run

Pronunciation

• IPA: /rʌn/^[1]

Etymology

The modern verb merges two related verbs, in both of which the first two sounds were often transposed.^[2][3] The intransitive one is inherited from Middle English rinnen or irnen, inherited from Old English rinnan or irnan (“to run, flow”) (past tense ran, past participle runnen),^[2][3] from Proto-Germanic *renwanan,^[3] cognate with Old Saxon rinnan, Old High German rinnan (modern German rinnen (“to flow, run”)) and Gothic 𐍂𐌹𐌽𐌽𐌰𐌽 (rinnan).^[3][2] The transitive one is rennen or ernen, ærnan (“to ride, run to, reach”),^[2][3] from *rannjanan, a causative of the same root, cognate with rennian and rennen.^[2][3] Both were reinforced by Old Norse rinna and renna (“to cause to run”), and Barnhart thinks the Middle English forms are mainly due to Norse influence, since they first appear in texts where it is strong.^[3][4][5] The vowel -u- of the present tense, rare before the 16th century, was levelled from the old past plural and past participle runnen.^[4][6][7] Watkins derives the root from Proto-Indo-European *rei- (“to run, flow”), but this is doubted, and Hoad and the SOED call it of unknown origin.^[2][4][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

To move swiftly on foot, to hurry, and of things, to move along a course (Old English).^[2] Barnhart's earliest Middle English forms are rennen (before 1121) and rinnen and irnen (before 1200).^[3]

Semantic evolution

Of streams, “to flow”, is late Old English, and “to flee, retreat” is from about 1200.^[2] The form run itself appears about 1325, in Cursor Mundi.^[3] The noun, from the verb, meant a spell of running in Chaucer (about 1390), and was spelled run only from 1450.^[3] The Old English noun ryne “a flowing, a watercourse” lies behind the sense “small stream” (1580s), found mainly in northern English dialect and American English,^[2] as in Bull Run.^[8] A run became a unit of scoring in cricket in 1746 and in baseball in 1856.^[3][2] A run on a bank is from the 1690s,^[2] “a continuous stretch” from the 1670s and a run of luck by 1714.^[2] A run of fish moving upstream is by 1820,^[2] and a run of playing cards from 1870.^[2] Run-of-the-mill refers to a mill's output before it has been sorted,^[9] and run foul of and feelings running high are nautical phrases of the late 16th century.^[9] Compounds include runaway (1547), runner-up (1842), running mate (1868, first of horses) and rundown (1908 in baseball, 1945 as “a summary”).^[3]

Timeline

• late Old English – of streams, to flow.^[2]
• before 1121 – rennen.^[3]
• before 1200 – rinnen, irnen.^[3]
• c. 1200 – to flee.^[2]
• c. 1325 – runnen (Cursor Mundi).^[3]
• c. 1390 – noun, a run (Chaucer).^[3]
• 1547 – runaway.^[3]
• 1580s – run, a small stream.^[2]
• 1640s – run for it.^[2]
• 1670s – a continuous stretch.^[2]
• 1690s – a run on a bank.^[2]
• 1746 – a run in cricket.^[3][2]
• 1842 – runner-up.^[3]
• 1856 – a run in baseball.^[3][2]
• 1870 – a run of playing cards.^[2]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To move on foot faster than walking, with both feet off the ground at each stride.
2. To flee.
3. To move or go quickly.
4. Of a liquid, to flow.
5. To travel over on foot at a running pace: run a mile.
6. To compete in a race, or stand as a candidate in an election.
7. To do by running: run errands.
8. To cause to move quickly.

Noun

1. A pace faster than a walk; an act of running.
2. The distance covered, or the time taken, in running.
3. A quick trip: a run to the shops.
4. A race, or a campaign for public office.
5. A point scored in baseball or cricket.
6. A migration of fish, especially upstream to spawn.
7. A continuous series or stretch: a run of luck.
8. A sudden rush of demands, as on a bank.
9. A small, fast stream.

Adjective

1. Melted: run butter.
2. Exhausted from running.

Word family

• runless
• runnable
• runnability
• also-ran
• hit-and-run
• overrun
• runaround
• runaway

Related words

• rennet
• runnel

Usage notes

In the eastern United States run for a small, fast stream is typical of Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware, Maryland and southern Pennsylvania, while in New York State such a stream is often a kill, a Dutch borrowing.^[8]

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
9. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press