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runny

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Etymology and origin of the English word runny

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1770 L. Carter's diary More words from the 18th century
Ultimate origin
Old English rinnan,-ig
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English run
English runny
From the same root
English outrun ← run
English runaway ← run
English runway ← run

Pronunciation

Etymology

It is formed from English run + -y,[2][3][4][5][6] from the verb run and the adjective suffix -y.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tending to run or flow; liquid, soft, not set: 1770, in the diary of L. Carter.[2][4] Etymonline dates the word to 1817, and the Shorter Oxford and Dictionary.com to the early 19th century.[3][5][6]

Semantic evolution

The adjective first described anything of a liquid or melting consistency, often with the suggestion of being more fluid than it should be.[2][5] From 1930 it was used of a lightly cooked egg whose yolk has stayed soft.[2] From 1911, first in the United States, it described a nose discharging mucus or of watering eyes;[2] the Shorter Oxford dates the nose sense to the mid 20th century.[5] Runny nose is now a common phrase.[4][7]

Timeline

  • 1770 – tending to flow, liquid, not set.[2][4] Etymonline dates it to 1817.[3]
  • 1911 – of the nose, discharging mucus; of the eyes, watering; first in American use.[2]
  • 1930 – of an egg, with the yolk still soft.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. More liquid than usual or than it should be; tending to flow: The icing was too runny to spread.[7][4][2]
  2. Of the nose, discharging mucus; of the eyes, watering: a cold with a runny nose.[7][4][2]
  3. Of an egg, cooked so that the yolk is still soft.[2][5]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
Cite this entry

“Runny.” Etymologically, 8 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/runny. Accessed 9 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·