Wonder \Won"der\, n. [OE. wonder, wunder, AS. wundor; akin to D.
wonder, OS. wundar, OHG. wuntar, G. wunder, Icel. undr, Sw. &
Dan. under, and perhaps to Gr. ? to gaze at.]
1. That emotion which is excited by novelty, or the
presentation to the sight or mind of something new,
unusual, strange, great, extraordinary, or not well
understood; surprise; astonishment; admiration; amazement.
They were filled with wonder and amazement at that
which had happened unto him. --Acts iii.
10.
Wonder is the effect of novelty upon ignorance.
--Johnson.
Note: Wonder expresses less than astonishment, and much less
than amazement. It differs from admiration, as now
used, in not being necessarily accompanied with love,
esteem, or approbation.
2. A cause of wonder; that which excites surprise; a strange
thing; a prodigy; a miracle. `` Babylon, the wonder of all
tongues.'' --Milton.
To try things oft, and never to give over, doth
wonders. --Bacon.
I am as a wonder unto many. --Ps. lxxi. 7.
Seven wonders of the world. See in the Dictionary of Noted
Names in Fiction.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) |