English
runner
Runner comes from Middle English rennere.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500rennere
- Englishearliest quotation 1897runner
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500rennere
- Englishearliest quotation 1897runner
Earliest quotation: 1897, The Jubilee Waiters. Some Words with the Maître d’Hôtel.: “Then you divide your army amongst the various houses…”
Formed from run + -er
Proto-Indo-European *h₃reyH- ‘to boil, churn’
Proto-Germanic *rinnaną ‘to run’
Old English rinnan ‘to run’
Middle English rinnen ‘to run’
Middle English runnen ‘to run’
English run
Every English word from Middle English rennere
Today it means
noun A person who moves, on foot, at a fast pace, especially an athlete.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English rennere / runner