Etymology

run

R1U1N1

Today it means: To move forward quickly upon two feet by alternately making a short jump off either foot. Full definition →

Middle English runnen ← Old English rinnan ← Old Norse rinna
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*h₃reyH-“to boil, churn”
  2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*rinnaną“to run”
  3. Old Norse · derived fromrinna“to run”
  4. Old English · inherited fromrinnan
  5. Middle English · inherited fromrunnen
  6. English todayrun

From Middle English runnen, rennen (“to run”), alteration (due to the past participle runne, runnen, yronne) of Middle English rinnen (“to run”), from Old English rinnan, iernan (“to run”) and Old Norse rinna (“to run”), both from Proto-Germanic *rinnaną (“to run”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reyH- (“to boil, churn”). Cognate with Scots rin (“to run”), West Frisian rinne (“to walk, march”), archaic Dutch rinnen (“to flow”, still in geronnen), German rinnen (“to flow”), Swedish rinna (“to flow”), and Icelandic renna (“to flow”). From the causative Proto-Germanic *rannijaną (“to make run”) are Dutch rennen, German rennen, Danish rende, Swedish ränna (all “to run”). Non-Germanic cognates include Albanian rend (“to run, run after”), Persian راندن (rândan, “to move, set in motion”). See also random.

Words from the same roots

Old Englishrinnan all →

earnrinyearn

Old Norserinna all →

earnyearn

Proto-Germanic*rinnaną all →

earnrinyearning

Proto-Indo-European*h₃reyH- all →

rhine

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.