• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Language / Where does the word “Aroint” come from and What does Aroint mean?

Where does the word “Aroint” come from and What does Aroint mean?

June 10, 2020 by Karen Hill

“Aroynt thee, Witch, the rumpe-fed Ronyon cryes,” is the way Shakespeare wrote it in Macbeth (Act I, Scene iii), and here, as well as in King Lear (Act III, Scene iv), his obvious meaning was “Begone! Get out! Scram!” but the source of his term may never be known.

No earlier instance of the use of “Aroint” has been turned up. Nor do we know positively what he meant by a ronyon, which, in Merry Wives of Windsor (Act IV, Scene ii), he spelled runnion.

Dr. Samuel Johnson, in his dictionary of 1755, defined the latter spelling as “a mangy creature,” but defined ronion as “a fat bulky woman.”

You may take your pick. Rump, of course, pertains to the posterior of an animal.

Related Facts

  • The History of the Dictionary
  • Which Explorers First Explored the Continents of the World?
  • Where does the word “fun” originate and What does fun mean?
  • Where does the word “sedan” come from and What does sedan mean in Latin?
  • When Was the Dictionary Invented?
  • What are some Commonly Misused Terms and Words in Cooking?

Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « Where does the word “Stenography” come from and What does Stenography mean in Greek?
Next Post: Where does the term “Pot Walloper” come from and What does Pot Walloper mean? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2020 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy