A- (3) prefix meaning "not," from Gk a-, an- "not," from pie base *ne "not" (see un-)

rumpus --- 1764, of unknown origin, possibly an alteration of robustious "boisterous, noisy" (1548; see robust). First record of rumpus room is from 1940.

run (n.) --- spell of running, c.1450 (earlier ren, c.1390), from run (v.). Sense of "small stream" first recorded 1581, mostly Northern Eng. dialect and Amer.Eng. Meaning "series or rush of demands on a bank, etc." is first recorded 1692. Baseball sense is from 1856. Meaning "single trip by a railroad train" is from 1857. Military aircraft sense is from 1916. Meaning "total number of copies printed" is from 1909. Meaning "tear in a knitted garment" is from 1922. Phrase a run for one's money is from 1874. Run-in "quarrel, confrontation" is from 1905.

run (v.) --- the modern verb is a merger of two related O.E. words. The first is rinnan, irnan (strong, intransitive, pt. ran, pp. runnen), from P.Gmc. *renwanan (cf. M.Du. runnen, O.S., O.H.G., Goth. rinnan, Ger. rinnen "to flow, run"), from PIE base *ren- "to run." The sense of "cause to run" is from O.E. ærnan, earnan (weak, transitive, probably a metathesis of *rennan), from P.Gmc. *rannjanan, causative of the root *ren- "run." Of streams, etc., from c.1205; of machinery, from 1562. Meaning "to be in charge of" is first attested 1861, originally Amer.Eng. Meaning "to seek office in an election" is from 1826, Amer.Eng. Phrase run for it "take flight" is attested from 1642. Most figurative uses are from horseracing or hunting (cf to run (something) into the ground, 1836, Amer.Eng.), except (to feel) run down (1901) which is from clocks (in the lit. sense, 1761). To run across "meet" is attested from 1880. To run short "exhaust one's supply" is from 1752; to run out of in the same sense is from 1713.

runaround (n.) --- deceptive, evasive treatment, 1915, from run (v.) + around. The verbal phrase run around "to associate" (with) is from 1887.

runaway (n.) --- 1547, from run (v.) + away.

runcible --- 1871, a nonsense word coined by Edward Lear; used especially in runcible spoon "spoon with three short tines like a fork," which first took the name 1926.

rundown (n.) --- in baseball sense, first recorded 1908, from run + down. Meaning "list of entries in a horse race and the odds" is from 1935; slang sense of "summary, account, list of information or facts" is from 1945.

rune --- O.E. run, rune "secret, mystery, dark mysterious statement," also "a runic letter," from P.Gmc. *runo (cf. O.N. run "a secret, magic sign, runic character," O.H.G. runa "a secret conversation, whisper," Goth. runa), from PIE *ru-no-, source of technical terms of magic in Gmc. and Celtic. The word entered M.E. as roun and by normal evolution would have become Mod.Eng. *rown, but it died out c.1450 when the use of runes did. The modern usage is from 1685, introduced by Ger. philologists from a Scand. source (cf. Dan. rune, from O.N. run). The runic alphabet is believed to have developed by 2c. C.E. from contact with Gk. writing, the alphabet modified to be more easily cut into wood or stone. Cf. also Runnymede. For some notes on the Germanic runes, see this page.

rung --- O.E. hrung "rod, bar," from P.Gmc. *khrungo (cf. M.L.G. runge, O.H.G. runga "stake, stud, stave," M.Du. ronghe, Du. rong "rung," Goth. hrugga "staff"), of unknown origin with no connections outside Gmc. Sense in Eng. narrowed to "round or stave of a ladder" (first attested c.1290), but usage of cognate words remains more general in other Gmc. languages.

runnel --- rivulet, 1577, in Hakluyt, from O.E. rinelle, a dim. form related to rinnan "to run" (see run (v.)).

runner --- c.1300, from run (v.). Meaning "smuggler" first recorded 1721; sense of "embroidered cloth for a table" is from 1889. Runner-up is from 1842, originally in dog racing.

running --- n. of action from run (v.); to be in (or out) of the running "among" (or "not among") "the lead competitors in a race" (1863) is a metaphor from horse racing, where make the running "set the pace" is recorded from 1837. Running mate originally was a horse entered in a race to set the pace for another from the same stable who was intended to win (1868); U.S. vice-presidential sense is recorded from 1900. Running dog first recorded 1937, from Chinese and N.Korean communist phrases used to describe supposed imperialist lackeys, cf. Mandarin zou gou "running dog," on the notion of a dog that runs at its master's command. Running board first attested 1817, in ref. to ships and boats.

