Tunder
/ˈθʌn.dər/noun
An obsolete or dialectal spelling and pronunciation of “thunder,” meaning the explosive sound accompanying lightning.
Did you know?The word belongs to the same ancient Germanic storm vocabulary associated with the thunder-god Thor, whose name is itself related to thunder.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*stenh₂-
“To resound, thunder, or make a loud booming noise.”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*þunraz
“Thunder; the booming sound of a storm, also associated with the thunder-god.”
Old English
Old English
þunor
“Thunder, the sound produced during a storm.”
Middle English
Middle English
thonder / tunder
“Thunder; variant spellings reflect changing pronunciation and orthography.”
16th–17th Century
English
tunder
“An obsolete or dialectal form of “thunder.””
Modern English
English
thunder
“The loud sound caused by the rapid expansion of air around lightning.”
Explore more surprising origins