rung

Etymology 1

From Middle English [Term?], from Old English hrung, from Proto-Germanic *hrungō. Compare Gothic 𐌷𐍂𐌿𐌲𐌲𐌰 (hrugga, “a staff”).

noun

1. A crosspiece forming a step of a ladder; a round.
2. A crosspiece between legs of a chair.
   One of its arms was a disabled flail which used to be wielded by Goodman Rigby, before his spouse worried him out of this troublesome world; the other, if I mistake not, was composed of the pudding stick and a broken rung of a chair, tied loosely together at the elbow. 1854, Nathaniel Hawthorne, “Feathertop: a Moralized Legend”, in Mosses from an Old Manse
3. (figurative) A position in a hierarchy.
   the lowest rung of the society
   “I’m very proud that I’ve worked on every rung of the ladder,” Ashley says. “When you go to college, you don’t want to be a senior right away—you want to be a freshman.” 2023-06-15, Kat Moon, “Ashley Park’s Main Character Energy From ‘Joy Ride’ Is Here To Stay: ‘I’m Treating Myself Like A Lead Now’”, in Women's Health
4. (nautical, dated) A floor timber in a ship.
5. (dated) One of the stakes of a cart; a spar; a heavy staff.
6. (engineering, dated) One of the radial handles projecting from the rim of a steering wheel.
7. (engineering, dated) One of the pins or trundles of a lantern wheel.

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

verb

1. past participle of ring (only in senses related to a bell)
2. (chiefly dialectal) simple past of ring
   With ecchoing Shouts the vaulted Chamber rung, / Belle Chuck was now the TOAST of ev'ry Tongue. 1723, Charles Walker, Memoirs of Sally Salisbury, section VI
   Mr. Seibels, in his testimony, said I rung him up to see about labels. He is very much mistaken. I rung him up to see about bottles. 1906, South Carolina. General Assembly, Report of State Officers, Board and Committees to the General ..., page 229
   So they rung him up, and the next day he came to me and wanted to know where that pitch was. 1996, Peter Golenbock, Wrigleyville: A Magical History Tour of the Chicago Cubs, page 435
   "I just rung him up, told him I was looking for an apartment and some work and got both of them the same day," Moe said. 2008, Dean Kuipers, Burning Rainbow Farm: How a Stoner Utopia Went Up in Smoke, page 70

adj

1. Of a pig: having a ring through the nose.
   […] he passed by his gate with a decided scowl on his furrowed brow, and grunting and growling like a newly rung pig. 1842, American Turf Register and Sporting Magazine, volume 13, page 335
   A "rung" pig is comfortable as long as he confines his food hunt to the surface of the ground. Ringing a pig of ordinary size is easy, but special arrangements must be made for handling the big ones. 1919, Popular Science, volume 95, number 4, page 31