Rund"let (?), n. [Dim. of OF. rondele a little tun, fr. rond round. See
Round, and cf. Roundlet, Runlet.] A small barrel of no certain
dimensions. It may contain from 3 to 20 gallons, but it usually holds
about 14½ gallons. [Written also runlet.]
Rune (rn), n. [AS. rn a rune, a secret, a mystery; akin to Icel. rn,
OHG. & Goth. rna 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.
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.