Etymology Explorer › German

Where does “Rune” come from?

Rune (German) comes from Middle High German rūne, from Old High German rūna, from Proto-West Germanic rūnu, from Proto-Germanic rūnō, from Proto-Celtic rūnā — secret, mystery.

Ancestry of “Rune”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle High Germanrūnewhisper
2Old High Germanrūnasecret, mystery
3Proto-West Germanicrūnusecret, mystery; rune, letter
4Proto-Germanicrūnōsecret, mystery; rune
5Proto-Celticrūnāsecret, mystery
Every word from Proto-Celtic rūnā →