rune
1 Americannoun
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any of the characters of certain ancient alphabets, as of a script used for writing the Germanic languages, especially of Scandinavia and Britain, from c200 to c1200, or a script used for inscriptions in a Turkic language of the 6th to 8th centuries from the area near the Orkhon River in Mongolia.
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something written or inscribed in such characters.
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an aphorism, poem, or saying with mystical meaning or for use in casting a spell.
noun
noun
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any of the characters of an ancient Germanic alphabet, derived from the Roman alphabet, in use, esp in Scandinavia, from the 3rd century ad to the end of the Middle Ages. Each character was believed to have a magical significance
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any obscure piece of writing using mysterious symbols
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a kind of Finnish poem or a stanza in such a poem
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of rune1
First recorded in 1675–85; from Old Norse rūn “secret, writing, runic character”; cognate with Old English rūn, Middle English rune, obsolete English roun; see round 2
Origin of rune2
First recorded in 1865–70; from Finnish runo “poem, canto,” from Scandinavian; see rune 1
Explanation
A rune is a letter used in early Germanic writing. A linguist might be interested in runes because they're evidence of ancient languages, while a mystic might use runes, believed by some to have magical properties, in fortune-telling. Runes were part of several alphabets used between the 3rd and 13th centuries. If someone offers to "read" your runes, they're referring to stones carved with symbols based on ancient runes, used to divine your future. You might also see references to runes in fantasy novels. The Old English root run means "secret or mystery."
Vocabulary lists containing rune
Norse Mythology
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"The Witch Boy" by Molly Knox Ostertag
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The Cardboard Kingdom
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The SS rune was designed for use by the Nazi units in 1929.
From BBC • Apr. 1, 2024
So they replaced it with a Germanic “sun wheel” or a Sig rune.
From Salon • Dec. 22, 2023
The location of the original Grave Creek rune stone is unknown, but a copy survives.
From Slate • Nov. 11, 2023
Based on sagas and some rune stones, details have emerged that the gods possessed many human traits and could behave like humans.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 8, 2023
For example, if you engraved one brick with the rune ule and another with the rune dock, the two runes would cause the bricks to cling to each other, as if mortared in place.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
