† runen.1
Obsolete.
1. Course, onward movement, esp. of a celestial object; (also) rapid movement, running, esp. of a person.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > [noun]
runeeOE
coursec1290
draughta1325
careerc1534
addression1602
tendence1644
tendency1654
ducturea1674
traduction1675
headinga1855
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > [noun] > course or direction of movement
runeeOE
runningOE
pathOE
wayOE
tracea1300
coursec1380
coursec1380
racec1390
recourse?c1425
situation1517
journey?a1560
track1565
roadway1600
career?1614
direction1665
by-run1674
sensea1679
meith1726
heading1841
the world > the universe > heavenly body > movement of heavenly bodies > [noun] > movement in orbit > orbit
runeeOE
circlea1530
cycle1631
orbit1649
orb1733
the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > going swiftly on foot > [noun] > running
runningOE
runec1330
leapingc1440
pelt1879
eOE (Mercian) Vespasian Psalter: Canticles & Hymns (1965) xi. 8 Aurora cursus prouehit : degred ryne forðwegeð.
OE St. Euphrosyne (Julius) in W. W. Skeat Ælfric's Lives of Saints (1900) II. 352 God ælmihtig hæfð wel gedihtod min earme lif and gefylled minne willan þæt ic moste þone ryne mines lifes werlice geendian.
OE tr. Pseudo-Apuleius Herbarium (Vitell.) (1984) lxi. 104 Syle [þysse wyrte bergean] etan on wanigendum monan, & sy þæt ðonne þære sunnan ryne beo on þam tacne þe man Virgo nemneð.
OE Byrhtferð Enchiridion (Ashm.) (1995) ii. i. 56 He [sc. January] hæfð an and þrittig daga æfter sunnan ryne, and æfter þæs monan ryne þrittig.
lOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Bodl.) (2009) I. xxi. 285 Þæt hie ne moton toslupan, ac bioð gehwerfde eft to þam ilcan ryne þe hie ær urnon.
c1225 (?c1200) St. Margaret (Bodl.) (1934) 22 (MED) Þe sunne reccheð hire rune wið-uten euch reste.
c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 40 Þear is meast neod hald hwen þe tunge is o rune & ifole to eornen.
c1275 (?c1250) Owl & Nightingale (Calig.) (1935) 1156 (MED) Þu bodes huses brune, Oþer ferde of manne, oþer þoues rune [Jesus Oxf. run].
c1330 (?a1300) Arthour & Merlin (Auch.) (1973) 8386 (MED) On Arundels wal þai gun lene A kniȝt com arnand wiþ gret rene.
2. A flow of blood.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > discharge or flux > [noun] > bleeding or flow of blood
runeOE
stranda1240
flux1377
bleedingc1385
rhexisc1425
issuec1500
haemorrhagy?1541
bleeda1585
sanguination1598
falla1616
haemorrhage1671
saltation1672
persultation1706
fusion1725
haematosis1811
phleborrhagia1833
secondary haemorrhage1837
splinter haemorrhage1931
haemorrhaging1967
OE West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Corpus Cambr.) viii. 44 Ða wæs sum wif on blodryne twelf ger... Ða ætstod sona þæs blodes ryne [c1200 Hatton þas blodes rine].
c1225 (?c1200) St. Katherine (Bodl.) (1981) l. 512 Ȝe schulen beon ifulhet..in ower blodes rune.
a1250 Lofsong Lefdi (Nero) in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 207 (MED) His blodi Rune..ron inne monie studen.
3. A flow of water; a stream, a watercourse. English regional (chiefly south-western) in later use. Cf. rean n., rhine n.3
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > rivers and streams > stream > [noun] > watercourse or channel
runeOE
sitchOE
pipeOE
sichetc1133
guttera1300
siket1300
sikec1330
watergate1368
gole?a1400
gotea1400
flout14..
aa1430
trough1513
guta1552
race1570
lode1572
canala1576
ditch1589
trink1592
leam1601
dike1616
runlet1630
stell1651
nullah1656
course1665
drain1700
lade1706
droke1772
regimen1797
draught1807
adit1808
sluit1818
thalweg1831
runway1874
OE Aldhelm Glosses (Brussels 1650) in L. Goossens Old Eng. Glosses of MS Brussels, Royal Libr. 1650 (1974) 186 Perpes aquęductuum decursus : singal renes [read rene] wætertige.
