An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/rinnen

by Friedrich Kluge

rinnen, verb, ‘to run, flow, leak, drop, from Middle High German rinnen, Old High German rinnan, ‘to flow, swim, run.’ This verb is common to Teutonic in the same sense; Gothic rinnan, Anglo-Saxon irnan, English to run, Dutch runnen, Old Saxon rinnan; the original sense of all these is ‘to move on rapidly.’ The nn of Gothic rinnan is usually regarded as a part of the present stem for no (compare Greek δάκνω, Latin sper-no), and a root ren, run, is assumed, which is preserved in Anglo-Saxon ryne (from *runi-).