Etymograph

English

roun

Roun comes from Old English rūn ‘mystery’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *rūnō.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*rūnō1‘secret, mystery’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*rūnu1‘secret, mystery’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150rūn1‘mystery’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500roun1
  5. Englishtodayroun1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English roun

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*rūnōWiktionary, English roun‘secret, mystery’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*rūnuWiktionary, English roun‘secret, mystery’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150rūnWiktionary, English roun‘mystery’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500rounWiktionary, English roun
  5. EnglishtodayrounWiktionary, English roun

The story

The "rune" sense is likely a semantic loan from Old English rūn or one of its Germanic cognate.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Celtic *rūnā ‘secret, mystery’

rune, 1 more

Today it means

noun A speech or conversation (especially rumoured or whispered).

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “roun”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *rūnō / roun

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