OE Ælfric Old Eng. Hexateuch: Josh. (Claud.) iv. 8 Hi..namon twelf stanas on ðæs streames ryne.
OE King Ælfred tr. Psalms (Paris) (2001) i. 3 Him byð swa þam treowe þe byð aplantod neah wætera rynum.
c1330 (c1250) Floris & Blauncheflur (Auch.) (1966) 307 (MED) Þilke þat beþ maidenes clene..mai hem wassche of þe rene.
1662 W. Dugdale Hist. Imbanking & Drayning Fens xx. 106/1 Divers Watercourses, called Runes, were obstructed by the Abbot of Glastonbury and his Tenants.
1670 T. Blount Νομο-λεξικον: Law-dict. Rune, a Water-course, so called in the Marshes of Sommersetshire.
a1728 W. Kennett MS Coll. Provinc. Words (Lansd. 1033) f. 331/2 Rune, a water course is so calld in the Marshes of Somersetsh[ire].
1849 W. A. Williamson Local Etymol. 96 Rune, a watercourse, a channel, from the Teut. rhennen, to run, flow.
1870 All Year Round 5 Nov. 544/2 They strode across runes and grindlets, watercourses, and by rank zittens, churchyards.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2011; most recently modified version published online December 2020).
runen.2
/ruːn/, U.S. /run/ 1.
a. Any of the letters or characters of the earliest Germanic alphabet, used esp. (in various forms) by the Scandinavians and Anglo-Saxons; a similar character or mark believed to have mysterious or magical powers. Also: any letter or character of a non-Germanic alphabet resembling a Germanic rune. The original runic alphabet dates from at least the 2nd or 3rd cent. a.d., and was formed by modifying the letters of the Roman or Greek alphabet so as to facilitate carving them on wood or stone.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > writing > written character > [noun] > rune
rouneOE
rune1676
rune-stave1676
1676 A. Sammes Britannia Antiqua Illustrata 440 The Ancient Getes or Saxons nam'd their Characters Runes from Ryn, a Furrow, because they were plowed-out, as it were, with the Pen, and drawn into long Lines.
1690 W. Temple Ess. Poetry 37 in Miscellanea: 2nd Pt. Runes, was properly the Name of the antient Gothick Letters or Characters.
1705 Philos. Trans. 1704–05 (Royal Soc.) 24 2058 He thinks it remarkable, that Magog is there mention'd Inventer of the Runes.
1770 T. Percy tr. P. H. Mallet Northern Antiq. I. 375 The noxious, or as they called them, the bitter runes, were employed to bring various evils on their enemies.
1848 E. Bulwer-Lytton Harold I. i. i. 16 Her pale hand seemed tracing letters, like runes, in the air.
1851 D. Wilson Archæol. & Prehistoric Ann. Scotl. 3 The oldest intelligible inscription known in Scotland is that graven in Anglo-Saxon Runes on the Ruthwell Cross.
1883 W. R. Morfill Slavonic Lit. i. 23 The view that the Slavs had runes is based upon a passage in the writings of the Monk Khrabr.
1937 J. R. R. Tolkien Hobbit i. 30 Look at the map..and you will see there the runes in red.
1961 M. Savill tr. E. Doblhoffer Voices in Stone ix. 289 Babinger sent a photograph..to the decipherer of the Old Turkish runes, Vilhelm Thomsen.
1992 A. Crépin in C. Blank Lang. & Civilization I. 110 The ancient Germanic culture confined the use of its runes to short inscriptions on wood, bone or stone.
2006 K. Richardson Greywalker xxx. 325 Drawing a careful circle of runes and symbols that writhed and connected into an endless, glowing gyre.
b. A small stone, piece of bone, etc., marked with a rune and used in divination. Frequently in to cast runes.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > casting of lots, sortilege > [noun] > object used in
lotlOE
cavela1400
rune1829
1829 Foreign Q. Rev. 4 126 He sang the awful verses of evocation..and cast the magic-runes, till compulsively the prophetess raised herself and spake.
1851 H. C. Andersen Pictures of Sweden 129 ‘To cast runes’ was, in the olden time, to exercise witchcraft. When the apple, with ciphers cut in it, rolled into the maiden's lap, her heart and mind were infatuated.
