English
rune
Rune comes from Old Norse rún ‘secret’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *rūnǭ.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*rūnǭreconstructed
- Proto-Norsec. 200–800 CErunotransliteratedrunes ᚱᚢᚾᛟ‘secret, mystery’reconstructed
- Old Norsec. 800–1350rún‘secret’
- Englishearliest quotation 1891rune
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*rūnǭreconstructed
- Proto-Norsec. 200–800 CErunotransliteratedrunes ᚱᚢᚾᛟ‘secret, mystery’reconstructed
- Old Norsec. 800–1350rún‘secret’
- Englishearliest quotation 1891rune
Earliest quotation: 1891, Mary Noailles Murfree, In the "Stranger People's" Country: “the fiddle sang and sang as ceaselessly as the…”
Every English word from Proto-Germanic *rūnǭ
Today it means
noun A letter, or character, used in the written language of various ancient Germanic peoples, especially the Scandinavians and the Anglo-Saxons.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *rūnǭ / rune