rune-stave Now only arch.
[OE. r{uacu}n-stæf, f. r{uacu}n roun rune2) + stæf staff, stave; cf. OHG. rûnstab, OIcel. r{uacu}nastafr.]
A runic letter or symbol.
| Beowulf 1695 Swa wæs..þurh run-stafas rihte ᵹemearcod. c 1000 ælfric Homilies (Thorpe) II. 358 Ðurh drycræft oððe ðurh runstafum. c 1205 Lay. 9961 He lette þer on grauen sælcuðe run-stauen. 1884 Athenæum 30 Aug. 271 In a chapter upon runes he [Stephens] gives it as his opinion that rune-staves were an independent offshoot from the old Greek alphabet in Scythia. |