1880 M. Macdowall Asgard & Gods xii. 273 They shook and cast the runes, and those of death lay uppermost.
1959 A. Sinclair My Friend Judas x. 123 An old witch kept casting runes beside a fire... Depending which way up the runes landed, she could tell the future.
1986 R. Pollack Teach yourself Fortune Telling v.135 Most people keep their Runes in a leather or suede pouch, which is useful for casting as well as storage.
2000 N. Griffiths Grits (2001) 447 Some crusty geeza arnsas it, lookin just as a expected; cammy jacket, dreads down to is arse, rings in is nowse an lips. Runes on a string rahnd is neck. The usual crap.
2.
a. An ancient Finnish poem or a division of such a poem, esp. any of the separate songs of the Kalevala, a runo. Also (occasionally): an ancient Scandinavian or Gothic poem.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > poem or piece of poetry > narrative poem > [noun] > epic poem > part of epic poem > Finnish
rune1690
runo1780
1690 W. Temple Ess. Poetry 38 in Miscellanea: 2nd Pt. Of these Runes, there were in use among the Goths above a Hundred several sorts, some Composed in longer, some in shorter Lines..with many different Cadencies, Quantities, or Feet.
1780 Crit. Rev. Aug. 143 There are three different species of poetry in the Finlandish tongue: the Finlandish runes, rhymes, and blank verse.
1820 Monthly Repository Apr. 243/2 The harmony of the Finnish Runes consists not only in their measured syllables, but in the artificial repetition of the same sound.
1863 H. W. Longfellow Saga King Olaf in Tales Wayside Inn i. 84 One was singing the ancient rune Of Brynhilda's love.
1879 Encycl. Brit. IX. 220/1 He [sc. Lönnrot] was successful in collecting 12,000 lines. These he arranged as methodically as he could into thirty-two runes or cantos.
1907 Gentleman's Mag. Feb. 122 In these simple, mobile Finnish runes, with their monotonous cadences and frequent parallelism, he [sc. Longfellow] found an excellent vehicle for his purpose.
1969 G. de Santillana & H. von Dechend Hamlet's Mill viii. 117 His [sc. Lönnrot's] successors..unearthed a bewildering number of variants to every single rune.
2009 D. Shrock Choral Repertoire vi. 657 The cantata..Tulen synty is the story from rune 47 of darkness and light in the lands of Kaleva.
b. In extended use. Any song, poem, or verse, esp. a cryptic or magic verse, a spell, an incantation; (also) a lament.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > the occult > sorcery, witchcraft, or magic > enchantment or casting spells > [noun] > spell > kinds of
night-spellc1390
white paternosterc1390
back-pater-noster1561
counter-charm1601
witches' prayer1663
counter-spell1725
karakia1832
rune1841
black paternoster1851
conjure1873
society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > poem or piece of poetry > other types of poem > [noun] > cryptic or magic verse
rune1841
the mind > emotion > suffering > sorrow or grief > lamentation or expression of grief > [noun] > instance or act of lamenting
moan?c1225
mean?c1250
bimena1325
lamentation1382
queryc1400
pinec1440
tragedy1536
lamentc1592
complaint?1606
conclamation1627
quiritation1634
throb1635
pathetic1667
dismals1774
jeremiad1780
complain1820
tangi1836
Jobism1855
wail1867
rune1922
vigil1956
the world > the supernatural > the occult > sorcery, witchcraft, or magic > enchantment or casting spells > [noun] > spell
galderOE
lede-runec1000
sigalderc1000
craftOE
lede spelc1275
charma1300
conjurisonc1380
conjurationa1398
incantation1412
saunter1562
blessing1572
fascination1572
spell1579
lot1625
cantation1656
cantion1656
take1678
jynx1693
cantrip1719
pishogue1829
brujería1838
paternoster1880
goofer1887
runea1935
1841 R. W. Emerson in Dial Oct. 210 But the runes that I rehearse Understands the universe.
1860 C. Sangster Hesperus 128 My heart would sit and sing Shrillest runes of wintry cold.
1889 F. A. Knight By Leafy Ways 9 The light-hearted and irrepressible starling..crooning his own quaint runes.
1908 E. Œ. Somerville & ‘M. Ross’ Further Experiences Irish R.M. viii. 211 She chanted..words in measured cadence... By the time this rune had been repeated three times she was in the hall.
