Wiktionary

rung

See also: Rung, rừng, and rụng

English

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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From Middle English rung, from Old English hrung, from Proto-West Germanic *hrungu, from Proto-Germanic *hrungō. Cognate with Dutch rong (“pole, stanchion”), German Runge (“stake, pole, stanchion”), Gothic 𐌷𐍂𐌿𐌲𐌲𐌰 (hrugga, “a staff”).

Noun

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rung (plural rungs)

 
Rungs of ladders and chair (PSF)
  1. A crosspiece forming a step of a ladder; a round.
  2. A crosspiece between legs of a chair.
    • 1854, Nathaniel Hawthorne, “Feathertop: a Moralized Legend”, in Mosses from an Old Manse:
      One of its arms was a disabled flail which used to be wielded by Goodman Rigby, before his spouse worried him out of this troublesome world; the other, if I mistake not, was composed of the pudding stick and a broken rung of a chair, tied loosely together at the elbow.
  3. (figurative) A position in a hierarchy.
    the lowest rung of the society
    • 2023 June 15, Kat Moon, “Ashley Park’s Main Character Energy From ‘Joy Ride’ Is Here To Stay: ‘I’m Treating Myself Like A Lead Now’”, in Women's Health‎[1]:
      “I’m very proud that I’ve worked on every rung of the ladder,” Ashley says. “When you go to college, you don’t want to be a senior right away—you want to be a freshman.”
  4. (nautical, dated) A floor timber in a ship.
  5. (dated) One of the stakes of a cart; a spar; a heavy staff.
  6. (engineering, dated) One of the radial handles projecting from the rim of a steering wheel.
  7. (engineering, dated) One of the pins or trundles of a lantern wheel.
Translations
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Etymology 2

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See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

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rung

  1. past participle of ring (only in senses related to a bell)
  2. (chiefly dialectal) simple past of ring
    • 1723, Charles Walker, Memoirs of Sally Salisbury, section VI:
      With ecchoing Shouts the vaulted Chamber rung, / Belle Chuck was now the TOAST of ev'ry Tongue.
    • 1906, South Carolina. General Assembly, Report of State Officers, Board and Committees to the General ...‎[2], page 229:
      Mr. Seibels, in his testimony, said I rung him up to see about labels. He is very much mistaken. I rung him up to see about bottles.
    • 1996, Peter Golenbock, Wrigleyville: A Magical History Tour of the Chicago Cubs‎[3], page 435:
      So they rung him up, and the next day he came to me and wanted to know where that pitch was.
    • 2008, Dean Kuipers, Burning Rainbow Farm: How a Stoner Utopia Went Up in Smoke‎[4], page 70:
      "I just rung him up, told him I was looking for an apartment and some work and got both of them the same day," Moe said.

Adjective

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rung (not comparable)

  1. Of a pig: having a ring through the nose.
    • 1842, American Turf Register and Sporting Magazine, volume 13, page 335:
      […] he passed by his gate with a decided scowl on his furrowed brow, and grunting and growling like a newly rung pig.
    • 1919, Popular Science, volume 95, number 4, page 31:
      A "rung" pig is comfortable as long as he confines his food hunt to the surface of the ground. Ringing a pig of ordinary size is easy, but special arrangements must be made for handling the big ones.

Usage notes

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Rang and rung are incorrect for the past of ring in the sense of encircle, where ringed is used instead.

Rung as a simple past is usually considered incorrect.

Further reading

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Anagrams

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Atong (India)

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Etymology

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From (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.).

Noun

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rung

  1. logboat, dugout canoe

References

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Jingpho

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Burmese ရုံး (rum:).

Noun

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rung

  1. office

References

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  • Kurabe, Keita (2016 December 31) “Phonology of Burmese loanwords in Jinghpaw”, in Kyoto University Linguistic Research‎[5], volume 35, →DOI, →ISSN, pages 91–128

Vietnamese

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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rung • (㧤, 容, 慵, 搈, 𢫝, 𢲣, 𢴋, 𢹈)

  1. to put in motion; to shake; to agitate; to ring (bell)

Derived terms

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Derived terms
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