,| 1. | any of the characters of certain ancient alphabets, as of a script used for writing the Germanic languages, esp. of Scandinavia and Britain, from c200 to c1200, or a script used for inscriptions in a Turkic language of the 6th to 8th centuries from the area near the Orkhon River in Mongolia. |
| 2. | something written or inscribed in such characters. |
| 3. | an aphorism, poem, or saying with mystical meaning or for use in casting a spell. |
