1. a letter of an ancient Germanic alphabet, related to the Roman alphabet.
▪ a mark or letter of mysterious or magic significance.
▪ small stones, pieces of bone, etc., bearing runes, and used as divinatory symbols: "the casting of the runes"
▪ a spell or incantation.
▪ a section of the Kalevala or of an ancient Scandinavian poem.
Word OriginOld Englishrūn ‘a secret, mystery’; not recorded between Middle English and the late 17th century, when it was reintroduced under the influence of Old Norse rúnir, rúnar ‘magic signs, hidden lore’.