1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. ix. [Scylla & Charybdis] 197 There he keened a wailing rune.—Pogue mahone! Acushla machree!
a1935 W. Holtby South Riding (1936) i. i. 20 Curses could be lifted by spells. Midge was always trying them, inventing her own runes and incantations.
1977 P. Fitzgerald Knox Brothers i. 32 Eddie had begun on Kennedy's Latin Grammar; there were more inexplicable runes for Wilfred to repeat in the nursery: ‘Caesar adsum jam forte—Cæsar had some jam for tea.’
2008 B. F. Torgerson One Witch's Way 30 I lit a single candle atop the northern cairn, and bare-breasted except for amber, sang runes.
Compounds
C1.
a. General attributive.
(a)
rune-craft n.
ΚΠ
1871 G. Stephens in Archaeologia 43 98 Modern Swedish runecraft largely depends upon his many and valuable publications.
2006 M. MacLeod & B. Mees Runic Amulets & Magic Objects iii. 56 Odin, the lecherous god well versed in rune-craft, boasts of his conquests in the Norse Song of Harbard.
runefolk n.
ΚΠ
1866 G. Stephens Old-Northern Runic Monuments I. i. p. xi There is therefore neither time nor place for a certain Runefolk to carry its letters from land to land.
1992 A. R. Becker Lost Worlds Romance v. 70 When the text of the Holy Rune breaks off, Balderston pulls his copy of the New Testament from his pocket and continues the reading, much to the delight of the Runefolk.
rune inscription n.
ΚΠ
1839 G. Stephens in tr. E. Tegnér Frithiof's Saga 240 Many rune-inscriptions on rocks are to be found in Sweden and Norway.
1925 Saga-bk. of Viking Soc. IX. ii. 272 The rune-inscriptions..must be assigned to the first part of the 11th century.
2006 N. Berend in D. Power Central Middle Ages vi. 181 In Scandinavia, rune inscriptions were used on church bells and baptismal fonts.
rune letter n.
ΚΠ
1852 Gentleman's Mag. May 475/1 One distinctive mark of Northernism is the sound th (þ, ð); another is the sound w (ƿ), both originally represented by Rune-letters unknown to the Latin alphabet.
1937 J. R. R. Tolkien Hobbit iii. 64 ‘What are moon-letters?’.. ‘Moon-letters are rune-letters.’
2007 S. Patterson Lumina iv. 91 The Shaman had adorned his door with what looked like weird rune letters.
rune lore n.
ΚΠ
1858 G. Stephens Scand. Folk-moot at Ramlösa Woden's Rune-lore still he heareth, Listeneth still what Sagas say.
1992 N. Pennick Magical Alphabets iii. 80 Rune lore is a living system..on a par with any other magical system in use today.
rune-magic n.
ΚΠ
1867 W. W. Skeat William of Palerne Pref. p. xxix This might be classed amongst the instances of Rune-magic.
1962 P. Schach tr. P. Hallberg Icelandic Saga x. 128 Egill with his superior insights into rune magic cures the daughter of a Värmland farmer.
2002 J. Blain Nine Worlds of Seid-Magic ii. 14 Not all Heathens practice seiðr or attend sessions. More..engage in rune-divination or rune-magic.
rune-maiden n. rare
ΚΠ
1858 E. C. Green Sea Weeds & Heath Flowers 200 The Rune-Maidens sang thy wizard lore.
1906 C. M. Doughty Dawn in Brit. I. ii. 80 Her covert image..and holy cart, Shall her rune-maiden ministers, in the lake, Wash.
rune-master n.
ΚΠ
1869 New Jerusalem Mag. Jan. 458 The great Rune-master..rode down to the under world on his eight-footed horse, to inquire of the Destinies.
1998 D. H. Green Lang. & Hist. in Early Germanic World (2000) ii. xiv. 254 The runes..were largely confined to short, terse inscriptions and knowledge of them was restricted to a small, closed circle of rune-masters.
rune-name n.
ΚΠ
1879 I. Taylor Greeks & Goths xviii. 117 Let us compare these..Ogham names with the corresponding rune names.
1927 E. V. Gordon Introd. Old Norse 161 The first letter of each rune-name gives the value of the rune.
2002 E. H. Antonsen Runes & Germanic Linguistics vi. 104 Those rune-names that are demonstrably ancient point directly to this original 8-vowel system.
rune poem n.
