ruen.²

Brit.

/ruː/, U.S.

/ru/

Forms:

α. Middle English ru, Middle English rve, Middle English rwe, Middle English– rue, late Middle English twe (transmission error), 1700s rhue; Scottish pre-1700 rhue, pre-1700 1700s– rue.

β. Middle English ruwe.

γ. late Middle English reuwe, late Middle English–1600s rewe, late Middle English–1700s rew; Scottish pre-1700 reu, pre-1700 rew.

Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymon: French rue.

Etymology: < Anglo-Norman ruwe, Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French rue (although this is first attested slightly later: c1200; end of the 11th cent. as rude rude n.¹; French rue ) < classical Latin rūta rude n.¹ Compare earlier rude n.¹

a. Any of various southern European dwarf shrubs constituting the genus Ruta (family Rutaceae), esp. (more fully common or garden rue) R. graveolens, which has yellow flowers and bitter, strongly scented feathery leaves, and was formerly much used for medicinal purposes. Also with distinguishing word.Aleppo rue: see first element.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular medicinal plants or parts > medicinal trees or shrubs > [noun] > rue

rudeeOE

rue?a1200

herb-grace1548

serving-man's joy1671

countryman's treacle1745–7

herb of repentance1858

the world > health and disease > healing > medicines or physic > medical preparations of specific origin > medicine composed of a plant > [noun] > plant used in medicine > specific plant > rue

rue?a1200

Aleppo rue1731

countryman's treacle1745–7

α.

?a1200 ( tr. Pseudo-Apuleius Herbarium (Harl. 6258B) cxx. 102 Wið hæfed-ece drinca rue on wine; Eaft cnuca rue & wring þat wos on ecede, smyra þat heafod þarmid; Eac rue fremeð wyd deade spri[n]cas.

a1300 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 554/5 (MED) Ruta, i. rue.

a1400 tr. Lanfranc Sci. Cirurgie (Ashm.) (1894) 104 Anoynte his nolle & his necke wiþ..oile of rue.

J. Metham Amoryus & Cleopes (1916) l. 1325 Modyrwort, rwe, redmalwys.

a1500 (?a1425) tr. Secreta Secret. (Lamb.) 78 (MED) He þat etys ffyges with notes and a fewe leuys of Rue, þat day venom shall noght dere hym.

1562 W. Turner Herball (1568) ii. 123 The iuice of Rue..is good for the ake of the eares.

1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball 260 There be two sortes of Rue, that is garden Rue, and wilde Rue.

1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost xi. 414 Then purg'd with Euphrasie and Rue The visual Nerve, for he had much to see.

1731 P. Miller Gardeners Dict. I. at Thalictrum Some Botanists have classed this Plant with Rues.

1789 H. L. Piozzi Observ. Journey France I. 417 I perceived all the company..stop their noses with rue.

1813 W. Scott Rokeby v. 228 When villagers my shroud bestrew With pansies, rosemary, and rue.

1874 H. C. Wood Treat. Therapeutics 455 The influence of rue upon the system is similar to, but less decided than that of savine.

1907 Year-bk. Pharmacy 142 A specimen of fresh rue sent from Corsica as Corsican rue, also proved to be Ruta bracteosa, and not R. corsica.

1973 C. A. Wilson Food & Drink in Brit. iii. 74 Sucking pig roasted in the oven was served..under a thickened sauce which contained pepper, lovage, caraway, celery seed, asafoetida root, rue, [etc.].

