How to Say “Thunder” in Old English

þunor
/ˈθu.nor/
Thunder in Old English is þunor.
þunor means the deep rumbling noise that follows lightning.
Meaning: deep, rumbling noise (noun)

How does it change in a sentence?

The genitive singular, of thunder, is þunres and the plural is þunras.

How do you pronounce it?

þunor is pronounced /ˈθu.nor/, in two syllables with the stress on the first. The letter þ sounds like th in thin.

When do people say it?

þunor shares its root with the name of the god Thor, also called Þunor in Old English. The modern name Thursday comes from the same god.

Did you know?

  • The Old English word þunor is a direct cousin of the Latin word tonō, which means 'to thunder' and is the ancestor of the modern English word 'tone'.
  • In Old English, the word þunor was used as a common noun for the sound of a storm and as a proper noun for a god without any change in spelling.

Examples in context

  • þunor and līeġetu
    Thunder and lightning
    þunor and līeġetu means thunder and lightning.
  • late 9th century, translation of Orosius’ History Against the Pagans
    Þæt wæs ǣrest þæt þunor tōslōg heora hīestan godes hūs Iufeses.
    That was before thunder destroyed the house of Jove, their highest god.
    þunor is the subject of the verb that destroyed the house.
  • Homilies of the Anglo-Saxon Church
    Þæt seofode wīte wæs, þæt swā miċel ðunor and hagol becōm on ðām lēodsċipe, þæt…ǣlċ trēow on ðām earde tōbǣrst.
    The seventh plague was that there was such great thunder and hail in that country, that…every tree in the land split in two.
    ðunor is the same word spelled with ð, a letter used interchangeably with þ.

Example conversation

Two people are outside during a summer storm.

  1. Eadric

    Hīerest þū þone þunor?
    Do you hear the thunder?
  2. Æthelflæd

    Ġē, Eadric, hit is swīðe hlūd.
    Yes, Eadric, it is very loud.
  3. Eadric

    Se þunor cumeð nēah.
    The thunder is coming near.
  4. Æthelflæd

    Gō lēta us gān hām, Æthelflæd.
    Let us go home, Æthelflæd.

Sources

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Cynthia Leah
Cynthia LeahHelp make this guide better. Spot a mistake, know another way to say it, or have an example from real life? Share it below.
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