I Survey the Wondrous Cross]”, in Hymns and Spiritual Songs. […], London: […] J. Humfreys, for John Lawrence, […], →OCLC, book III (Prepared for the Holy Ordinance of the Lord’s Supper), stanza 1, page 189:
Derived terms
wondrously

wondrous

adv

Etymology From Middle English wondrous, alteration after the suffix -ous of Middle English wonders (“wondrous, wonderful”, adjective), from Old English wundres (“of wonder”), genitive singular of wundor (“wonder, miracle”), from Proto-Germanic *wundrą (“wonder”). Compare Dutch wonder, German Wunder.

1

In a wonderful degree; remarkably; wondrously.

  • And looking vp, when as his shield he lakt, / And sword saw not, he wexed wondrous woe1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto VIII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 53:
  • […]And even there, his eye being big with tears, / Turning his face, he put his hand behind him, / And with affection wondrous sensible / He [Antonio] wrung Bassanio's hand; and so they parted.c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene viii]:
1 more example
  • As by the dead we love to sit, / Become so wondrous dear, / As for the lost we grapple, / Though all the rest are here,—a. 1887 (date written), Emily Dickinson, “As by the dead we love to sit”, in Mabel Loomis Todd and T[homas] W[entworth] Higginson, editors, Poems, Second Series, Boston, Mass.: Roberts Brothers, published 1891, page 193:

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.