Runnymede --- place in Surrey where the Magna Charta was signed, M.E. Ronimede (1215) lit. "meadow on the council island," from O.E. runieg "council island," from run in sense of "council" (see rune).

run-off --- precipitation water drained by streams and rivers, 1892, from run (v.) + off. Meaning "deciding race after a tie" is from 1873; electoral sense is first attested 1924, Amer.Eng.

run-of-the-mill --- unspectacular, 1909, lit. in ref. to material yielded by a mill, etc., before sorting for quality. Fig use is from 1930.

runt --- 1501, "old or decayed tree stump," of unknown origin. Meaning extended to "small ox or cow" (1549) and by 1614 to other animals and people. Specific Amer.Eng. sense of "smallest of a litter" (esp. of pigs) is attested from 1841. Some see a connection to M.Du. runt "ox," but OED thinks this unlikely, and pronounces the word "of obscure origin."

runway --- 1833, "customary track of an animal," especially a deer, Amer.Eng., from run (v.) + way. Meaning "artificial sloping track" is attested from 1883; airfield sense is from 1923.

rupee --- Indian coin, 1612, from Hindi or Urdu rupiyah, from Skt. rupyah "wrought silver," originally "something provided with an image, a coin," from rupah "shape, likeness, image."

Rupert --- masc. proper name, probably a blend of Ger. Ruprecht + Robert.

rupture (n.) --- 1481, from L. ruptura "the breaking (of an arm or leg), fracture," from pp. stem of rumpere "to break," cognate with O.E. reafian "to seize, rob, plunder," reofan "to tear, break;" O.N. rjufa "to break;" see reft). Meaning "abdominal hernia" first attested 1539. The verb is first recorded 1739.

rural --- 1412, from O.Fr. rural (14c.), from L. ruralis "of the countryside," from rus (gen. ruris) "open land, country," from PIE *rur- "open space" (cf. O.C.S. ravinu "level," O.Ir. roi, roe "plain field," O.E. rum "space;" see room).

Ruritanian --- utopian, 1896, from Ruritania, name of an imaginary kingdom in The Prisoner of Zenda (1894) by Anthony Hope (1863-1933), who coined it from L. rus (gen. ruris) "country" (see rural) + Latinate ending -itania (cf. Mauritania).

ruse --- 1410, "dodging movements of a hunted animal," from O.Fr. ruse (14c.), noun use of ruser "to dodge, repel, retreat," from L. recusare "deny, reject, oppose," from re- intensive prefix, + causari "plead as a reason, object, allege," from causa "reason, cause." Or the O.Fr. word may be from L. rursus "backwards." "A French word neither elegant nor necessary." [Johnson] But the verb ruse was used in M.E.

rush (n.) --- plant growing in marshy ground, O.E. resc, earlier risc, from P.Gmc. *rusk- (cf. M.L.G. rusch, M.H.G. rusch, W.Fris. risk). O.Fr. rusche probably is from a Gmc. source. Used for making torches and finger rings, also strewn on floors when visitors arrived; it was attested a type of "something of no value" from c.1300.

rush (v.) --- c.1340 (implied in rushing), "to drive back or down," from Anglo-Fr. russher, from O.Fr. ruser "to dodge, repel" (see ruse). Meaning "to do something quickly" is from 1659; transitive sense of "to hurry up (someone or something)" is from 1850. Football sense originally was in rugby (1857). Fraternity/sorority sense is from 1896 (originally it was what the fraternity did to the student). The noun is attested from c.1380; sense of "mass migration of people" (especially to a gold field) is from 1848, Amer.Eng. Meaning "surge of pleasure" is from 1960s. Rush hour first recorded 1890.

rusk --- light, crisp bits of bread or biscuit, 1595, from Sp. or Port. rosca "roll, twist of bread," lit. "coil, spiral," of unknown origin, perhaps from a pre-Latin Iberian word.