2001 C. A. Wright Mediterranean Veg. 145/1 North African Jews traditionally used Egyptian rue as a condiment in cooking.

β. c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Luke xi. 42 Woo to ȝou, Pharisees, that tythen mynte and ruwe [L. rutam].c1390 Pistel of Swete Susan (Vernon) l. 112 With Ruwe and Rubarbe, Ragget ariht. Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 438 Ruwe, herbe, ruta.a1500 Agnus Castus (Laud) (1950) 200 (MED) Rvta domestica is an herbe þat me clepuþ Ruwe; þis herbe is comyn y-now, and he bereþ a ȝelwe flour.γ. ?a1425 (?1373) Lelamour Herbal (1938) f. 67 ^v Rewe ys hote and drye and dothe gode to the stomake.?c1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (Paris) (1971) 479 (MED) Chewynge of schere gresse hideþ the sauour of wyne and rewe of oynouns and of garlik.a1475 Liber Cocorum (Sloane) (1862) 23 (MED) In brothe þou boyle þy chekyns gode..Take powder gynger, abrayde, And sugur and rew and safron clere.1539 T. Elyot Castel of Helthe (new ed.) 21 Two drye nuttes, as many fygges, and .xx. leaues of Rewe.1570 in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. xv. 25 Cum, Nettillis, thornie breiris, & rew, With all foull filthie weid.1617 Salerne's Regiment 46 From Garlicke, Nuttes, Hearb-grace, or Rew.1786 J. Pinkerton Anc. Sc. Poems II. 407 The herb rew was..an emblem of pity.

b. With punning allusion to rue n.¹

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular medicinal plants or parts > medicinal trees or shrubs > [noun] > rue > as a pun on the name in the sense of regret

ruec1500

c1500 in Speculum (1954) 29 717 (MED) In my garding..now fynd I nocht bot rewe.

a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 235 Leif nor flour fynd could I nane of rew.

a1592 R. Greene Mamillia (1593) ii. sig. O4 Least time and triall make thee account Rue a most bitter hearbe.

1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet iv. v. 181 Oh you [sc. Claudius] must weare your rewe with a difference.

1616 J. Davies Select Second Husband sig. C1^v So shalt thou But beare thine own Harts-ease, & neuer Rue.

1653 Duchess of Newcastle Poems & Fancies 146 Mirtle for Lovers constant, which are true, Then for Misfortunes lay the bitter Rue.

1721 J. Kelly Compl. Coll. Scotish Prov. 284 Rue in Thyme should be a Maiden's Posie.

1825 C. Waterton Wanderings in S. Amer. iii. 238 They did all in their power to procure balm for me instead of rue. But it would not answer.

1902 J. Payne Poet. Wks. II. 178 The land where Love at last should be consoled And balm flower forth among Life's leaves of rue.

1964 J. Garrigue Sel. Poems (1992) 83 My ticking heart was put from me Into some troped-up garden of old rue. Forgive, because I set up roses too, Improbable as madrigals.

2004 J. Dalmas Second Coming iii. lxiii ‘Seven-Up?’ she asked. ‘Pepsi?’ He turned, his grin was back. ‘How about rue? Some bitter rue would be about right.’

2. With distinguishing word: any of various plants of other genera and families which resemble common rue in some way, esp. in having bitter or similarly shaped leaves.black, dog's, goat's, meadow, stone, wall rue, etc.: see the first element.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular medicinal plants or parts > medicinal trees or shrubs > [noun] > rue > type of

rue1548

1548 W. Turner Names of Herbes sig. H.iiij Saluia vita or Ruta muralis..maye be called in english Stone Rue, or wal Rue.

1668 Bp. J. Wilkins Ess. Real Char. ii. iv. §4. 83 Meadow Rue,..either that whose leaves resemble those of the Oak, with red veins: or that whose leaves resemble those of Wormwood.

1731 P. Miller Gardeners Dict. I. at Scrophularia Figwort, commonly called Dogs Rue.

1825 E. Kent Flora Domestica (ed. 2) 179 The Common Goat's-rue grows naturally in Africa, and in many parts of Europe. It usually has blue flowers.

1874 J. Lindley & T. Moore Treasury Bot. Suppl. Rue, Black (N. Zeal.), Podocarpus spicata.

1900 H. D. Geldart in W. A. Dutt Norfolk ii. 200 We may find..the sea-shore form of Mountain Rue (Thalictrum dunense).

1955 G. Grigson Englishman's Flora 308 Rock rue, Donegal.

2002 Horticulture Nov.–Dec. 45 (table) A superb meadow rue with lavender sepals.

Compounds

C1. General attributive, as rue-juice, rue-leaf, rue-oil, rue-water.

ΚΠ

?c1450 in G. Müller Aus Mittelengl. Medizintexten (1929) 81 (MED) For a woman þat haþ lornn her floures, to restoren is a-ȝen: Tak mader-rotes and rue-leues and sethem to-gedre in wyn.

