English
rung
Rung comes from Old English hrung ‘a rung’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *hrungō.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hrungō‘stake, spoke, rod, spike, rung’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hrungureconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hrung‘a rung’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500rung
- Englishearliest quotation 1854rung
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hrungō‘stake, spoke, rod, spike, rung’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hrungureconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hrung‘a rung’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500rung
- Englishearliest quotation 1854rung
Earliest quotation: 1854, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Feathertop: a Moralized Legend: “One of its arms was a disabled flail which…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(s)krengʰ- ‘to twist, bend’
Today it means
noun A crosspiece forming a step of a ladder; a round.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *hrungō / rung