Runt

• POS: Noun

CIDE DICTIONARY

Runt, n. [Scot. runt an old cow, an old, withered woman, a hardened stem or stalk, the trunk of a tree; cf. D. rund a bullock, an ox or cow, G. rind. Cf. Rother, a.].

•  Any animal which is unusually small, as compared with others of its kind; -- applied particularly to domestic animals.  [1913 Webster]
•  A variety of domestic pigeon, related to the barb and carrier.  [1913 Webster]
•  A dwarf; also, a mean, despicable, boorish person; -- used opprobriously.  [1913 Webster]

  "Before I buy a bargain of such runts,
  I'll buy a college for bears, and live among 'em."  [1913 Webster]
•  The dead stump of a tree; also, the stem of a plant.  Halliwell.  [1913 Webster]

  "Neither young poles nor old runts are durable."  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Runt, n.
1 a small pig, esp. the smallest in a litter.
2 a weakling; an undersized person.
3 a large domestic pigeon.
4 a small ox or cow, esp. of various Scottish Highland or Welsh breeds.

Derivative

runty adj.

Etymology

16th c.: orig. unkn.

THESAURUS

Runt

Lilliputian, Tom Thumb, a nobody, a nothing, bantam, banty, brownie, button, chit, cipher, common man, diminutive, dummy, dwarf, elf, featherweight, figurehead, fingerling, gnome, homunculus, insignificancy, jackstraw, lightweight, lilliputian, little fellow, little guy, man of straw, manikin, mediocrity, midge, midget, mini, minikin, minnow, minny, mouse, nebbish, nobody one knows, nonentity, nubbin, obscurity, peewee, pip-squeak, pony, punk, pygmy, scrub, shrimp, slip, small fry, small potato, small potatoes, snip, snippet, squirt, squit, tit, wart, whiffet, whippersnapper, wisp

ROGET THESAURUS

Runt

Littleness

N littleness, smallness, exiguity, inextension, parvitude, parvity, duodecimo, Elzevir edition, epitome, microcosm, rudiment, vanishing point, thinness, dwarf, pygmy, pigmy, Liliputian, chit, pigwidgeon, urchin, elf, atomy, dandiprat, doll, puppet, Tom Thumb, Hop-o'-my-thumb, manikin, mannikin, homunculus, dapperling, cock-sparrow, animalcule, monad, mite, insect, emmet, fly, midge, gnat, shrimp, minnow, worm, maggot, entozoon, bacteria, infusoria, microzoa, phytozoaria, microbe, grub, tit, tomtit, runt, mouse, small fry, millet seed, mustard seed, barleycorn, pebble, grain of sand, molehill, button, bubble, point, atom, fragment, powder, point of a pin, mathematical point, minutiae, micrometer, vernier, scale, microphotography, photomicrography, micrography, photomicrograph, microphotograph, microscopy, microscope (optical instruments), little, small, minute, diminutive, microscopic, microzoal, inconsiderable, exiguous, puny, tiny, wee, petty, minikin, miniature, pygmy, pigmy, elfin, undersized, dwarf, dwarfed, dwarfish, spare, stunted, limited, cramp, cramped, pollard, Liliputian, dapper, pocket, portative, portable, duodecimo, dumpy, squat, short, impalpable, intangible, evanescent, imperceptible, invisible, inappreciable, insignificant, inconsiderable, trivial, infinitesimal, homoeopathic, atomic, subatomic, corpuscular, molecular, rudimentary, rudimental, embryonic, vestigial, weazen, scant, scraggy, scrubby, thin, granular, shrunk, brevipennate, in a small compass, in a nutshell, on a small scale, minutely, microscopically.