ΚΠ
1840 Archaeologia 28 363 Cên denotes a torch, as is apparent not only from the context in the Rune poem, but from the old German Glosses.
1962 C. L. Wrenn in N. Davis & C. L. Wrenn Eng. & Medieval Stud. presented to J. R. R. Tolkien 316 The Old English, Old Norse, and Icelandic rune-poems.
2001 F. C. Robinson in P. Pulsiano & E. Treharne Compan. Anglo-Saxon Lit. iii. xvi. 292 Amid innovations and diversions the rune poems all clearly retain at the same time relics from a common past.
rune song n.
ΚΠ
1852 W. Howitt & M. Howitt Lit. & Romance of N. Europe I. vi. 77 The magic rune-songs which prove instead of nine to be twice nine.
1927 E. V. Gordon Introd. Old Norse 161 The usual forms of this fuþark..are given in the Rune-Song.
1997 G. Harvey Contemp. Paganism (2000) xiii. 212 The majority of Odin's wisdom, even in the final rune songs, concerns advice on guests, fools, strangers, politeness, bravery, sadness, passion [etc.].
rune-word n.
ΚΠ
1865 Clack! 65 Lad Lewin began to toss a ball, Knitted of worsted fine. Alcé Nante had given it him, Saying rune-words nine.
1977 N. F. Blake Eng. Lang. in Medieval Lit. (1979) iv. 86 In these signatures the use of the runewords is twofold.
2004 J. Hightman Saint of Dragons xii. 98 That language you've been writing is Dragonscript. They're ancient rune-words the Dragons used in dealings with each other.
rune-worship n. rare
ΚΠ
1940 F. S. Fitzgerald Let. Dec. (1964) 100 But be sweet to your mother at Xmas despite her early Chaldean rune-worship which she will undoubtedly inflict on you.
(b)
rune-blazoned adj. rare
ΚΠ
1938 W. de la Mare Memory & Other Poems 76 A subtle Serpent..Raised its rune-blazoned head.
rune-inscribed adj.
ΚΠ
1835 London Lit. Gaz. 13 June 370/1 The rune-inscribed, scored, and magically wrought bracelet, are worthy of Homer.
1931 C. L'Estrange Ewen Hist. Surnames of Brit. Isles iii. 65 The rune-inscribed crosses.
2007 M. Sprague Norse Warfare v. 134 A rune-inscribed oar uncovered in Iceland..speaks of the toil the men had to endure.
b. Objective.
rune-bearer n.
ΚΠ
1860 R. C. A. Prior tr. Anc. Danish Ballads II. xciii. 391 (title) The Raven Rune-bearer.
1908 Trans. & Proc. Amer. Philol. Assoc. 39 106 The pronounced failure to read West Germanic on the few rune-bearers found in Germany certainly fits.
rune-bearing adj.
ΚΠ
1864 Gentleman's Mag. Aug. 165/1 The Rune-bearing arrows found in the Nydam moss.
1998 R. Cronin in Early Medieval Munster xiv. 143 The Rune-bearing cross fragment in Killaloe Cathedral, Co. Clare, may also belong to this period.
rune-carver n.
ΚΠ
1849 P. A. Munch in Mémoires de la Société royale des antiquaires du Nord 193 Gaut Bjarnarson is again mentioned as a rune-carver.
1927 E. V. Gordon tr. in Introd. Old Norse 170 Biari has the temple, a wise rune-carver.
2005 B. van der Hoek tr. T. Spurkland Norwegian Runes & Runic Inscriptions vi. 89 About forty named Swedish rune-carvers are known from the Viking Age.
rune collector n.
ΚΠ
1898 I. M. Anderton tr. D. Comparetti Trad. Poetry of Finns i. i. 5 The first rune collectors..only considered and published detached songs, and did not think of classifying them.
1989 R. Poom tr. J. Y. Pentikäinen Kalevala Mythol. (1999) vi. 116 The task of the rune collector such as Lönnrot was merely to copy and compile the epic from the people.
rune-cutter n.
ΚΠ
1865 E. Charlton Orkney Runes in Archæologia Æliana New Ser. 6 131 The ignorance of the Rune cutter has transposed one or two of the letters.
1962 C. L. Wrenn in N. Davis & C. L. Wrenn Eng. & Medieval Stud. presented to J. R. R. Tolkien 316 If the ‘first fronting’ had in fact not yet been completed in the dialect of the rune-cutter.
rune-singer
ΚΠ
1846 C. F. Henningsen E. Europe & Emperor Nicholas II. viii. 204 Old man who comest from so far,—rune-singer of Karjala, thou hast pronounced rash judgment.
