Word Study
rune
CIDE DICTIONARY
rune, n. [AS. r a rune, a secret, a mystery; akin to Icel. r, OHG. & Goth. r a secret, secret colloquy, G. & Dan. rune rune, and probably to Gr. 'ereyna^n to search for. Cf. Roun to whisper.].
- A letter, or character, belonging to the written language of the ancient Norsemen, or Scandinavians; in a wider sense, applied to the letters of the ancient nations of Northern Europe in general. [1913 Webster]" The Norsemen had a peculiar alphabet, consisting of sixteen letters, or characters, called runes, the origin of which is lost in the remotest antiquity. The signification of the word rune (mystery) seems to allude to the fact that originally only a few were acquainted with the use of these marks, and that they were mostly applied to secret tricks, witchcrafts and enchantments. But the runes were also used in communication by writing." [1913 Webster]
- Old Norse poetry expressed in runes. [1913 Webster]"Runes were upon his tongue,
As on the warrior's sword." [1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
rune, n.
1 any of the letters of the earliest Germanic alphabet used by Scandinavians and Anglo-Saxons from about the 3rd c. and formed by modifying Roman or Greek characters to suit carving.
2 a similar mark of mysterious or magic significance.
3 a Finnish poem or a division of it.
1 any of the letters of the earliest Germanic alphabet used by Scandinavians and Anglo-Saxons from about the 3rd c. and formed by modifying Roman or Greek characters to suit carving.
2 a similar mark of mysterious or magic significance.
3 a Finnish poem or a division of it.
Idiom
rune-staff
1 a magic wand inscribed with runes.
2 a runic calendar.
1 a magic wand inscribed with runes.
2 a runic calendar.
Derivative
runic adj.
Etymology
ON r{uacute}n (only in pl. r{uacute}nar) magic sign, rel. to OE run
THESAURUS
rune
alchemy, arrowhead, bewitchery, character, charm, conjuration, cuneiform, demotic character, determinative, divination, enchantment, fetishism, glamour, gramarye, grammalogue, hieratic symbol, hieroglyph, hieroglyphic, hieroglyphics, hiragana, hoodoo, ideogram, ideograph, incantation, juju, jujuism, kana, katakana, logogram, logograph, magic, natural magic, necromancy, obeah, ogham, phonetic, phonetic symbol, pictogram, pictograph, poesy, poetry, radical, rhyme, shamanism, shorthand, sorcery, sortilege, spell, spellbinding, spellcasting, sympathetic magic, thaumaturgia, thaumaturgics, thaumaturgism, thaumaturgy, theurgy, vampirism, verse, voodoo, voodooism, wanga, wedge, white magic, witchcraft, witchery, witchwork, wizardry, word letterFor further exploring for "rune" in Webster Dictionary Online
