English Reference

Word

rin

Definition

v. to run. This is an old-fashioned or regional way to say it, mostly found in Scotland.

v. to move at a speed faster than a walk, never having both or all the feet on the ground at the same time. A Scots variant of 'run'.

Examples

“The children rin through the fields.”

“In the old song, the water would rin clear over the stones in the glen.”

“The poet uses the word 'rin' to evoke a specific sense of place and history, grounding the narrative in the linguistic traditions of the Scottish Lowlands.”

Examples

simple

“The children rin through the fields.”

contextual

“In the old song, the water would rin clear over the stones in the glen.”

complex

“The poet uses the word 'rin' to evoke a specific sense of place and history, grounding the narrative in the linguistic traditions of the Scottish Lowlands.”

Usage

Intransitive verb; primarily used in Scots dialect or archaic literary contexts.

Real-World Examples

“He recommends rinsing your eye with tap water as soon as possible.”
The Guardian · 23 Sept 2026
“Honey process coffee is pulped like a washed coffee but never rinsed.”
Indonesia Specialty Coffee · 13 Jun 2025

Etymology

From Middle English rinnen, from Old English rinnan (“to run”), from Proto-Germanic *rinnaną (“to run”). More at run.

Borrowed from Japanese 厘(りん) (rin).

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry

Level
C2 · Proficiency
Frequency
Frequent
Updated

Scan code

englishreference.com/q/rin

English Reference