Russell --- masc. proper name, from O.Fr. rous-el, dim. of rous "red," used as a personal name.

russet --- c.1248, "cloth of reddish-brown color" (sense of the color itself is first recorded 1422), from O.Fr. rousset, from rosset (adj.) "reddish," dim. of ros, rous "red," from L. russus, related to ruber "red," from PIE *reudh- "red" (see red). As a color name, attested from 1532. The word was first applied to a type of apples 1629, to a type of pears 1725.

Russia --- 1538, from M.L. Russi "the people of Russia," from Rus, the native name of the people and the country (cf. Arabic Rus, Med.Gk. Rhos), originally the name of a group of Swed. merchant/warriors who established themselves around Kiev 9c. and founded the original Russian principality; perhaps from Ruotsi, the Finnish name for "Sweden," from O.N. Roþrslandi, old name of Roslagen "the land of rowing," where the Finns first encountered the Swedes. Or perhaps related to the IE root for "red," in ref. to hair color. Russian city-states were founded and ruled by Vikings and their descendants. The Russian form of the name, Rossiya, appears to be from Byzantine Gk. Rhosia. Slang or colloq. Russki "Russian" (1858) is from Rus. Russkiy. Russian roulette attested from 1937.

rust (n.) --- O.E. rust, related to rudu "redness," from P.Gmc. *rusta- (cf. Fris. rust, O.H.G., Ger. rost, M.Du. ro(e)st), from PIE *reudh-s-to- (cf. Lith. rustas "brownish," rudeti "to rust;" L. robigo, O.C.S. ruzda "rust"), from base *reudh- "red." The verb is attested from c.1225. As a plant disease, attested from c.1340. Rust Belt "dacayed urban industrial areas of mid-central U.S." (1984) was popularized, if not coined, by Walter Mondale's presidential campaign.

rustic --- 1440, from L. rusticus, from rus (gen. ruris) "open land, country" (see rural). Noun meaning "a country person, peasant" is from c.1550.

rustication --- 1623, from L. rusticationem (nom. rusticatio) "act or fact of living in the country," from rusticatus, pp. of rusticari "live or stay in the country," from rusticus (see rustic).

rustle --- to emit soft, rapid sounds, 1387 (implied in rustling), of uncertain origin, perhaps imitative (cf. M.L.G. ruschen, M.Du. ruusscen, Ger. rauschen "to rustle"). The noun is attested from 1759. Meaning "steal" (especially cattle) first attested 1882, probably from earlier Amer.Eng. slang sense of "move about vigorously" (1872), perhaps a separate word, compounded from rush and hustle.

rusty --- O.E. rustig, from rust (see rust). Cf. Fris. roastich, M.Du. roestich, O.H.G. rostag, Ger. rostig. "In the 16th and 17th centuries frequently used as a term of general disparagement" [OED]. Of skills, accomplishments, etc., first attested 1796.

rut (1) --- track, 1580, probably from M.E. route (see route); though OED finds this "improbable." metaphoric meaning "narrow, monotonous routine" first attested 1839.

rut (2) --- animal mating season (originally of deer), c.1410, from O.Fr. rut, ruit, from L.L. rutigum (nom. rugitus) "a bellowing," from pp. of L. rugire "to bellow." The verb is recorded from c.1625.

rutabaga --- 1799, from Swed. dial. (W. Götland) rotabagge, from rot "root" + bagge "bag." Slang meaning "dollar" is from 1940s.

Ruth --- fem. proper name, biblical ancestor of David, from Heb. Ruth, probably a contraction of reuth "companion, friend, fellow woman."

Ruthenian --- 1850, of or pertaining to the Ukrainian people (earlier Ruthene, 1548), from M.L. Rutheni "the Little Russians," a derivative of Russi (see Russia). For consonant change, cf. M.L. Prut(h)eni, from Prussi "Prussians." The element Ruthenium (1848) was so named because it was first noted in ores from the Ural Mountains.

ruthless --- c.1327, from reuthe "pity, compassion" (c.1175), formed from reuwen "to rue" (see rue (v.)) on the model of true/truth, etc. Ruthful (c.1225) has fallen from use since late 17c. except as a deliberate archaism.

Ruy Lopez --- type of chess opening, 1876, from Ruy López de Segura (fl. 1560), Sp. bishop and writer on chess, who developed it.

rye --- O.E. ryge, from P.Gmc. *ruig (cf. O.S. roggo, O.N. rugr, O.Fris. rogga, M.Du. rogghe, O.H.G. rocko, Ger. Roggen), probably originally from Balto-Slavic (cf. O.C.S. ruzi, Rus. rozhi "rye;" Lith. rugys "grain of rye," pl. rugiai). Meaning "whiskey" first attested 1835.

-'s --- suffix forming the possessive case of most Mod.Eng. nouns, was gradually extended in M.E. from O.E. -es, the most common genitive inflection of masc. and neut. nouns (cf. dæg "day," gen. dæges "day's"). But O.E. also had genitives in -e, -re, -an as well as "mutation-genitives" (cf. boc "book," plural bec), and the -es form was never used in plural (where -a, -ra, -na prevailed), thus avoiding the ambiguity of words like kings'. As a suffix forming some adverbs, it represents the gen. sing. ending of O.E. masc. and neuter nouns and some adjectives.

-s (1) --- suffix forming almost all Mod.Eng. plural nouns, was gradually extended in M.E. from O.E. -as, the nom. plural and acc. plural ending of certain "strong" masc. nouns (cf. dæg "day," nom./acc. pl. dagas "days"). The commonest Gmc. declension, traceable back to the original PIE inflection system, it is also the source of the Du. -s plurals and (by rhotacism) Scand. -r plurals (e.g. Swed. dagar). Much more uniform today than originally; O.E. also had a numerous category of "weak" nouns that formed their plurals in -an, and other strong nouns that formed plurals with -u. Quirk and Wrenn, in their O.E. grammar, estimate that 45 percent of the nouns a student will encounter will be masc., nearly four-fifths of them with gen. sing. -es and nom./acc. pl. in -as. Less than half, but still the largest chunk. The triumphs of -'s possessives and -s plurals represent common patterns in language: using only a handful of suffixes to do many jobs (cf. -ing), and the most common variant squeezing out the competition. To further muddy the waters, it's been extended in slang since 1936 to singulars (e.g. ducks, sweets, babes) as an affectionate or dim. suffix. O.E. single-syllable collectives (sheep, folk) as well as weights, measures, and units of time did not use -s. The use of it in these cases began in M.E., but the older custom is preserved in many traditional dialects (ten pound of butter; more than seven year ago).

-s (2) --- third pers. sing. pres. indic. suffix of verbs, it represents O.E. -es, -as, which began to replace -eð in Northumbrian 10c., and gradually spread south until by Shakespeare it had emerged from colloquialism and -eth began to be limited to more dignified speeches.

S.P.Q.R. --- the insignia of Rome, from L. Senatus Populusque Romanus "the Senate and People of Rome."

S.T.P. --- commercial motor oil additive, probably an acronym of scientifically treated petroleum. As the street name of a type of psychedelic drug, attested from 1967.

S.W.A.T. --- 1968, acronym for Special Weapons and Tactics squad or team; or Special Weapons Attack Team.

Sabaoth --- c.1325, from L.L., from Gk. Sabaoth, from Heb. tzebhaoth "hosts, armies," plural of tzabha "army." A word translated in O.T. in phrase "the Lord of Hosts," but originally left untranslated in N.T. and "Te Deum" in the designation Lord of Sabaoth; often confused with sabbath (q.v.).

sabbat --- witches' sabbath, 1652, from Fr. form of sabbath (q.v.); a special application of that word.

sabbatarian --- 1620, "a Christian unusually strict about Sabbath observation," from L. Sabbatarius (adj.), from Sabbatum (see Sabbath). Meaning "member of a Christian sect which maintained the Sabbath should be observed on the seventh day" is attested from 1645; earlier sabbatary (1596).

