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Runt - 4 dictionary results

runt

  [ruhnt] ,
Use Runt in a Sentence
–noun
1. an animal that is small or stunted as compared with others of its kind.
2. the smallest or weakest of a litter, esp. of pigs or puppies.
3. a person who is small and contemptible: That runt causes most of the trouble at the meetings.
4. British Dialect.
a. an old or decayed tree stump.
b. an old cow or ox.
c. an ugly old woman; hag.
Origin:
1495–1505; perh. < D rund bull, cow, ox; akin to G Rind cattle

Related forms:
runtish, adjective
runt⋅ish⋅ly, adverb
runt⋅ish⋅ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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runt   (rŭnt)   
n.  
  1. An undersized animal, especially the smallest animal of a litter.
  2. Offensive A short person.

[Origin unknown.]
runt'i·ness n., runt'y adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Runt

Runt\, n. [Written also rant.] [Scot. runt an old cow, an old, withered woman, a hardened stem or stalk, the trunk of a tree; cf. D. rund a bullock, an ox or cow, G. rind. Cf. Rother, a.]

1. (Zo["o]l.) Any animal which is unusually small, as compared with others of its kind; -- applied particularly to domestic animals.

2. (Zo["o]l.) A variety of domestic pigeon, related to the barb and carrier.

3. A dwarf; also, a mean, despicable, boorish person; -- used opprobriously.

Before I buy a bargain of such runts, I'll buy a college for bears, and live among 'em. --Beau. & Fl.

4. The dead stump of a tree; also, the stem of a plant. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.] --Halliwell.

Neither young poles nor old runts are durable. --Holland.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : Runt
Spanish: alrededor (de),
German: um,
Japanese: ～のまわりに
More Translations »

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."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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