An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Wonne

by Friedrich Kluge

Wonne, f., ‘rapture, ecstasy, bliss,’ from MidHG. wunne (wünne), OHG. wunna (wunni), f., ‘joy, pleasure, the most beautiful and best’; corresponding to OSax. wunnia, ‘joy,’ AS. wynn. Goth. *wunni (gen. *wunnjôs) was probably a verbal abstract of Goth. wunan, ‘to rejoice,’ the root of which (Aryan wen, ‘to be pleased’) appears in wohnen. OHG. wunnea (MidHG. wünne), ‘pasture-land,’ has been considered as identical with Wonne; yet that word, like Goth. winja, ‘pasture, fodder,’ has its own early history. It has been preserved in Wonnemonat, ‘month of May,’ MidHG. wunnemânôt (winnemânôt), on. wunni-, winni-, mânôd, lit. ‘pasture month.’