1972 Funk's Standard Dict. Folklore 382/1 Lönnrot himself said, ‘Because I am sure that not one of the rune-singers could surpass me in the knowledge of the runes, I used my right to put together the songs as it seemed best.’
2003 Beltane Papers 31 30/1 According to legend, the first five-string kantele was built from the jaw of a giant pike by the rune-singer Vaïnämöinin.
rune writer
ΚΠ
1849 P. A. Munch in Mémoires de la Société royale des antiquaires du Nord 195 The following R may have induced the Rune-writer to omit the genitive form.
1904 Saga-bk. of Viking Club III. iii. 320 The..uniformity can only be explained by supposing that there were professional rune-writers, travelling over the country and inscribing stones.
2006 J. S. Jensen in M. Stoklund et al. Runes & their Secrets 173 The rune writer must have known runes (but not necessarily their sound value).
c. With the sense ‘inscribed with runes’.† rune-clog n. Obsolete rare
ΚΠ
1866 G. Stephens Old-Northern Runic Monuments I. i. p. ix Rune-clogs of all sorts of material and of every size.
rune font n. rare
ΚΠ
1962 P. G. Foote tr. S. V. B. Jansson Runes of Sweden 163 The finest of the rune fonts is the one..carved by the Gotlander Sigraf.
rune-stick n.
ΚΠ
1857 G. Borrow Romany Rye I. iv. 55 I have, what some people would dread much more, an Armenian rune-stick.
1993 J. E. Knirk in H. S. Naess Hist. of Norwegian Lit. 26 A half-stanza from one of them has been found in a defective quotation on a rune-stick.
C2.
rune ribbon n. rare a carved area on a stone in which runes are engraved.
ΚΠ
1963 S. B. F. Jansson in A. Brown & P. Foote Early Eng. & Norse Stud. ix. 111 All that was visible..was a short section of the rune ribbon, with some carved lines above it.
rune-row n. a runic alphabet.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > writing > system of writing > alphabet > [noun] > runic
runic1705
rune-row1839
futhorc1863
1839 G. Stephens tr. B. E. Hildebrand Descr. Ingeborg's Arm-ring in E. Tegnér Frithiof's Saga p. xxxix Under the above-mentioned line of runes for the days of the week, the Rune-staff has another rune-row, consisting of 19 runes or signs.
1955 J. R. R. Tolkien Return of King 397 It was often called Angerthas Moria or the Long Rune-rows of Moria.
2005 B. van der Hoek tr. T. Spurkland Norwegian Runes & Runic Inscriptions ii. 6 The older rune-row originated in close contact with the Roman alphabet.
rune-smith n. a person who carves runes.
ΚΠ
1862 Gentleman's Mag. Sept. 288 The last word, either a proper name—maybe the ‘Rune-smith’ who also carved No. 18—or else the beginning of a new sentence, is in that kind of Crypt-Runes called Twig-staves.
1907 P. M. Kermode Manx Crosses 89 The Mal Lumkun stone..is undoubtedly by a different hand; and other inscriptions..must be by yet other Rune smiths.
1997 E. G. Stanley in C. Chase Dating of Beowulf 208 Could it be that the rune-smith wrote, not in the half-century around 700, but later in an earlier manner?
rune stone n. (a) a large stone carved with runes; (b) a small stone inscribed with a rune, used in divination.
ΚΠ
1736 tr. P. J. von Strahlenberg Histori-geogr. Descr. N. & E. Europe & Asia 325 The Titles, Medals, Rune-Stones, Letters and Characters.
1863 D. Wilson Prehistoric Ann. Scotl. (ed. 2) II. iv. iv. 294 The Rune-stones of the Norse fatherland.
1931 Times Lit. Suppl. 9 July 548/1 The discovery of the Eggjum rune-stone in 1917.
1975 Washington Post 5 May b3/4 The subject of a Rune Stone reading..was worried about whether to keep her job.
2003 Wanderlust Apr.–May 46/3 Travel 6km to the city's north east and explore the huge burial mounds at Anundshog, complete with a millennia-old rune stone.
