Also interesting you can see the influences of Old English on German as well:

> Wyrd comes from the same root as the verb weorþan, pronounced roughly WEAR-than, which meant ‘to happen’ or ‘become’.

"werden" is literally "to become" in modern German. The connection to "wyrd" is a bit more tenuous, but "wird" does also mean "will (be)", so there might be some common root here.

We don't yet know surely the path by which we will meet our fates, but nevertheless we will meet them.

Regarding irregularity of the English language, there's the well-known urban poem:

  Dearest creature in creation,
  Study English pronunciation.
  I will teach you in my verse
  Sounds like corpse, corps, horse, and worse.
  I will keep you, Suzy, busy,
  Make your head with heat grow dizzy.
  Tear in eye, your dress will tear.
  So shall I! Oh hear my prayer.

  Just compare heart, beard, and heard,
  Dies and diet, lord and word,
  Sword and sward, retain and Britain.
  (Mind the latter, how it's written.)
  Now I surely will not plague you
  With such words as plaque and ague.
  But be careful how you speak:
  Say break and steak, but bleak and streak;
  Cloven, oven, how and low,
  Script, receipt, show, poem, and toe.

  Hear me say, devoid of trickery,
  Daughter, laughter, and Terpsichore,
  Typhoid, measles, topsails, aisles,
  Exiles, similes, and reviles;
  Scholar, vicar, and cigar,
  Solar, mica, war and far;
  One, anemone, Balmoral,
  Kitchen, lichen, laundry, laurel;
  Gertrude, German, wind and mind,
  Scene, Melpomene, mankind.

  Billet does not rhyme with ballet,
  Bouquet, wallet, mallet, chalet.
  Blood and flood are not like food,
  Nor is mould like should and would.
  Viscous, viscount, load and broad,
  Toward, to forward, to reward.
  And your pronunciation's OK
  When you correctly say croquet,
  Rounded, wounded, grieve and sieve,
  Friend and fiend, alive and live.

  Ivy, privy, famous; clamour
  And enamour rhymes with hammer.
  River, rival, tomb, bomb, comb,
  Doll and roll and some and home.
  Stranger does not rhyme with anger,
  Neither does devour with clangour.
  Souls but foul, haunt but aunt,
  Font, front, wont, want, grand, and grant,
  Shoes, goes, does. Now first say finger,
  And then singer, ginger, linger,
  Real, zeal, mauve, gauze, gouge and gauge,
  Marriage, foliage, mirage, and age.

  Query does not rhyme with very,
  Nor does fury sound like bury.
  Dost, lost, post and doth, cloth, loth.
  Job, nob, bosom, transom, oath.
  Though the differences seem little,
  We say actual but victual.
  Refer does not rhyme with deafer.
  Foeffer does, and zephyr, heifer.
  Mint, pint, senate and sedate;
  Dull, bull, and George ate late.
  Scenic, Arabic, Pacific,
  Science, conscience, scientific.

  Liberty, library, heave and heaven,
  Rachel, ache, moustache, eleven.
  We say hallowed, but allowed,
  People, leopard, towed, but vowed.
  Mark the differences, moreover,
  Between mover, cover, clover;
  Leeches, breeches, wise, precise,
  Chalice, but police and lice;
  Camel, constable, unstable,
  Principle, disciple, label.

  Petal, panel, and canal,
  Wait, surprise, plait, promise, pal.
  Worm and storm, chaise, chaos, chair,
  Senator, spectator, mayor.
  Tour, but our and succour, four.
  Gas, alas, and Arkansas.
  Sea, idea, Korea, area,
  Psalm, Maria, but malaria.
  Youth, south, southern, cleanse and clean.
  Doctrine, turpentine, marine.

  Compare alien with Italian,
  Dandelion and battalion.
  Sally with ally, yea, ye,
  Eye, I, ay, aye, whey, and key.
  Say aver, but ever, fever,
  Neither, leisure, skein, deceiver.
  Heron, granary, canary.
  Crevice and device and aerie.

  Face, but preface, not efface.
  Phlegm, phlegmatic, ass, glass, bass.
  Large, but target, gin, give, verging,
  Ought, out, joust and scour, scourging.
  Ear, but earn and wear and tear
  Do not rhyme with here but ere.
  Seven is right, but so is even,
  Hyphen, roughen, nephew Stephen,
  Monkey, donkey, Turk and jerk,
  Ask, grasp, wasp, and cork and work.

  Pronunciation -- think of Psyche!
  Is a paling stout and spikey?
  Won't it make you lose your wits,
  Writing groats and saying grits?
  It's a dark abyss or tunnel:
  Strewn with stones, stowed, solace, gunwale,
  Islington and Isle of Wight,
  Housewife, verdict and indict.

