How can a three-letter word be the most complicated word in the English language, you ask. Well, that's simple. In the Oxford English Dictionary's upcoming third edition, the word "run" has 645 different usage cases, spanning 75 columns all dedicated to just elucidating the different meanings of the word "run".
In our minds, whenever we hear the word "run" spoken in itself, we think that we should move our feet very fast. But looking at the different idiomatic phrases and contextual meanings for the word "run", it's no surprise how this tiny word "runs" across 75 columns in the OED. Just put different prepositions after the word "run" and you'll already have several different meanings e.g. run in, run out, run off, run over, run on and on, run through, etc. And this is just for the verb form of "run". We haven't even gone through the noun form yet.
When the difficulty in other languages involves the collocation of certain words spoken in a very particular context, I think what makes the English language difficult for non-native speakers is the breadth of these idiomatic expressions and how each one changes the meaning of one word. Not to mention, English grammar is no laughing matter either, although it may pale in comparison to languages like Russian or Arabic.
Before "run" became the most complicated word in the Oxford English Dictionary, there was one other three-letter word that held that title for over 90 years. That word is "set". Currently, the word "set" has 200 meanings in the OED, spanning 32 pages. So, what pushed "run" to the top? Why does it now hold 645 different meanings?
According to British author Simon Winchester, that may be owing to the Industrial Revolution and the effects that it has had on our daily lives. From the moment machines became ubiquitous, our paradigms have shifted to include language describing how these machines work and are being used. And all of these meanings emerged from the middle of the 19th century, and have continued to evolve to this day.
The word "run" may not be the longest word or the most highfalutin' word in the English language, but it has proven itself to be the most versatile, and having so many different meanings attached to it may confuse people. But this just goes to show how we don't need to know a lot of technical words to convey different meanings. We just need to know how the different idiomatic expressions work in the right contexts.
Although it would be interesting to run through all the different definitions of the word "run", we may have to wait until 2037 before the third edition of the OED is printed. Who knows? They may find some more meanings in the next 13 years, or some other word may surpass "run" as having the most meanings. We're just going to have to wait and see.
(Video credit: Reader's Digest)