2004 Asiana Autumn 299/2 Kay isn't pretending her runestones are an exact science or that she can read minds through them.
rune tree n. †(a) = tree-rune n. at tree n. Compounds 2c (obsolete); (b) a tree bark inscribed with runes (now rare).
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > writing > written character > [noun] > rune > type of
rune tree1863
tree-rune1863
bough-runes1866
twig-rune1866
1863 J. M. Mitchell tr. Runic Inscription in Mesehowe 51 Cut to our late Father these Rune Trees, (He was a) leader on the West Sea.
1879 I. Taylor Greeks & Goths xviii. 129 The characteristic of the five classes of the rune trees would be (1) branches; (2) forks; (3) loops; (4) crooks; (5) roots.
1886 Jrnl. Royal Anthropol. Inst. 15 230 Shamanist rites were also practised, in which the magic drum and ‘rune-trees’ played a great part.
1899 A. H. Keane Man Past & Pres. ix. 341 A great feature of the system were the ‘rune-trees’, made of pine or birch bark, inscribed with figures of gods, men, or animals, which were consulted on all important occasions.
2003 M. Stutley Shamanism i. 25 The Lapps..consulted rune trees inscribed with the figures of gods, men and animals.
Derivatives
runed adj. inscribed with runes.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > writing > written text > an inscription > [adjective] > bearing inscription > runic
runic1696
runed1848
1848 R. Bigsby Visions of Times of Old III. viii. xvi. 199 A small sceptre..lay on a runed tablet of gold.
1914 Overland Monthly Dec. 556/2 Druids..bore green alder and quicken boughs adorned with little bells in their runed hands.
2008 A. L. Martinez Too Many Curses xxii. 299 The runed parchments swayed back and forth.
ˈruneless adj.
ΚΠ
1866 G. Stephens Old-Northern Runic Monuments I. i. p. x The runeless bronze-wielding populations they found in Scandinavia.
1996 D. L. Flores in F. B. Samson & F. L. Knopf Prairie Conservation i. 3 An empty and runeless slate across which human history is yet to be written.
2003 T. Looijenga Texts & Contexts of Oldest Runic Inscriptions viii. 297 No runic writing is recorded from Saxony, except for the coastal area. In fact, the whole of North Germany is almost runeless.
ˈrunelike adj.
ΚΠ
1872 Jrnl. Royal Hist. & Archæol. Assoc. Ireland 2 127 The inscribing presented Rune-like characters of some kind, but not likely to be decipherable.
1965 C. L. Wrenn in J. B. Bessinger & R. P. Creed Medieval & Ling. Stud. 50 The seven rune-like symbols just mentioned.
1991 J. Roberson Sword-breaker xxii. 217 Sweat dribbled, scribing a runelike squiggle down my right temple.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2011; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
runev.
/ruːn/, U.S. /run/ intransitive. To compose or perform poetry or songs; to lament. Also transitive: to compose (poetry, a lament, etc.).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > sorrow or grief > lamentation or expression of grief > lament or express grief [verb (intransitive)]
sorroweOE
meaneOE
careOE
mournOE
ofthink?c1225
to make sorrow?c1250
to make languorc1300
bemoanc1305
plainc1325
moanc1330
wailc1330
waymentc1350
complainc1374
to make syte?a1400
sweam14..
lamentc1515
bemournc1540
regratec1550
to sing sol-fa, sorrow, woe1573
condole1598
passion1598
deplore1632
ochone1829
rune1832
society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > compose poetry [verb (intransitive)]
versec1000
rhymec1300
versify1377
makea1387
metrea1415
poetizea1586
compose1602
poetrize1602
sing1638
rhythm1655
poeticize1817
poesy1820
rune1832
1832 W. Motherwell Poems 26 I've sung the dark lay That the Weird sisters runed.
1883 A. F. Kercheval Dolores 91 Not for all my importuning, Will it cease its mystic runing—Still it whispers ‘Nevermore’.
1912 C. T. Urmy Calif. Troubadour 15 Thy liquid lyric, rhymed and runed..in my heart is softly crooned.
1936 M. Franklin All that Swagger i. 7 He was wont to rune to himself as he sat alone, thrust aside by his sons as childish.
1980 G. H. Hartman Crit. in Wilderness i. i. 37 If there is Providence it must be understood as the totalizing process we call history, and which the philosopher reads as he runes.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2011; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1eOE
n.21676
v.1832