%rune%

adj. 1. of or pertaining to Brunei; as, Bruneian oil production. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. a native or inhabitant of Brunei. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

adj. 1. being or having dark-colored skin and hair; contrasted with blond. [ Narrower terms: adust, sunburned burned brown by the sun; black, brown; black-haired, dark-haired; browned, suntanned, tanned; grizzled, roan; nutbrown ] [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ F. brunet, brunette, brownish, dim. of brun, brune, brown, fr. OHG. br&unr_;n. See Brown, a. ] A girl or woman with a somewhat brown or dark complexion. -- a. Having a dark tint. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Pruned p. pr. & vb. n. Pruning. ] [ OE. proine, probably fr. F. provigner to lay down vine stocks for propagation; hence, probably, the meaning, to cut away superfluous shoots. See Provine. ] 1. To lop or cut off the superfluous parts, branches, or shoots of; to clear of useless material; to shape or smooth by trimming; to trim: as, to prune trees; to prune an essay. Thackeray. [ 1913 Webster ]

Taking into consideration how they [ laws ] are to be pruned and reformed. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

Our delightful task
To prune these growing plants, and tend these flowers. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To cut off or cut out, as useless parts. [ 1913 Webster ]

Horace will our superfluous branches prune. Waller. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To preen; to prepare; to dress. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

His royal bird
Prunes the immortal wing and cloys his beak. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To dress; to prink; -used humorously or in contempt. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. prune, from L. prunum a plum. See Plum. ] A plum; esp., a dried plum, used in cookery; as, French or Turkish prunes; California prunes. [ 1913 Webster ]

German prune (Bot.), a large dark purple plum, of oval shape, often one-sided. It is much used for preserving, either dried or in sirup. --
Prune tree. (Bot.) (a) A tree of the genus Prunus (Prunus domestica), which produces prunes. (b) The West Indian tree, Prunus occidentalis. --
South African prune (Bot.), the edible fruit of a sapindaceous tree (Pappea Capensis). [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ NL., perhaps from G. bræune quinsy, croup. ] (Med.) (a) Angina, or angina pectoris. (b) Thrush. [ 1913 Webster ]

Prunella salt (Old Chem.), niter fused and cast into little balls. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F., dim. of prune. See Prune, n. ] A kind of small and very acid French plum; -- applied especially to the stoned and dried fruit. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. [ F. prunelle, probably so called from its color resembling that of prunes. See Prune, n. ] A smooth woolen stuff, generally black, used for making shoes; a kind of lasting; -- formerly used also for clergymen's gowns. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. prunelle, dim. of prune. See Prune a plum. ] A species of dried plum; prunelle. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. One who prunes, or removes, what is superfluous. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Zool.) Any one of several species of beetles whose larvæ gnaw the branches of trees so as to cause them to fall, especially the American oak pruner (Asemum mœstum), whose larva eats the pith of oak branches, and when mature gnaws a circular furrow on the inside nearly to the bark. When the branches fall each contains a pupa. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To prune again or anew. [ 1913 Webster ]

Yet soon reprunes her wing to soar anew. Young. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ AS. rūn a rune, a secret, a mystery; akin to Icel. rūn, OHG. & Goth. rūna a secret, secret colloquy, G. & Dan. rune rune, and probably to Gr. 'ereyna^n to search for. Cf. Roun to whisper. ] 1. A letter, or character, belonging to the written language of the ancient Norsemen, or Scandinavians; in a wider sense, applied to the letters of the ancient nations of Northern Europe in general. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The Norsemen had a peculiar alphabet, consisting of sixteen letters, or characters, called runes, the origin of which is lost in the remotest antiquity. The signification of the word rune (mystery) seems to allude to the fact that originally only a few were acquainted with the use of these marks, and that they were mostly applied to secret tricks, witchcrafts and enchantments. But the runes were also used in communication by writing. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. pl. Old Norse poetry expressed in runes. [ 1913 Webster ]

Runes were upon his tongue,
As on the warrior's sword. Longfellow. [ 1913 Webster ]

Rune stone, a stone bearing a runic inscription. [ 1913 Webster ]