rung en · NOUN · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- /ˈɹɐ̞ŋ/ (Australia, New-Zealand)
- /ˈɹʊŋɡ/ without the NG-coalescence
- /ˈɹäŋ/ (Australia, New-Zealand)
- (UK) audio
- /ˈɹʊŋ/
- /ˈɹʌŋ/
- (US) audio
- /ˈɹɜŋ/ Southern US, African-American Vernacular, fronting
Etymology
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”).
Meanings
- A crosspiece forming a step of a ladder; a round.
-
A crosspiece between legs of a chair.
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.
1854, Nathaniel Hawthorne, “Feathertop: a Moralized Legend”, in Mosses from an Old Manse:
-
(figuratively) A position in a hierarchy.
the lowest rung of the society
“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.”
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:
- (dated) A floor timber in a ship.
- (dated) One of the stakes of a cart; a spar; a heavy staff.
- (dated) One of the radial handles projecting from the rim of a steering wheel.
- (dated) One of the pins or trundles of a lantern wheel.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| rungs | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
bottom rung · top rung · runghead · rungless · runged
Descendants
Synonyms
Translations (83)
ga runga (crosspiece between chair legs) · pa ਪੌੜੀ (ladder step) · fr barreau (ladder step) · fi tikas (ladder step) · de Leitersprosse (ladder step) · it traversa (crosspiece between chair legs) · mi kaupae (ladder step) · it scalino (ladder step) · fi astin (ladder step) · gl tranco (crosspiece between chair legs) · ru ступе́нь (ladder step) · id anak tangga (ladder step) · gl banzo (ladder step) · ga runga (a position in a hierarchy) · bg стъпало на подвижна стълба (ladder step) · bg стъпало (a position in a hierarchy) · fi puola (ladder step) · mn гишгүүр (ladder step) · es peldaño (ladder step) · cy ffon (ladder step) · es travesaño (crosspiece between chair legs) · no trinn (ladder step) · ota باصامق (ladder step) · gl bance (ladder step) · gl banceira (ladder step) · ota پایه (ladder step) · fr échelon (a position in a hierarchy) · ar دَرَجَة (ladder step) · vec scalin (ladder step) · km កាំជណ្ដើរ (ladder step) · bcl tangga (ladder step) · it piolo (ladder step) · cy ffon (crosspiece between chair legs) · pa ਡੰਡਾ (ladder step) · vec scałin (ladder step) · pt travessa (crosspiece between chair legs) · ist scaleîn (ladder step) · ru перекла́дина (crosspiece between chair legs) · pdt Spoak (ladder step) · ro treaptă (ladder step) · gl travesallo (crosspiece between chair legs) · hu létrafok (ladder step) · ru ступе́нька (ladder step) · cs příčka (ladder step) · is þrep (ladder step) · gl travesa (crosspiece between chair legs) · de Querstab (crosspiece between chair legs) · da tremme (ladder step) · is trappa (ladder step) · bo སྐས་གདང (ladder step) · ga runga (ladder step) · ab ашьапҿаԥса́ (ladder step) · gl chanzo (ladder step) · mi kaupeka (ladder step) · hu fok (ladder step) · fi poikkipuu (crosspiece between chair legs) · pt degrau (ladder step) · be ганачка (ladder step) · de Sprosse (ladder step) · fi piena (crosspiece between chair legs) · eu maila (ladder step) · sv pinne (ladder step) · sk sprušľa (ladder step) · bg напречник (crosspiece between chair legs) · eo ŝtupeto (ladder step) · ka საფეხური (ladder step) · vi bậc (ladder step) · es escalón (a position in a hierarchy) · sk šprusľa (ladder step) · no rang (a position in a hierarchy) · el σκαλί (ladder step) · pl szczebel (ladder step) · ca barrot (ladder step) · fr barreau (crosspiece between chair legs) · es peldaño (a position in a hierarchy) · fi poikkipuu (ladder step) · mi teka (ladder step) · pl poprzeczka (crosspiece between chair legs) · ca barrot (crosspiece between chair legs) · grc κλιμακτήρ (ladder step) · cs šprušle (ladder step) · cmn 梯級 /梯级 (ladder step) · nl sport (ladder step)