Etymology

runner

run·ner
R1U1N1N1E1R1

Today it means: A person who moves, on foot, at a fast pace, especially an athlete. Full definition →

Middle English rennere
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The story

  1. Middle English · inherited fromrennere
  2. English todayrunner

From Middle English rennere, rynner, urnare, equivalent to run + -er. Cognate with Old Norse rennari (“runner; messenger”). Displaced earlier Middle English runel (“runner”), from Old English rynel (“runner”; also “messenger, courier”). ((botany) a long stolon sent by a plant): Compare typologically Russian побе́г (pobég) (akin to бежа́ть (bežátʹ)).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.