Why is "wand" not pronounced simiarly to "hand" and "sand"?

Question

Having a bit of a discussion about this with a friend.

The only reason I know to pronounce "wand" like "want" and not "hand" is because that's how I've heard it, and I've just copied that. But from a more rigirous point of view, I can't really explain why this is correct.

Is there any rule that applies to this?

It seems to be because of the "w". I think your question is answered here: Why is the word watch pronounced differently from words like patch, latch, match, catch, and batch? — herisson, Aug 19 '18 at 19:35
Other related questions: Sounds of the letter a, The pronunciation of “was” has changed since the Seventeenth Century. When and why did it change"?, Pronunciation and meaning: “wind” and “wound” — herisson, Aug 19 '18 at 19:38
One could also ask: Why isn't want pronounced like pant, slant, or rant? — J.R., Aug 19 '18 at 19:38
c. 1200, from Old Norse vondr "rod, switch" https://www.etymonline.com/word/wand — Kris, Aug 20 '18 at 08:54
@Kris: Could you expand on what you mean by your comment? I might vote to re-open the question if I learn more about other possible explanations for the pronunciation of this word. Are you suggesting that the etymology indicates that the word wand was always pronounced with a rounded vowel? I don't know if that's the case. — herisson, Aug 20 '18 at 21:49
The OED indicates that the rounded vowel in Old Norse vǫndr is the reflex of Proto-Germanic a. In older forms of English, we sometimes see variation between a and o before a nasal consonant, as in land/lond. So it seems possible to me that this word was taken into English with a variable vowel, o or a, and that the modern pronunciation with a rounded vowel comes from older a. Spellings of "wand" with "a" seem to go back to Middle English, which as far as I know is before the sound change that is responsible for the wa = /wɒ/ spelling correspondence of modern English. — herisson, Aug 20 '18 at 21:49

Why is "wand" not pronounced simiarly to "hand" and "sand"?

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