1553 H. Llwyd tr. Pope John XXI Treasury of Healthe (new ed.) sig. Siii Brimstone, myrhe Agaricke, Rue leaues, cassia Fistula.

1558 W. Ward tr. G. Ruscelli Secretes Alexis of Piemount f. 37 Rue water, Rose water.

1617 Salerne's Regiment 133 Rew-water sprinckled in the house, kils all the fleas.

1681 N. Grew Musæum Regalis Societatis ii. v. ii. 248 Of a russet colour, and as it were all over pounced, somewhat after the manner of a Rue-Leaf.

1711 tr. L. Bordelon Hist. Ridiculous Extravagancies Monsieur Oufle vi. 222 They prescribe Rue Leaves, the smoak of Ash-wood, and Goats Horns.

1799 tr. Laboratory (ed. 6) II. xiii. 449 Put into very strong vinegar, verdigrise, rue-juice, and gum-arabic.

1822 G. Thorburn Let. in 40 Yrs Resid. in Amer. (1834) 237 Took half a glass of rue water, which is made by putting two ounces of green rue in a porter-bottle, and adding one pint of clear rain water, and one pint of Holland gin.

1921 Classical Jrnl. 16 527 This is the formula: four onions, bitter rue leaves, water parsley.

1947 Econ. Bot. 1 25 During recent years Spain produced from two to twelve tons of rue oil annually.

2001 J. B. Harborne & H. Baxter Chem. Dict. Econ. Plants 87/2 Rue oil. Steam distillation of the fresh herb of Ruta graveolens.

C2.

rue anemone n. North American any of several low-growing woodland plants of the family Ranunculaceae, esp. the meadow rue, Thalictrum thalictroides.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Ranunculaceae (crowfoot and allies) > [noun] > thalictrum or meadow rue

feathered columbine1629

meadow rue1648

meadow rhubarb1656

Thalictrum1664

rue anemone1817

muskrat weed1830

fen-rue1863

feather-columbine1878

1817 A. Eaton Man. Bot. 62 Anemone..thalictroides, (rue anemone).

1884 Harper's Mag. May 934/2 Burt now appeared with a handful of rue-anemones.

1910 Good Housek. Mag. Mar. 293/2 Go out into the spring woods while the rue anemones bloom. Dig up the small plants and take them home with you.

2003 J. Sanders Secrets of Wildflowers 15 Rue anemone is often confused with the wood anemone. Both have white, similarly shaped flowers, blooming at the same times and in the same places.

rue family n. the family Rutaceae, chiefly comprising woody shrubs and trees, often with strongly scented foliage and fruit, and of which the genus Ruta is the type.

ΚΠ

1836 C. F. Partington Brit. Cycl. Arts & Sci. (new ed.) II. 137/2 Coriarieæ..resembles Rutaceæ, the rue family, and has some affinity with Connaraceæ.

1933 W. W. Robbins & F. Ramaley Plants useful to Man xviii. 312 The Rue Family is composed of trees, shrubs, and herbs, usually with aromatic fruits and glandular dotted leaves.

1995 Guardian 5 Dec. i. 12/7 Its attractive, wintergreen, finely divided triangular fronds are very similar to the leaves of the rue family of flowering plants.

† rue maidenhair n. Obsolete the wall rue, Asplenium ruta-muraria.

ΚΠ

1597 J. Gerard Herball ii. ccccxcvii. 983 Wall Rue, or Rue Maiden haire.

1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Rue de muraille, wall rue, Rue Maiden haire.

1777 J. Lightfoot Flora Scotica II. 665 [Asplenium ruta muraria] Wall Rue, Rue Maidenhair. Anglis.

1824 R. K. Greville Flora Edinensis 219 Rue Maidenhair—Plant tufted, 2-6 inches long, the stalks issuing from a dense mass of roots.

rue order n. now rare = rue family n.

ΚΠ

1847 Rural Cycl. I. 907/1 Crowea. A small genus of very beautiful, greenhouse, Australian, evergreen shrubs, of the corræa division of the rue order.