Sabbath --- O.E. sabat "Saturday," observed by the Jews as a day of rest, from L. sabbatum, from Gk. sabbaton, from Heb. shabbath, prop. "day of rest," from shabath "he rested." The Babylonians regarded seventh days as unlucky, and avoided certain activities then; the Jewish observance may have begun as a similar custom. From the seventh day of the week, it began to be applied c.1410 to the first day (Sunday), a change completed during the Reformation. The original meaning is preserved in Sp. Sabado, It. Sabbato, and other languages' names for "Saturday." Hung. szombat, Rus. simbata, Fr. samedi, Ger. Samstag "Saturday" are from V.L. sambatum, from Gk. *sambaton, a vulgar nasalized variant of sabbaton.

sabbatical --- 1645, "of or suitable for the Sabbath," from L. sabbaticus, from Gk. sabbatikos "of the Sabbath" (see Sabbath). Meaning "a year's absence granted to researchers" (originally one year in seven, to university professors) first recorded 1886 (the thing itself is attested from 1880, at Harvard), related to sabbatical year (1599) in Mosaic law, the seventh year, in which land was to remain untilled and debtors and slaves released.

saber --- single-edged sword, 1680, from Fr. sabre "heavy, curved sword" (17c.), alteration of sable (1640), from Ger. Sabel, probably ult. from Hung. szablya "saber," lit. "tool to cut with," from szabni "to cut." The Slavic words (cf. Rus. sablya, Polish szabla "sword, saber") are perhaps also from Ger. It. sciabla seems to be directly from Hungarian. Saber-rattling "militarism" is attested from 1922. Saber-toothed cat (originally tiger) is attested from 1849.

Sabian --- an adherent of a religious sect mentioned thrice in the Qu'ran (in which they are classified with Christians, and Jews as "true believers" worth of toleration by Muslims), 1614, from Arabic, of uncertain origin. Perhaps the ref. is to a Gnostic sect akin to the later Mandæans (if the word derives, as some think it does, from Arabic ch'bae "to baptize"); but it has the appearance of derivation from the Sem. root of Heb. tzabha "host" (see Sabaoth), and as the Sabians were thought in the Middle Ages to have been star-worshippers, it was interpreted as referring to the "host of heaven."

Sabine --- pertaining to a people in ancient Italy, 1387, from L. Sabinus (in poetic L. often Sabellus), connected by Tucker to root *sabh- "combine, gather, unite" (cf. Skt. sabha "gathering of village community," Rus. sebr "neighbor, friend," Goth. sibja, O.H.G. sippa "blood-relationship, peace, alliance," O.E. sibb "relationship, peace").

sable (1) --- 1423, from M.Fr. sable (also martre sable "sable martin"), in reference to the mammal or its fur, from O.Fr., from a Gmc. source (cf. M.Du. sabel, M.L.G. sabel, M.H.G. zobel), ultimately from a Slavic source (cf. Rus., Pol., Czech sobol, the name of the animal), "which itself is borrowed from an East-Asiatic language" [Klein].

sable (2) --- 1352, "black" as a heraldic color, commonly identified with sable (1), but the animal's fur is brown and this may be a different word of unknown origin; it may reflect a medieval custom (unattested) of dyeing sable fur black.

sabotage (n.) --- 1910, from Fr. sabotage, from saboter "to sabotage, bungle," lit. "walk noisily," from sabot "wooden shoe" (13c.), altered (by association with O.Fr. bot "boot") from M.Fr. savate "old shoe," from an unidentified source that also produced similar words in O.Prov., Port., Sp., It., Arabic and Basque. In Fr., the sense of "deliberately and maliciously destroying property" originally was in ref. to labor disputes, but the oft-repeated story that the modern meaning derives from strikers' supposed tactic of throwing old shoes into machinery is not supported by the etymology. Likely it was not meant as a literal image; the word was used in Fr. in a variety of "bungling" senses, such as "to play a piece of music badly." The verb is first attested 1918 in Eng., from the noun. Saboteur is 1921, a borrowing from Fr.

Sabra --- Jew born in Palestine (or, after 1948, Israel), 1945, from Mod.Heb. sabrah, lit. "prickly pear."

sac --- biological pocket, 1741, from Fr. sac, from L. saccus "bag" (see sack (n.1)).

saccharin --- white crystalline compound used as a sugar substitute, 1885, from Ger., coined by chemist Fahlberg, 1879, from L. saccharon (see saccharine).

saccharine --- 1674, "of or like sugar," from M.L. saccharum "sugar," from L. saccharon, from Gk. sakkharon, from Pali sakkhara, from Skt. sarkara "gravel, grit" (see sugar). Metaphoric sense of "overly sweet" first recorded 1841.

sacerdotal --- c.1400, from O.Fr. sacerdotal, from L. sacerdotalis "of or pertaining to a priest," from sacerdos (gen. sacerdotis) "priest," lit. "offerer of sacrifices," from sacer "holy" + stem of dare "to give" (see date (1)).