  Finally, which rhymes with enough?
  Though, through, plough, or dough, or cough?
  Hiccough has the sound of cup.
  My advice is give it up!

The closest solution I came up with was "weird" is used to describe something we really don't quite understand, don't "get", or "doesn't compute".

Since then, I've found it fits quite well in most situations and haven't found any better explanation. Even seems not misaligned with this article. Anyone else have better thoughts?

or when sounded as 'a' as in neighbor or weigh

or just because fuck you, it's English

https://www.espressoenglish.net/i-before-e-except-after-c-ru...

Regarding irregularity of the English language, there's the well-known urban verse:

Dearest creature in creation, Study English pronunciation. I will teach you in my verse Sounds like corpse, corps, horse, and worse. I will keep you, Suzy, busy, Make your head with heat grow dizzy. Tear in eye, your dress will tear. So shall I! Oh hear my prayer.

Just compare heart, beard, and heard, Dies and diet, lord and word, Sword and sward, retain and Britain. (Mind the latter, how it's written.) Now I surely will not plague you With such words as plaque and ague. But be careful how you speak: Say break and steak, but bleak and streak; Cloven, oven, how and low, Script, receipt, show, poem, and toe.

Hear me say, devoid of trickery, Daughter, laughter, and Terpsichore, Typhoid, measles, topsails, aisles, Exiles, similes, and reviles; Scholar, vicar, and cigar, Solar, mica, war and far; One, anemone, Balmoral, Kitchen, lichen, laundry, laurel; Gertrude, German, wind and mind, Scene, Melpomene, mankind.

Billet does not rhyme with ballet, Bouquet, wallet, mallet, chalet. Blood and flood are not like food, Nor is mould like should and would. Viscous, viscount, load and broad, Toward, to forward, to reward. And your pronunciation's OK When you correctly say croquet, Rounded, wounded, grieve and sieve, Friend and fiend, alive and live.

Ivy, privy, famous; clamour And enamour rhymes with hammer. River, rival, tomb, bomb, comb, Doll and roll and some and home. Stranger does not rhyme with anger, Neither does devour with clangour. Souls but foul, haunt but aunt, Font, front, wont, want, grand, and grant, Shoes, goes, does. Now first say finger, And then singer, ginger, linger, Real, zeal, mauve, gauze, gouge and gauge, Marriage, foliage, mirage, and age.

Query does not rhyme with very, Nor does fury sound like bury. Dost, lost, post and doth, cloth, loth. Job, nob, bosom, transom, oath. Though the differences seem little, We say actual but victual. Refer does not rhyme with deafer. Foeffer does, and zephyr, heifer. Mint, pint, senate and sedate; Dull, bull, and George ate late. Scenic, Arabic, Pacific, Science, conscience, scientific.

Liberty, library, heave and heaven, Rachel, ache, moustache, eleven. We say hallowed, but allowed, People, leopard, towed, but vowed. Mark the differences, moreover, Between mover, cover, clover; Leeches, breeches, wise, precise, Chalice, but police and lice; Camel, constable, unstable, Principle, disciple, label.

Petal, panel, and canal, Wait, surprise, plait, promise, pal. Worm and storm, chaise, chaos, chair, Senator, spectator, mayor. Tour, but our and succour, four. Gas, alas, and Arkansas. Sea, idea, Korea, area, Psalm, Maria, but malaria. Youth, south, southern, cleanse and clean. Doctrine, turpentine, marine.

Compare alien with Italian, Dandelion and battalion. Sally with ally, yea, ye, Eye, I, ay, aye, whey, and key. Say aver, but ever, fever, Neither, leisure, skein, deceiver. Heron, granary, canary. Crevice and device and aerie.

Face, but preface, not efface. Phlegm, phlegmatic, ass, glass, bass. Large, but target, gin, give, verging, Ought, out, joust and scour, scourging. Ear, but earn and wear and tear Do not rhyme with here but ere. Seven is right, but so is even, Hyphen, roughen, nephew Stephen, Monkey, donkey, Turk and jerk, Ask, grasp, wasp, and cork and work.

Pronunciation -- think of Psyche! Is a paling stout and spikey? Won't it make you lose your wits, Writing groats and saying grits? It's a dark abyss or tunnel: Strewn with stones, stowed, solace, gunwale, Islington and Isle of Wight, Housewife, verdict and indict.

Finally, which rhymes with enough? Though, through, plough, or dough, or cough? Hiccough has the sound of cup. My advice is give it up!

https://ncf.idallen.com/english.html

The above comment is a copy of "The Chaos" by Gerard Noist Trenité without the line breaks and with a bunch of the verses slammed together instead of separated out.