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rune
(redirected from Runic alphabet)

   Also found in: Legal, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.01 sec.

rune

Any of the characters within an early Germanic writing system. The runic alphabet, also called futhark, is attested in northern Europe, Britain, Scandinavia, and Iceland from about the 3rd century to the 16th or 17th century AD. The Goths may have developed it from the Etruscan alphabet of northern Italy. More than 4,000 runic inscriptions and several runic manuscripts are extant. Approximately 2,500 of these come from Sweden, the remainder being from Norway, Denmark, Britain, Iceland, and various islands off the coast of Britain and Scandinavia, as well as France, Germany, Ukraine, and Russia.


rune
1. any of the characters of an ancient Germanic alphabet, derived from the Roman alphabet, in use, esp in Scandinavia, from the 3rd century ad to the end of the Middle Ages. Each character was believed to have a magical significance
2. any obscure piece of writing using mysterious symbols
3. a kind of Finnish poem or a stanza in such a poem


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Recently, the deciphering of a 5th-century inscription written in the runic alphabet led to the discovery of a new type of magic square.
 
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