ABSTRACT
The Danish verb forundre is derived from undre, which has its roots in the Old Danish and Old Norse undra. It corresponds to the German wundern and the English “wonder.”1 Its lexical meaning in Danish is a feeling of adoration, awe, and veneration. According to the Ordbog over det danske Sprog, forundring may have a colloquial connotation of foolish stupefaction.2 Forundre may also be used as a synonym of the related verb beundre, which means admiration. Conversely, the Hongs note that Kierkegaard’s use of beundre may also connote wonder. They propose that “under the influence of the double meaning of the Latin admiratio, [Kierkegaard] perhaps conflated the two Danish terms, Beundring and Forundring, as synonymous.”3 The Danish noun Vidunder, derived from ved and undre, is the object of wonder. A secondary meaning is miracle, although the common term for miracle in Danish is Mirakel.4 English translations render this word in various ways, generally as wonder, but also as “marvel,”5 “miracle,”6 and even “prodigy.”7
