Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A Finnish poem or section of a poem.
- noun Any of the characters in several alphabets used by ancient Germanic peoples from the 3rd to the 13th century.
- noun A similar character in another alphabet, sometimes believed to have magic powers.
- noun A poem or incantation of mysterious significance, especially a magic charm.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A letter or character used by the peoples of northern Europe from an early period to the eleventh century; in the plural, the ancient Scandinavian alphabets, believed to be derived from a Greek source; especially, the letters carved on stones, weapons, etc., found in Scandinavia, Scotland, and Ireland. Runes are found in almost all the maritime parts of Europe.
- noun A short mystic sentence embodying the wisdom of the old Northern philosophers.
- noun A secret; mystery; obscure saying.
- noun Early rimes or poetry expressed, or which might be expressed, in runic characters.
- noun Any song, poem, verse, or the like, which is mystically or obscurely expressed.
- noun An obsolete variant of
rine , run.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun 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.
- noun Old Norse poetry expressed in runes.
- noun a stone bearing a runic inscription.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
letter , orcharacter , belonging to the written language of various ancient Germanic peoples, especially the Scandinavians and the Anglo-Saxons. - noun A Finnish
poem , or a division of one, especially a division of the Kalevala. - noun Any verse or song, especially one with mystical or mysterious overtones; an
incantation . - noun obsolete A
roun .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun any character from an ancient Germanic alphabet used in Scandinavia from the 3rd century to the Middle Ages
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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If the rune were a word, it would have been that one, but there was more meaning to it than any word she could imagine.
Cassandra Clare: The Mortal Instrument Series Cassandra Clare 2009
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If the rune were a word, it would have been that one, but there was more meaning to it than any word she could imagine.
The Mortal Instruments: Book One: City of Bones Cassandra Clare 2007
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'Now I must recall the rune which came so easily, unsummoned, to my brain not many months since.'
Elric of Melnibone Moorcock, Michael, 1939- 1972
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The word "rune," in Baltic Runes, indicates a magical incantation -- an apt image for such an enchanting album.
On CD: Baltic Runes 2010
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The word "rune," in Baltic Runes, indicates a magical incantation -- an apt image for such an enchanting album.
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The word "rune" comes from a Gothic word meaning a secret thing, a mystery.
Early European History Hutton Webster
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So this dear, deluded old gentleman, having failed to secure a 'rune' in Java brought back something equally cryptic -- a woman?
Cleek, the Master Detective Thomas W. Hanshew 1885
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So this dear, deluded old gentleman, having failed to secure a 'rune' in Java, brought back something equally cryptic -- a woman?
Cleek: the Man of the Forty Faces Thomas W. Hanshew 1885
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Despite the fact that scholars of all nations scoffed at the thing, and pointed out that the very term 'rune' is of Teutonic origin, one enthusiastic old gentleman -- Mr. Michael Bawdrey, a retired brewer, thirsting for something more enduring than malt to carry his name down the ages -- became fired with enthusiasm upon the subject, and set forth for
Cleek: the Man of the Forty Faces Thomas W. Hanshew 1885
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Despite the fact that scholars of all nations scoffed at the thing and pointed out that the very term 'rune' is of Teutonic origin, one enthusiastic old gentleman -- Mr. Michael Bawdrey, a retired brewer, thirsting for something more enduring than malt to carry his name down the ages -- became fired with enthusiasm upon the subject, and set forth for
Cleek, the Master Detective Thomas W. Hanshew 1885
johnmperry commented on the word rune
July 21, 2008