runholder

English

WOTD – 25 April 2024

Etymology

From run (“rural landholding for farming, usually for running sheep”) +‎ holder.^[1]^[2] Run (noun) is derived from run (“(chiefly Australia, New Zealand) to allow (cattle, sheep, etc.) to graze and move freely on land; to raise (livestock)”, verb).^[3]

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈɹʌnhəʊldə/
(General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɹʌnˌhoʊldəɹ/
(General Australian, New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ˈɹanhɐʉldə/
Audio (General Australian): (file)
Hyphenation: run‧hold‧er

Noun

runholder (plural runholders)

(Australia, New Zealand) A person who holds (leases or owns) a run (“rural landholding for farming”), especially one for raising sheep.

Related terms

Translations

person who holds a run

Faroese: ánari m
Finnish: tilanomistaja (fi)
Macedonian: please add this translation if you can

References

^ “runholder, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, March 2011; “runholder, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
^ Compare “run, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022: “A large open stretch of land used for pasture or the raising of stock.”
^ “run, n.²”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, July 2023.