1857 A. Henfrey Elem. Course Bot. 266 Rutaceæ, the Rue order.

1937 E. G. Wheelwright Greenhouse Culture for Amateurs (2008) ii. 44 Correa speciosa belongs to the Rue order, and is an Australian, requiring a sunny house.

rue-weed n. †(a) any of several plants of the genus Thalictrum; a meadow rue (obsolete); (b) (poetic) a plant resembling rue (rare).

ΚΠ

1769 J. Hill Veg. Syst. XIV. 22 Rueweed.

1796 W. Withering Arrangem. Brit. Plants (ed. 3) II. 501 Thalictrum alpinum, Mountain Rue-weed. T. flavum, Meadow Rue-weed. T. minus, Lesser Rue-weed.

1802 A. F. M. Willich Domest. Encycl. III. (at cited word) Common Meadow-rue, Spurious Rhubarb, or Rue-weed.

1985 P. Levine in C. Buckley Poetry P. Levine 229 Pond snipe, bleached pine, rue weed, wart—I walk by sedge and brown river rot.

ruewort n. (a) the common rue, Ruta graveolens (see sense 1a) (obsolete); (b) (J. Lindley's name for) any plant of the family Rutaceae (see rue family n.) (now rare).

ΚΠ

?a1500 in G. Henslow Med. Wks. 14th Cent. (1899) 53 (MED) For to make greyne-tret, þat ys y-callyd gratia dei: Take pigle, bugle, sanigle, dytayne, scabiose, rewe-wort.

1846 J. Lindley Veg. Kingdom 470 The Cneoreæ..seem to be a form of this Order of Rueworts.

1902 C. L. Pollard Families of Flowering Plants 145 The only reliable means of distinguishing the rueworts from allied families is by the glandular-dotted foliage.

Derivatives

rue-like adj.

ΚΠ

1725 R. Bradley Chomel's Dictionaire Œconomique at Ranunculus The Yellow Ranunculus, with Rue-like Flowers.

1863 R. C. A. Prior On Pop. Names Brit. Plants 193 Its rue-like much divided leaves.

1901 Pharmaceut. Jrnl. 6 July 1/1 The odour is rue-like with a distinct suggestion of a fatty ketone.

2002 R. Darke Amer. Woodland Garden v. 226 The ruelike foliage of blue cohosh Caulophyllum thalictrioides, is among the prettiest of all woodland herbs.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2011; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

ruev.¹

Brit.

/ruː/, U.S.

/ru/

Forms: 1. Present stem. a. Old English hræwende (Northumbrian, present participle), Old English hreowan, Old English hreowigas (Northumbrian, imperative plural), Old English hriwe (singular subjunctive, rare), Old English hrywe (singular subjunctive, rare), Old English reowan (rare), early Middle English reowenn ( Ormulum), early Middle English riewe (south-eastern and East Anglian), early Middle English rywe (south-west midlands), Middle English reewe, Middle English reouwe (south-west midlands), Middle English reowe (chiefly west midlands), Middle English reu, Middle English reue, Middle English reuwe, Middle English reve, Middle English rewwe, Middle English rowe (chiefly south-west midlands), Middle English ru, Middle English ruwe, Middle English–1500s rwe, Middle English–1600s rew, Middle English–1600s rewe, Middle English– rue, 1500s reew; English regional (chiefly northern and north midlands) 1800s– rew, 1800s– rewe, 1900s– riew; Scottish pre-1700 reu, pre-1700 rewe, pre-1700 1700s–1800s rew, pre-1700 1700s– rue; also Irish English (northern) 1800s rew. b. 3rd singular indicative early Old English hriwð, Old English hreoweþ, Old English hreoweð, Old English hreowð, Old English hreues (Northumbrian), Old English hrywð, Old English hrywyð, Old English reowaþ, Old English reowað, early Middle English reouð, early Middle English reoweð, early Middle English reoweþþ ( Ormulum), early Middle English reut, early Middle English reuweð, early Middle English rewet, early Middle English rewit, early Middle English rewð, early Middle English riweþ, early Middle English roweþ (south-west midlands), early Middle English rowð (south-west midlands), Middle English reues, Middle English reueþ, Middle English reus, Middle English reuus, Middle English reuweþ, Middle English reweþ, Middle English rewez, Middle English rewis, Middle English rewith, Middle English rewys, Middle English rewyth, Middle English ruys, Middle English ruyþ, Middle English rweȝ, Middle English rwyth, Middle English–1500s reweth, Middle English–1600s rewes, Middle English–1600s rueth, Middle English– rues, late Middle English rewþe, late Middle English rewyþe, 1500s ruithe; also Scottish pre-1700 rewis, pre-1700 rewys. 2. Past tense. a. Strong (originally 1st and 3rd singular indicative) Old English hreaw, Old English hreow (rare), Old English hrew (rare), Old English reow (rare), Old English (rare)–early Middle English reaw, early Middle English ræw ( Ormulum), early Middle English reu, early Middle English rev, early Middle English rewh, early Middle English riu (south-western), Middle English rew, Middle English rewe, Middle English ru, Middle English rue. b. Weak Middle English reud, Middle English reude, Middle English reued, Middle English rewde, Middle English rewede, Middle English rewide, Middle English rewit, Middle English ruet, Middle English rwed, Middle English–1500s rewyd, Middle English–1600s rewed, Middle English– rued, late Middle English sowed (transmission error), 1500s ruied; English regional 1800s– ru't; also Scottish pre-1700 revyd, pre-1700 rewed, pre-1700 rewid, pre-1700 rewit, pre-1700 rewt, pre-1700 rewyt, pre-1700 ruit, pre-1700 rwyt, 1800s rewet. 3. Past participle. a. Strong Old English rowen. b. Weak late Middle English–1500s rewed, 1500s rewde, 1500s– rued; also Scottish pre-1700 rewit, pre-1700 rowed.

Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.

Etymology: A merging of two distinct but closely related words from the same Germanic base: (i) an Old English strong verb of Class II (hrēowan ), cognate with Old Frisian riōwa , riouwa (strong verb; West Frisian rouwe , rouje , weak), Middle Dutch rouwen , rowen , ruwen , rauwen (inflected both strong and weak; Dutch rouwen , weak), Old Saxon hreuwan (strong; Middle Low German rǖwen , rūwen , rouwen , weak), Old High German hriuwan , riuwan (strong; Middle High German riuwen , rūwen , strong, German reuen , weak); and, (ii) an Old English weak verb of Class II (hrēowian ), cognate with Old Saxon hriwōn , hrewōn , Old High German hriuwōn , riuwōn ; compare also (with different suffixes) Old High German riuwēn (weak Class III), and Old Icelandic hryggva , hryggja (weak Class I); further etymology uncertain: perhaps related to Sanskrit karuṇa pitiable, woeful. The diphthongal West Germanic stem forms do not reflect a Proto-Germanic diphthong, but rather show the result of the operation of Holtzmann's Law (compare the Old Icelandic form); this proves that the conjugation as a strong verb of Class II must be an analogical development in West Germanic. Compare also from the same Germanic base the adjectives Old English hrēow , Old Saxon hriuwi , Old Icelandic hryggr , all in sense ‘sad, sorrowful’. Compare rue n.¹In Old English the weak verb hrēowian is very much less common than its strong counterpart, and is attested only (in Northumbrian) in intransitive use with personal subject (see sense 3b); in contrast, the strong verb is overwhelmingly attested in transitive use with impersonal subject (there is apparently only one attestation of use with personal subject: see quot. OE at sense 1b). It is unclear whether this apparent distinction in use between strong and weak verb reflects a more ancient grammatical and semantic distinction or is simply an accident of the historical record (however, compare the apparently parallel distinction shown by the Old Saxon and Old High German verbs); compare also the more common weak verb hrēowsian reusie v., representing a suffixed form of the same Germanic base. It is uncertain to what extent, if any, forms of the Old English weak verb underlie the Middle English and later weak forms. Weak forms of the past tense are first attested c1300 in Middle English (see Forms 2b), and by the middle of the 14th cent. appear to have almost entirely replaced the strong forms. By the 15th cent. the Middle English diphthong ēu , ēw (in which the first element was a long close ē ), the usual vocalism of the stem syllable, had fallen together (perhaps as /ɪu/) with the reflex of Old French u (i.e. /y/), giving rise to such spellings as ru , rue (compare true adj.). (Similar earlier spellings in western texts (e.g. ruwe) represent the regular west midland and south-western development of Old English ēo into a mid front rounded vowel often written u ; compare R. Jordan Handb. der mittelenglischen Grammatik (ed. 2, 1934) §109 note 1.) Occasional (chiefly early and western) Middle English forms in row- probably reflect shift of stress from a falling to a rising diphthong and subsequent monophthongization to long close ō . The Old English past tense forms hreow, reow (with ēo for expected ēa ) show the continuing rounding influence of following w (compare A. Campbell Old Eng. Gram. (1959) §275). The Middle English past tense forms ru, rue may show the reflex of the vocalism of the (unattested) Old English past plural form *hruwon , or (perhaps more likely) may simply represent spellings of original Old English ēo before w (either as the reflex of the Old English past tense variant hrēow discussed above or as a levelling of the present stem). In Old English the prefixed forms gehrēowan and (late) gehrēowian are also attested (see i-rew v.); compare also ofhrēowan arue v.