sachem --- chief of an Amer. Indian tribe, 1622, from Narragansett (Algonquian) sachimau "chief, ruler," cognate with Abenaki sangman, Delaware sakima, Micmac sakumow, Penobscot sagumo (source of sagamore, 1613). Applied jocularly to a prominent member of any society from 1684; specific political use in U.S. is from 1890, from its use as the title of the 12 high officials of the Tammany Society of New York.

sachet --- small perfumed bag, 1838, from Fr. sachet (12c.), dim. of sac (see sac). A reborrowing of a word that had been used 15c. in the sense "small bag, wallet."

sack (n.1) --- large bag, O.E. sacc (W.Saxon), sec (Mercian), sæc (Old Kentish) "large cloth bag," also "sackcloth," from P.Gmc. *sakkiz (cf. M.Du. sak, O.H.G. sac, O.N. sekkr, but Goth. sakkus probably is directly from Gk.), an early borrowing from L. saccus (cf. O.Fr. sac, Sp. saco, It. sacco), from Gk. sakkos, from Semitic (cf. Heb. saq "sack"). The wide spread of the word is probably due to the story of Joseph. Slang meaning "bunk, bed" is from 1825, originally nautical. The verb meaning "go to bed" is recorded from 1946.

sack (n.2) --- a dismissal from work, 1825, from sack (n.1), perhaps from the notion of the worker going off with his tools in a bag; the original formula was to give (someone) the sack. It is attested earlier in Fr. (on luy a donné son sac, 17c.) and M.Du. (iemand den zak geven). The verb is recorded from 1841.

sack (n.3) --- sherry, 1531, alteration of Fr. vin sec "dry wine," from L. siccus "dry."

sack (v.1) --- to plunder, 1549, from M.Fr. sac, in the phrase mettre à sac "put it in a bag," a military leader's command to his troops to plunder a city (parallel to It. sacco, with the same range of meaning), from V.L. *saccare "to plunder," originally "to put plundered things into a sack," from L. saccus "bag" (see sack (n.1)). The notion is probably of putting booty in a bag. This is the root of the verb in the U.S. football sense (1969).

sackbut --- medieval wind instrument, 1509, from Fr. saquebute, a bass trumpet with a slide like a trombone; presumably identical with O.N.Fr. saqueboute (14c.), "a lance with an iron hook for pulling down mounted men," said to be from O.N.Fr. saquier "to pull, draw" + bouter "to thrust." In Dan. iii.5, used wrongly to transl. Aramaic sabbekha, name of a stringed instrument (translated correctly in Septuagint as sambuke, and in Vulgate as sambuca, both names of stringed instruments, and probably ult. cognate with the Aramaic word). The error began with Coverdale (1535), who evidently thought it was a wind instrument and rendered it with shawm (q.v.); the Geneva translators, evidently following Coverdale, chose sackbut because it sounded like the original Aramaic word, and this was followed in KJV and Revised versions.

sackcloth --- penitential garb, c.1300, from sack (n.1) + cloth. In the Biblical sense it was of goats' or camels' hair, the coarsest possible clothing.

sacrament --- c.1175, from O.Fr. sacrament (12c.), from L. sacramentum "a consecrating," from sacrare "to consecrate" (see sacred); a Church Latin loan-translation of Gk. mysterion "mystery."

sacre bleu --- stereotypical Fr. oath, 1869, from Fr. sacré bleu, lit. "holy blue," a euphemism for sacré Dieu (1768), "holy God."

sacred --- c.1300, from pp. of obs. verb sacren "to make holy" (c.1225), from O.Fr. sacrer (12c.), from L. sacrare "to make sacred, consecrate," from sacer (gen. sacri) "sacred, dedicated, holy, accursed," from O.L. saceres, which Tucker connects to base *saq- "bind, restrict, enclose, protect," explaining that "words for both 'oath' & 'curse' are regularly words of 'binding.' " But Buck merely groups it with Oscan sakrim, Umbrian sacra and calls it "a distinctive Italic group, without any clear outside connections." Nasalized form is sancire "make sacred, confirm, ratify, ordain." Sacred cow "object of Hindu veneration," is from 1891; fig. sense is first recorded 1910, from Western views of Hinduism.