An archaic or obsolete form of 'astound' or 'astonish,' meaning to shock or surprise greatly.
Variant of 'astond,' used in Middle and Early Modern English. Likely a back-formation or variant of the earlier 'astoned,' combining 'a-' (prefix) with 'stone' or related Old Norse elements.
Medieval writers couldn't decide how to spell this word, so they tried 'astone,' 'astond,' and 'astoned'—which tells us that even Shakespeare's contemporaries thought English spelling was a free-for-all.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.