rung
pronunciation
How to pronounce rung in British English:
UK [rʌŋ]
How to pronounce rung in American English:
US [rʌŋ]
-
- Noun:
- a crosspiece between the legs of a chair
- one of the crosspieces that form the steps of a ladder
Word Origin
- rung (n.)
- Old English hrung "rod, bar," from Proto-Germanic *khrungo (cognates: Middle Low German runge, Old High German runga "stake, stud, stave," German Runge "stake, stud, stave," Middle Dutch ronghe, Dutch rong "rung," Gothic hrugga "staff"), of unknown origin with no connections outside Germanic. Sense in English narrowed to "round or stave of a ladder" (first attested late 13c.), but usage of cognate words remains more general in other Germanic languages. This [rungs] has generally been considered as a mere corruption of rounds; and people of education use only this latter word. [John Pickering, "A Vocabulary or Collection of Words and Phrases which have been Supposed to be Peculiar to the United States of America," Boston, 1816]
Example
- 1. She really wishes her clock had rung this morning .
- 2. What was she doing when the phone rung ?
- 3. Tom has rung three times already this morning .
- 4. They replayed in your mind and rung in your ears .
- 5. She really wishes her clock had rung .