runn 
by the tides or by land floods: as, the Runn of 
Cutch. 
runnel (run'el), . [Also dial, rttndle, rundel, 
rindle, rindel; < ME. runel, rinel, a streamlet, < 
AS. rynel, a running stream (cf. ri/nel, a runner, 
messenger, courier), dim. of rune, a stream, < 
rinnan, run: see run 1 and r/ne 3 .] A rivulet or 
small brook. 
The Rinels of red blode ran doun his chekes. 
Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.), 1. 7506. 
As a trench the little valley was, 
To catch the runnels that made green its grass. 
William Morris, Earthly Paradise, II. 9. 
A willow Pleiades, . . . 
Their roots, like molten metal cooled in flowing, 
Stiffened in coils and runnels down the bank. 
Lowell, Under the Willows. 
runner (run'er), n. [< ME. runnere, rennere (= 
MHG. rennore, renner); < run 1 + -er 1 .] 1. One 
who or that which runs. Specifically (o) A person 
who or an animal which moves with the gait called a run, 
as in a running-match or race. 
Forspent with toil, as runners with a race. 
Shale., S Hen. VI., 11. 3.1. 
(6) One who is in the act of running, as in any game or 
sport. 
The other side are scouting and trying to put him out, 
either by hitting the batsman (or runner) as he is running, 
or by sending the ball into the hole, which is called 
grounding. Tribune Book of Sports, p. 69. 
(c) One who frequents or runs habitually to a place. 
And fie farre from besy tungges as bytter as gall, 
And rynnars to howsis wher good ale is. 
MS. Laud. 416, f. 39. (Halliwell.) 
(d) A runaway ; a fugitive ; a deserter. 
Let us score their backs, 
And snatch 'em up, as we take hares, behind : 
'Tis sport to maul a runner. 
Shalt., A. and C., iv. 7. 14. 
If I finde any more runners for Newfoundland with the 
Pinnace, let him assuredly looke to nriue at the Gallows. 
Quoted in Capt. John Smith's Works, I. 229. 
(e) One who risks or evades dangers, impediments, or le- 
gal restrictions, as in blockade-running or smuggling ; es- 
pecially, a smuggler. 
By merchants I mean fair traders, and not runners and 
trickers, as the little people often are that cover a contra- 
band trade. Roger North, Examen, p. 490. (Dames.) 
(/) An operator or manager, as of an engine or a machine. 
Every locomotive runner should . . . have an exact 
knowledge of the engine intrusted to him, and a general 
knowledge of the nature and construction of steam en- 
gines generally. Forney, Locomotive, p. 547. 
There are two classes of runners, and a second-class 
man must run an engine two years before he can be pro- 
moted to first-class. The Engineer, LXVIII. 349. 
(g) One who goes about on any sort of errand ; a messen- 
ger; specifically, in Great Britain and in the courts of 
China, a sheriff's officer; a bailiff; in the United States, 
one whose business it is to solicit passengers for railways, 
steamboats, etc. 
A somonour is a rennere up and doun 
With mandementz for fornicacioun, 
And is ybet at every townes ende. 
Chaucer, Prol. to Friar's Tale, 1. 19. 
Runner [of a gaming-house], one who is to get Intel- 
ligence of the Meetings of the Justices, and when the 
Constables are out. Bailey, 1731. 
He was called the Man of Peace on the same principle 
which assigns to constables, Bow-street runners, and such 
like, who carry bludgeons to break folk's heads, and are 
perpetually and officially employed in scenes of riot, the 
title of peace-officers. Scott, St. Eonan's Well, iii. 
For this their runners ramble day and night, 
To drag each lurking deep to open light. 
Crabbe, The Newspaper (Works, 1. 181). 
"It's the runners!" cried Brittles, to all appearance 
much relieved. "The what?" exclaimed the doctor, 
aghast in his turn. "The Bow Street officers, sir," replied 
Brittles. Dickens, Oliver Twist, xxx. 
(A) A commercial traveler. [U.S.] () A running stream ; 
a run. 
When they [trout] are going up the runners to spawn. 
The Field, LXVI. 560. 
<}") pi. In ornith., specifically, the Cursores or Brempennes. 
(*) pi. In entom , specifically, the cursorial orthopterous 
insects ; the cockroaches. See Cursnria. (1) A carangoid 
fish, the leather-jacket, Elagatis pinnulatut. 
2. In bot., a slender prostrate stem, having a 
bud at the end which sends out leaves and 
roots, as in the strawberry ; also, a plant that 
spreads by such creeping stems. Compare 
run 1 , v. i., 10. 
In every root there will be one runner which hath little 
buds on it. Mortimer, Husbandry. 
3. Inmacli.: (o) The tight pulley of a system 
of fast-and-loose pulleys. (6) In a grinding- 
mill, the stone which is turned, in distinction 
from the fixed stone, or bedstone. See cuts un- 
der mill 1 , 1. 
And somtimes whirling, on an open hill, 
The round- flat runner in a roaring mill. 
