Bewonder?

[lo2]

Hi there

I saw a press conference with the Danish Foreign Minister and the US Secretary of State, where the Danish Minister said:

"I have always been a great bewonder of American culture." (btw do you English speakers understand the meaning of it?)

Which of course in proper English is baloney. But then I heard that "bewonder" could be used as a verb meaning the same as "admire". So is that true? And would you understand if I used it?

For instance:
"I have always bewondered his footballing skills!"

 

[JohnParis]

Bewonder is not in my dictionary and just typing it here activates the spell-check.
Maybe back when the Vikings were sailing the seas, bewonder was a word in current use, but I have not heard it in my lifetime.

 

[TheParser]

NOT A TEACHER


(1) Dictionary.com says that "bewonder" is an obsolete verb meaning "to fill with

wonder" or "to wonder at."

(2) I went to the Google "books" section and found many older references, such as:

"It is a Thing to be bewonder'd at." -- The Pilgrim's Progress (1755), John Bunyan.

(When I was a child, many of us read that book.)

"I bewonder at thy impatience." -- All the Year Round (1878), Charles Dickens.

(3) While reading the examples, I noticed that the word appears in a foreign language

which I think (repeat: "think") is Dutch. If I am not mistaken, your extremely beautiful

and delightful country of Denmark is near the Netherlands.

(4) Thank you for teaching me a new word.

 

[Rover_KE]

Whilst bewonder is listed in some dictionaries (not all of which state that it is obsolete), it is only shown as a verb, never as a noun as it appears in post #1.

Rover

 

[BobK]

Even then, the|Danish Foreign Minister should have said 'I have always been a bewonderer...'

There are lots of be-<verb> verbs that are less archaic - such as 'behold' (less archaic, but still pretty mannered), 'beware'*, etc. Possibly these words have roots in Old Norse, and there are several faux amis of this kind in Danish.

b
PS *Dodgy example, I think, as the 'ware' bit looks Romance to me.

 

[lo2]

Whilst bewonder is listed in some dictionaries (not all of which state that it is obsolete), it is only shown as a verb, never as a noun as it appears in post #1.

Rover

That is also why I pointed to the fact that, the sentence where bewonder is used as a noun, is baloney...

But thanks a lot for the responses, as always you guys are just great, I truly bewonder you!