Etymologically
Log in

runner

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 13:11. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈɹʌnə/ (UK); /ˈɹʌnɚ/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English rinner, renner, runner, from rinnen, rennen, to run, and -er.[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A messenger on foot: about 1300 in Etymonline, before 1300 in the OED;[2][5] one who runs, a racer, the early 14th century (about 1325).[2][5]

Semantic evolution

A wanderer or vagabond is from 1574 and obsolete.[5] The rooting stem of a plant, as of a strawberry, is from the 1660s.[2] A smuggler, one who evades legal restrictions, is by 1721,[2] and a police officer from 1771.[2] In baseball a base runner is from 1845,[2][5] and in cricket one who runs for a disabled batsman from 1862.[5] An embroidered cloth for a table is from 1888.[2] The blade of a skate or the strip on which a sledge or drawer slides are among its many technical senses.[6][7]

Timeline

  • c. 1300 – a messenger.[2]
  • c. 1325 – a racer.[5]
  • 1660s – a plant runner.[2]
  • 1721 – a smuggler.[2]
  • 1771 – a police officer.[2]
  • 1845 – a base runner.[2][5]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A person or animal that runs, especially in a race.
  2. A messenger or agent, as for a bank or broker.
  3. A long, narrow part on which something slides, as on a sledge or skate.
  4. A creeping stem that sends out roots, as in strawberries; a stolon.
  5. A long, narrow rug or tablecloth.
  6. (informal) A smuggler.

Word family

  • forerunner
  • front-runner
  • racerunner
  • roadrunner
  • rumrunner
  • runner-up
  • base runner
  • blue runner
  • run
  • running
  • runner bean

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins