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Excerpt from The Gutenberg Webster's Unabridged Dictionary: Section R, by Project Gutenberg

As things run, according to the usual order, conditions, quality, etc.;
on the average; without selection or specification. -- To let run
(Naut.), to allow to pass or move freely; to slacken or loosen. -- To
run after, to pursue or follow; to search for; to endeavor to find or
obtain; as, to run after similes. Locke. -- To run away, to flee; to
escape; to elope; to run without control or guidance. -- To run away
with. (a) To convey away hurriedly; to accompany in escape or
elopement. (b) To drag rapidly and with violence; as, a horse runs away
with a carriage. -- To run down. (a) To cease to work or operate on
account of the exhaustion of the motive power; -- said of clocks,
watches, etc. (b) To decline in condition; as, to run down in health.
-- To run down a coast, to sail along it. -- To run for an office, to
stand as a candidate for an office. -- To run in or into. (a) To enter;
to step in. (b) To come in collision with. -- To run in trust, to run
in debt; to get credit. [Obs.] -- To run in with. (a) To close; to
comply; to agree with. [R.] T. Baker. (b) (Naut.) To make toward; to
near; to sail close to; as, to run in with the land. -- To run mad, To
run mad after or on. See under Mad. -- To run on. (a) To be continued;
as, their accounts had run on for a year or two without a settlement.
(b) To talk incessantly. (c) To continue a course. (d) To press with
jokes or ridicule; to abuse with sarcasm; to bear hard on. (e) (Print.)
To be continued in the same lines, without making a break or beginning
a new paragraph. -- To run out. (a) To come to an end; to expire; as,
the lease runs out at Michaelmas. (b) To extend; to spread. "Insectile
animals . . . run all out into legs." Hammond. (c) To expatiate; as, to
run out into beautiful digressions. (d) To be wasted or exhausted; to
become poor; to become extinct; as, an estate managed without economy
will soon run out.

And had her stock been less, no doubt She must have long ago run<br />
out.

Dryden.

Explanation ​

Detailed Explanation of the Excerpt from The Gutenberg Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary: Section R ​

This excerpt is taken from Project Gutenberg’s digitized version of Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary (1913 edition), specifically the entries under the verb "run" in its various phrasal forms (e.g., run after, run away, run down). While it may seem like a dry, encyclopedic listing of definitions, the passage is rich in linguistic, historical, and cultural significance, offering insights into 19th- and early 20th-century English usage, nautical and colloquial expressions, and the evolution of idiomatic language.

Below is a close reading of the text, focusing on its structure, themes, literary devices, and implications, while also situating it within broader linguistic and historical contexts.

1. Context & Source ​

  • Project Gutenberg is a digital library of free eBooks, including many public domain reference works like this 1913 edition of Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary.
  • The 1913 Webster’s is significant because it captures late Victorian and Edwardian English, preserving archaic, nautical, and technical usages that have since faded or evolved.
  • The verb "run" is one of the most versatile and idiomatically rich words in English, with over 600 definitions in modern dictionaries. This excerpt highlights its phrasal verb forms, which often carry metaphorical, technical, or specialized meanings.

2. Themes & Key Ideas ​

The excerpt explores how a single verb ("run") branches into diverse meanings based on context, prepositions, and domains of use (nautical, mechanical, social, financial). Key themes include:

A. Motion & Control (Physical & Metaphorical) ​

Many definitions revolve around movement, direction, and loss of control:

  • "To let run" (Naut.) – Allows something to move freely (e.g., a rope in sailing).
  • "To run away" – Implies escape, lack of restraint (both literal and figurative, as in elopement).
  • "To run down" – Can mean decline (health, machinery) or collision (sailing).
  • "A horse runs away with a carriage" – Suggests uncontrolled force, a common metaphor for loss of agency.

B. Time & Exhaustion ​

Several entries deal with depletion, expiration, and continuity:

  • "To run down" (of clocks/watches) – Mechanisms stop due to lack of power, a metaphor for human exhaustion.
  • "To run out" – Can mean expiry (a lease), extinction (a family line), or financial ruin (as in Dryden’s quoted couplet).
  • "To run on" – Suggests uninterrupted duration (accounts, speech, printing).

C. Social & Economic Behavior ​

Some definitions reflect human interactions, commerce, and power dynamics:

  • "To run after" – Pursuit (of similes, love, status).
  • "To run in trust" (obsolete) – Credit/debt, showing how financial language evolves.
  • "To run for an office" – Political candidacy, a still-current idiom.
  • "To run mad after" – Obsessive pursuit (linked to the entry under Mad).