a. transitive. With impersonal subject and with the person (in early use dative or accusative) as object. To affect with sorrow or regret; to distress, grieve. Frequently with it as subject and clause as complement, and without it and with following clause as implicit subject. Now archaic.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > suffering > sorrow or grief > be sorry or grieved at [verb (transitive)] > sadden or grieve

rueOE

grieve?c1225

teen1340

moana1425

contrist1490

sadden1565

sad1578

ensorrow1593

contristate1616

tristitiate1628

dolea1637

endolour1884

OE Crist III 1414 Ða mec ongon hreowan þæt min hondgeweorc on feonda geweald feran sceolde.

OE Genesis B 426 Þæt me is on minum mode swa sar, on minum hyge hreoweð, þæt hie heofonrice agan to aldre.

OE Genesis B 819 Swa me nu hreowan mæg æfre to aldre þæt ic þe minum eagum geseah.

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 5576 Himm reoweþþ þatt he dwelleþþ her. Swa swiþe lange onn eorþe.

a1200 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Trin. Cambr.) l. 358 in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 231 (MED) Þe þat blisse forgoð, hit sal him rewen sore.

c1300 St. Mary of Egypt (Laud) l. 281 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 269 Sorest him rev þat he nuste ȝwat hire name was.

c1300 Life & Martyrdom Thomas Becket (Harl. 2277) (1845) l. 298 Sire Gilbert Foliot..was..ymaked Bischop of Londone that ne reude him noȝt sore.

a1350 in G. L. Brook Harley Lyrics (1968) 72 Lef þou no false lore; Ȝef þou dost, hit wol me reowe sore.

c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 2 Cor. vii. 8 If I made ȝou sori in a pistle, now it rewith me not.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 10279 (MED) Þat I naue childe reweþ [c1460 Laud ruyþ] me sore.

c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Merchant/Franklin Link (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 14 Me reweth soore I am vnto hire teyd.

c1425 (c1400) Laud Troy-bk. l. 6064 (MED) The terme is gon now of treus; Some it likes and some it reus.

c1450 (c1415) in W. O. Ross Middle Eng. Serm. (1940) 158 (MED) I am now in prisone, And þat me reweþ sore.

a1500 (?a1400) Morte Arthur (1903) 1029 (MED) Me Rewith the deth of hyr for his sake.

1548 W. Patten Exped. Scotl. B v b It would haue rued any good huswiues heart, to haue beholden ye..murder.

1822 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. May 571/2 It rued me to leave thee, Hiltegund.

a1864 J. Clare Later Poems (1984) II. 843 The voice it gaed through me like throwing a stone And sair did it rue me knocking at my breast bone.

1881 C. Geikie Hours with Bible I. vii. 103 It almost ‘rues him’ that God had created Eve.

1883 E. K. Corbett tr. G. E. Lessing Nathan the Wise v. iv. 147 The Templars..Can never do me so much harm, that aught Can rue me, much less that.

1909 D. B. Shumway tr. Nibelunglied iii. 17 It rued the king that he had held his peace so long.

1963 I. Morris tr. I. Saikaku Life of Amorous Woman 180 The idea that it would simply become old and rusty, without ever having been used for any noble exploit, rued me sorely.

b. intransitive. To feel sorrow or grief, especially because of a personal circumstance or event; to lament. †Also with of, for.

