rune

Forms

rune f (plural runes)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Old Norse rún (“secret, magic sign, rune”), taken through a Scandinavian language: Danish and Norwegian rune, Swedish runa.^[2][3][4][5] The Old Norse word, plural rúnar, is related to a Gothic word meaning “mystery, secret”.^[3][4][6]

The Old Norse word is cognate with Old English rūn (“secret, mystery, runic letter”), the source of the English word rune;^[7] Etymonline traces both to a Proto-Germanic noun.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLFi dates the first record to 1653, following a study by L. Tolmer, and the Robert dictionaries and the DHLF give the same date;^[2][3][5][4] Bloch and Wartburg had 1670.^[2][3][5][4] The sense was from the start a character of the old alphabet of the northern and eastern Germanic languages.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The word has kept the sense it was borrowed with, a letter of the runic script, to which magical powers were attributed.^[3][2] It is a learned term.^[6] The adjective runique is dated 1644 by the DHLF, earlier than the noun, and 1750 by Bloch and Wartburg; the DHLF also records runologue “specialist in runic writing” from 1870 and runiforme “rune-shaped” from about 1950.^[3][4]

Timeline

• 1644 – The adjective runique is recorded.^[3]
• 1653 – First record of rune.^[2][3]
• 1693 – Temple's Œuvres mêlées, translated from English, use it.^[2]
• 1870 – Runologue is recorded.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. (linguistics) A rune, a character of the oldest writing system of the northern and eastern Germanic languages, once thought to have magical powers: une pierre couverte de runes.^[2][6][1]

Word family

• runique

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com