A rare or poetic verb meaning to fill with wonder or amazement, or to cause someone to be in a state of wonder.
From 'be-' (causative prefix) + 'wonder' (from Old English 'wundor,' related to Old Norse 'undr'). The construction 'be-' + emotion/state creates a verb meaning 'to cause that emotion.' Though archaic now, it follows the same pattern as common words like 'bewilder' and 'bedazzle.'
While 'bewonder' is obsolete, 'bewilder' and 'bedazzle' show the pattern survived—both use 'be-' to turn abstract concepts into verbs of transformation. We stopped using 'bewonder' because modern English preferred 'amaze' and 'astound,' but it reveals how we once could freely create emotional verbs just by prefixing 'be-' to any noun.
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