Sylvester, tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, i. 2. 
(c) In a system of pulleys, a block which moves, 
as distinguished from a block which is held in 
a fixed position. Also called running block. See 
5274 
cut underpttMew. (d) A single rope rove through 
a movable block, having an oye or thimble in 
the end of which a tackle is hooked. 
There are ... all kinds of Shipchandlery necessaries, 
such as blocks, tackles, runners, etc. 
Defoe, Tour through Great Britain, I. 147. (Dories.) 
4. In saddlery, a loop of metal, leather, bone, 
celluloid, ivory, or other material, through 
which a running or sliding strap or rein is 
passed : as, the runners for the gag-rein on the 
throat-latch of a bridle or head-stall. 5. In 
optical-instrument making, a convex cast-iron 
support for lenses, used in shaping them by 
grinding. 
The cast-iron runner is heated just sufficiently to melt 
the cement, and carefully placed upon the cemented backs 
of the lenses. ['re, Diet., III. 106. 
6. That on which anything runs or slides: as, 
the runner or keel of a sleigh or a skate. 
The sleds, although BO low, rest upon narrow runners, 
and the shafts arc attached by a hook. 
B. Taylor, Northern Travel, p. 35. 
7. In molding : (a) A channel cut in the sand of 
a mold to allow melted metal to run from the 
furnace to the space to be filled in the mold. 
The crucibles charged with molten steel direct from the 
melting-holes pour their contents into one of the runners. 
W. II. Greenwood, Steel and Iron, p. 427. 
(6) The small mass of metal left in this chan- 
nel, which shows, when the mold is removed, 
as a projection from the casting. See jet 1 , 4 
(6). 8. In bookbinding, the front board of the 
plow-press, used in cutting edges. [Eng.] 
0. pi. In printing: (a) The friction-rollers in 
the ribs of a printing-press, on which the bed 
slides to and from impression. [Eng.] (6) A 
line of corks put on a form of type to prevent 
the iuking-rollers from sagging, and over-col- 
oring the types. [Eng.] 10. The slide on an 
umbrella-stick, to which the libs or spreaders 
are pivoted. 11. In gunpowder-manuf., same 
as runner-ball. 12. In iron-founding, soda- 
manuf., and other industries in which fusion 
is a necessary operation, a congealed piece of 
metal or material which in the molten state has 
run out of a mold or receptacle, and become 
waste until remelted. 13. In rope-making, a 
steel plate having three holes concentrically 
arranged, and used to separate the three yarns 
in laying up (twisting) a rope. The yarns are passed 
through the holes, and the plate is kept at a uniform dis- 
tance from the junction of the twisted and untwisted parts, 
rendering the twist uniform. 
14. A market-vessel for the transportation of 
fish, oysters, etc Brook-runner. Same as velvet 
runner. Double-runner. Same as bob-sled. Runner 
of a trawl. See trau-l.- Scarlet runner, the scarlet- 
flowered form of the Spanish bean, Phaseolus multijlorus, 
native in South America : a common high-twining orna- 
mental plant with showy, casually white blossoms. Also 
called scarlet bean. Velvet runner, the water-rail, llal- 
lue aquaticus : so called from its stealthy motions. [Local, 
British.] 
runner-ball (run'er-bal), . In gunpoioder- 
manuf., a disk of hard wood used to crush the 
mill-cake through the sieves in order to granu- 
late the powder. 
runner-Stick (run'er-stik), w. In founding, a 
cylindrical or conical piece of wood extending 
upward from the pattern and having the sand 
of the cope packed about it. When withdrawn, 
it leayes a channel called the runner leading 
to the interior of the mold. 
mnnet (run'et), n. A dialectal form of rennet 1 . 
running (run 'ing), n. [Verbal n. of run 1 , v,~) 
1. The act of one who or that which runs. 2. 
Specifically, the act of one who risks or evades 
dangers or legal restrictions, as in running a 
blockade or smuggling. 
It was hoped that the extensive smuggling that pre- 
vailed would be mitigated by heavy penalties, which were 
now imposed upon custom-house officers for neglect of 
duty in preventing the running of brandy. 
5. Dowett, Taxes in England, IV. 216. 
3. The action of a whale after being struck 
by the harpoon, when it swims but does not 
sound. 4. In racing, etc., power, ability, or 
strength to run ; hence, staying power. 
He thinks I've running in me yet ; he sees that I'll come 
out one of these days in top condition. 
Lever, Davenport Dunn, xii. 
He [Kingston] was not only full of running throughout 
the race, but finished second, and just as strong as Han- 
over. Kew York Evening Post, June 28, 1889. 
5. The ranging of any animals, particularly in 
connection with the rut, or other actions of the 
breeding season: also used attributively: as, 
the running time of salmon or deer. 
The history of the buffalo's daily life and habits should 
begin with the "running season." 
Smithsonian Report, 1887, ii. 415. 
running 
6. In organ-building, a leakage of the air in a 
wind-chest into a channel so that a pipe is 
sounded when its digital is depressed, although 
its stop is not drawn ; also, the sound of a pipe 
thus sounded. Also called running of the wind. 
7. That which runs or flows; the quantity 
run: as, the first running of a still, or of cider 
at the mill. 
And from the dregs of life think to receive 
What the first sprightly running could not give. 
Drydfn, Aurengzebe, iv. 1. 
It [Glapthome's work] is exactly in flavour and charac- 
ter the last not sprigh ly runnings of a generous liquor. 
Sainttbury, Hist. Elizabethan Lit., xi. 
8. Course, direction, or manner of flowing or 
moving. 
All the rivers in the world, though they have divers 
risings and divers runnings. ... do at last find and fall 
into the great ocean. Raleigh, Hist. World, Pref., p. 47. 
In the running, out of the running, competing or not 
competing in a race or other contest; hence, qualified or 
not qualified for such a contest, or likely or not likely to 
take part in or to succeed in it. [Colloq. I Running off, 
in founding, the operation of opening the tap hole in a 
blast-furnace, so that the metal can flow through the chan- 
nels to the molds. To make good one's runn ng, to run 
as well as one's rival ; keep abreast with others ; prove 
one's self a match for a rival. 
The world had esteemed him when he first made good 
his running with the Lady Fanny. 
Trollope, Small House at Allington, ii. 
To make the running, to force the pace at the begin- 
ning of a race, by causing a second-class horse to set off 
at a high speed, with the view of giving a better chance 
to a staying horse of the same owner. 
Ben Caunt was to make the running for Haphazard. 
U. Kingsley, Ravenshoe, xxxvl. 
To take up the running, to go off at full speed from a 
slower pace ; take the lead ; take the most active part in 
any undertaking. 
But silence was not dear to the heart of the honourable 
John, and so he took up the running. 
Trollope, Dr. Thome, v. 
running (run'ing), p. a. [Ppr. of run 1 , .] 1. 
That runs; suited for running, racing, etc. See 
run 1 , n., 1 (a). 
A concourse ... of noblemen and gentlemen meet 
together, in mirth, peace, and amity, for the exercise of 
their swift running-horses, every Thursday in Slarch. 
The prize they run for is a silver and gilt cup, with a 
cover, to the value of seven or eight pounds. 
Butcher, quoted in Strjitt's Sports and Pastimes, p. 103. 
In the reign of Edward III. the running horses pur- 
chased for the king's service were generally estimated at 
twenty marks, or thirteen pounds, six shillings, and eight- 
pence each. Strutt, Sports and Pastimes, p. 104. 
Specifically, in zo$l., cursorial ; gressorial ; ambulatory ; 
not salient or saltatory. 
2f. Capable of moving quickly; movable; mo- 
bilized. 
The Indians did so annoy them by sudden assaults out 
of the swamps, etc., that he was forced to keep a running 
army to be ready to oppose them upon all occasions. 
Winthrop, Hist. New England, II. 117. 
3. Done, made, taken, etc., in passing, or 
while hastening along ; hence, cursory ; hasty ; 
speedy. 
The fourth Summer [A. I). 82], Domitian then ruling the 
Empire, he spent in settling and confirming what the 
year before he had travail 'd over with a running Con- 
quest. Milton, Hist. Eng., ii. 
When you step but a few doors off to tattle with a 
wench, or take a runniny pot of ale, . . . leave the street 
door open. Sunft, Advice to Servant* (Footman). 
4. Cursive, as manuscript: as, running hand 
(see below). 5. Proceeding in close succes- 
sion; without intermission: used in a semi- 
adverbial sense after nouns denoting periods 
of time : as, I had the same dream three nights 
running. 
How would my Lady Ailesbury have liked to be asked 
in a palish church for three Sundays running? 
Walpole, Letters, II. 334. 
Legislation may disappoint them fifty times running, 
without at all shaking their faith in its efficiency. 
U. Spencer, Social Statics, p. 422. 
6. Continuous; unintermittent ; persistent. 
The click-click of her knitting-needles is the running 
accompaniment to all her conversation. 
George Eliot, Amos Barton, i. 
7. In bot., repent or creeping by ninners, as the 
strawberry. See runner, 2. Running banquett. 
See banquet, 3. Running block. Sec MocJ-i, 11. Run- 
ning board, (a) A narrow platform extending along the 
side of a locomotive. (6) A horizontal bonrd along the ridge 
of a box freight car or the side of an oil-car, to form a 
passage for the trainmen. Running bond, ^ee buudi. 
Running bowline, a bowline-knot made round a part 
of the same rope, so as to make a noose. Running bow- 
sprit See bowsprit. Running buffalo-clover, an 
American clover, Trffalium Ktnloniferum. closely related 
to T. rejtexum, the butt'alo-clover. but spreading by run- 
ners. Running days, a chartering term for consecu- 
tive days occupied on a voyage, etc , including Sundays, 
and not therefore limited to working days. Running 
dustman. See dustman. Running fight, a flght kept 
up by the party pursuing and the party pursued. 
