rune
noun
[ ruːn ]
• a letter of an ancient Germanic alphabet, related to the Roman alphabet.
• "long ago, a rune had been carved in the centre of the stone"
• a section of the Kalevala or of an ancient Scandinavian poem.
Origin:
Old English rūn ‘a secret, mystery’; not recorded between Middle English and the late 17th century, when it was reintroduced under the influence of Old Norse rúnir, rúnar ‘magic signs, hidden lore’.
