Meaning and Origin
What does the name Rune mean? Keep reading to find the user submitted meanings, dictionary definitions, and more.
User Submitted Origins
User Submitted Meanings
- According to a user from Denmark, the name Rune means "Secret lore, secrets, knowledge. Like the Runic alphabets".
- A submission from Norway says the name Rune means "Male name from the norse word 'run', meaning 'secret' or 'hidden knowledge'".
- According to a user from Texas, U.S., the name Rune is of Norwegian origin and means "Secret lore".
- According to 3 people from Germany and the United States, the name Rune is of Dutch / Danish origin and means "Secret".
- A letter, or character, belonging to the written language of the ancient Norsemen, or Scandinavians; in a wider sense, applied to the letters of the ancient nations of Northern Europe in general.
- pl.Old Norse poetry expressed in runes." Runes were upon his tongue, As on the warrior's sword." [Longfellow.]
Note: ☞ The Norsemen had a peculiar alphabet, consisting of sixteen letters, or characters, called runes, the origin of which is lost in the remotest antiquity. The signification of the word runemystery) seems to allude to the fact that originally only a few were acquainted with the use of these marks, and that they were mostly applied to secret tricks, witchcrafts and enchantments. But the runes were also used in communication by writing.
Etymology: AS. rūn a rune, a secret, a mystery; akin to Icel. rūn, OHG. & Goth. rūna a secret, secret colloquy, G. & Dan. rune rune, and probably to Gr. 'ereyna^n to search for. Cf. Roun to whisper
- Any character from an ancient Germanic alphabet used in Scandinavia from the 3rd century to the Middle Ages ("each rune had its own magical significance")
Borrowing from Old Norse rún, which is from Proto-Germanic *rūnō (“letter, literature, secret”) or from the Proto-Indo-European root *rew- (“to roar; murmur; mumble; whisper”); compare Dutch rune, German Rune and Swedish runa. Compare roun.
- A letter, or character, belonging to the written language of various ancient Germanic peoples, especially the Scandinavians and the Anglo-Saxons.
- A Finnish or Scandinavian epic poem, or a division of one, especially a division of the Kalevala.
- A letter or mark used as mystical or magic symbol.
- A verse or song, especially one with mystical or mysterious overtones; a spell or an incantation.
- (obsolete) A roun (secret or mystery).
rune was also found in the following language(s): Danish, Dutch, French, Italian, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Old English