D. Nautical & Technical Language ​

Many phrases originate from sailing and printing, reflecting specialized jargon:

  • "To run down a coast" – A navigational term.
  • "To run in with the land" – Sailing close to shore.
  • "To run on" (Print.) – Typesetting continuity, showing how printing technology influenced language.

3. Literary & Stylistic Devices ​

Though a dictionary entry, the text employs several rhetorical and structural techniques:

A. Parallelism & Repetition ​

  • The phrasal verb structure ("To run + preposition") creates a rhythmic, formulaic pattern, making it easier to compare nuances.
    • "To run after, to run away, to run down" – The repetition reinforces the versatility of "run."

B. Metaphor & Metonymy ​

  • Many definitions are metaphorical extensions of physical motion:
    • "To run out" (exhaustion) → liquid flowing out → resources depleting.
    • "To run mad" → uncontrolled movement → mental instability.
  • "To run in debt" (obsolete) uses "run" to imply slipping into financial trouble, as if debt were a downward slope.

C. Historical & Obsolete Usage ​

  • Some entries are marked [Obs.] (Obsolete) or [R.] (Rare), showing how language changes:
    • "To run in trust" (credit) is no longer used, but reveals how older financial terms were more visceral (running = moving into danger).
    • "To run in with" (to comply) is archaic, suggesting social harmony as a kind of alignment.

D. Quotations & Authoritative Examples ​

  • The dictionary cites literary and historical figures to illustrate usage:
    • John Locke ("to run after similes") – A philosophical reference, showing how intellectual pursuit was framed.
    • John Dryden’s couplet ("And had her stock been less, no doubt / She must have long ago run out") – Uses "run out" in a financial sense (bankruptcy), with a rhyming, poetic cadence that contrasts with the dry definitions.

4. Significance & Broader Implications ​

A. Linguistic Evolution ​

  • The excerpt captures a snapshot of English in transition:
    • Some phrases ("run in trust") have disappeared.
    • Others ("run for office") remain central to modern discourse.
    • Nautical terms ("run down a coast") persist in specialized contexts.

B. Cultural & Historical Insights ​

  • The nautical references reflect the importance of sailing in the 19th century, when global trade and naval power shaped language.
  • The financial metaphors ("run out," "run in debt") show how economic anxiety was expressed in physical terms (movement, exhaustion).
  • The printing term ("run on") highlights how technological advancements (the printing press) influenced idiomatic speech.

C. The Dictionary as a Literary Text ​

  • While not "literature" in the traditional sense, dictionary entries like this one are micro-narratives of language.
  • They reveal how words accrete meaning through usage, metaphor, and cultural need.
  • The Dryden quotation adds a poetic dimension, reminding us that even reference works are built on literary tradition.

5. Close Reading of Selected Entries ​

Let’s examine a few definitions in depth:

A. "To run after" ​

"To pursue or follow; to search for; to endeavor to find or obtain; as, to run after similes. Locke."

  • Literal meaning: Chasing something (a person, an object).
  • Metaphorical extension: Intellectual pursuit (Locke’s "similes" suggests rhetorical or philosophical quests).
  • Social implication: Can imply desperation or obsession (e.g., "running after love").

B. "To run down" ​

(a) To cease to work... said of clocks, watches, etc. (b) To decline in condition; as, to run down in health.

  • Mechanical metaphor: A clock "running down" is like a person’s energy depleting.
  • Medical usage: "Run down in health" suggests gradual deterioration, as if vitality were a finite resource (like a wound spring).

C. "To run out" (with Dryden’s couplet) ​

"And had her stock been less, no doubt / She must have long ago run out."

  • "Run out" here means financial ruin (like a candle burning out).
  • Dryden’s wording is ironic and judgmental—the woman’s extravagance is framed as an inevitable exhaustion.
  • The rhyming couplet contrasts with the prosaic dictionary style, showing how literary and reference texts intersect.

6. Conclusion: Why This Matters ​

This excerpt is more than a list of definitions—it is a cultural artifact that reveals:

  1. How language adapts to technology (sailing, printing), economics (debt, trade), and social behavior (pursuit, escape).
  2. The fluidity of metaphor—how physical motion ("run") becomes a vehicle for abstract ideas (time, health, politics).
  3. The dictionary as a historical record, preserving obsolete words and shifting meanings.

By studying such texts, we see how words carry the weight of history, and how even the most mundane definitions can open windows into past ways of thinking.

Final Thought ​

If you ever wonder why English is so idiomatically rich, passages like this are the answer: "run" is not just a word—it’s a network of human experiences, from sailing ships to political campaigns, from clockwork to bankruptcy. The dictionary, in its quiet way, maps the contours of culture.