RUNT DEFINITIONS - 10 definitions found
runt n 1: disparaging terms for small people [syn: runt, shrimp, peewee, half-pint] runt turn runt 1501, "old or decayed tree stump," of unknown origin. Meaning extended to "small ox or cow" (first recorded 1549) and by 1614 to other animals and people. Specific sense of "smallest of a litter" is 1841. Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition (2003) runt noun Etymology: origin unknown Date: 1501 1. chiefly Scottish a hardened stalk or stem of a plant 2. an animal unusually small of its kind; especially the smallest of a litter of pigs 3. a person of small stature • runtiness noun • runtish adjective • runty adjective Oxford English Reference Dictionary
English Explanatory Dictionary runt rʌnt n. 1 a small pig, esp. the smallest in a litter. 2 a weakling; an undersized person. 3 a large domestic pigeon. 4 a small ox or cow, esp. of various Scottish Highland or Welsh breeds. øørunty adj. [16th c.: orig. unkn.] 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue RUNT A short squat man or woman: from the small cattle called Welsh runts. Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) 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. Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 61 Moby Thesaurus words for "runt": Lilliputian, Tom Thumb, a nobody, a nothing, bantam, banty, brownie, button, chit, cipher, common man, diminutive, dummy, dwarf, elf, featherweight, figurehead, fingerling, gnome, homunculus, insignificancy, jackstraw, lightweight, lilliputian, little fellow, little guy, man of straw, manikin, mediocrity, midge, midget, mini, minikin, minnow, minny, mouse, nebbish, nobody one knows, nonentity, nubbin, obscurity, peewee, pip-squeak, pony, punk, pygmy, scrub, shrimp, slip, small fry, small potato, small potatoes, snip, snippet, squirt, squit, tit, wart, whiffet, whippersnapper, wisp |
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