ΘΠ

the mind > emotion > suffering > sorrow or grief > feel sorrow or grief [verb (intransitive)]

sorroweOE

sorryeOE

careOE

heavyOE

mournOE

rueOE

murkenOE

dole13..

likec1330

wailc1374

ensorrowc1384

gloppen?a1400

sytea1400

teena1400

grievec1400

angera1425

erme1481

yearna1500

aggrieve1559

discomfort?a1560

melancholyc1580

to eat one's (own) heart1590

repent1590

passion1598

sigh1642

OE Descent into Hell 90 Wæron ure ealdfind ealle on wynnum þonne hy gehyrdon hu we hreowen [de mændon] murnende mægburg usse.

a1350 Maximian (Harl.) l. 65 in K. Böddeker Altengl. Dichtungen (1878) 247 (MED) Hunten herd y blowe, hertes gonne rowe.

a1450 York Plays (1885) 39 (MED) No man shal rewe of thy misfare.

c1450 (?a1400) Sege Melayne (1880) 197 (MED) Þe peris take a concelle newe Þat made alle fraunce ful sore to rewe.

a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) I. 119 My herte rwyth sore of the deth of hir that lyeth yondir.

1548 Hall's Vnion: Richard III f. xxxiij^v I remembred an olde prouerbe.., that often ruithe the realme, where chyldren rule, and woman gouerne.

1603 Prophecie of Merling in Whole Prophesie Scotl. sig. Aij^v When the Rauen roupes, many man shall rue.

1650 J. Trapp Clavis to Bible (Gen. ix. 22) 84 The whole race of Religious persons must rue for it.

1663 S. Butler Hudibras: First Pt. i. i. 19 Like Sampson's Heart-breakers, it grew In time to make a nation rue.

a1774 A. Tucker Light of Nature Pursued (1777) II. iv. xxxvi. 304 I have heard people value themselves upon their inability to resist an importunity they know to be hurtful; but..they know not how severely their darlings may rue for the delay.

1813 W. Scott Rokeby v. 213 Ambition's dreams I've seen depart, Have rued of penury the smart.

1888 in J. Crawhall Beuk Newcassel Sangs 35 I have married a Keelman, An' sair he makes me rue.

1990 R. Blount First Hubby 129 So say this was a rueberry bush. I was sitting there in it, rueing.

2003 C. Holt Absolute Pleasure 334 She would lounge in the window seat while she rued and moped.

c. To regard or think of (an event, fact, etc.) with sorrow or regret; to wish that (something) had never taken place or existed.

(a) transitive. gen. In early use also in the infinitive with passive sense. Also with clause as object.

ΘΠ

the mind > emotion > suffering > regret > [verb (transitive)]

forthink?a1250

ruea1300

remordc1400

sorrow?a1425

forruec1425

overthinkc1450

regreta1500

deplore1567

grieve1597

unwish1629

repent1631

lament1794

a1300 in B. J. Whiting Prov., Sentences, & Proverbial Phrases (1968) 167 (MED) That einen ne sen, herte ne reut [L. tristatur].

c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 10127 (MED) Is londes..ne come nammore To þe croune of engelond, & þat was to rewe sore.

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) Prol. 164 (MED) Thilke werre..now groweth newe, And that is gretly forto rewe, In special for Cristes sake.

c1400 (?a1300) Kyng Alisaunder (Laud) (1952) 3940 (MED) Þere miȝth man in herte rewe [Linc. Inn reowe] Hou noble kniȝttes ouer-þrewe.

c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) iii. 1105 (MED) Þe slauȝter gan gretly for to rewe.

c1450 in F. J. Furnivall Hymns to Virgin & Christ (1867) 47 Oonys he bad me, ‘go, foule sathan’; Euere-more þat repreef y rewe.

1557 Earl of Surrey et al. Songes & Sonettes (new ed.) f. 90 It was the day on which the sunne..To rew Christs death amid his course gaue place vnto y^e night.

1603 Prophecie of Bertlington in Whole Prophesie Scotl. sig. A7^v Throw a tretie of a true, a trayne shalbe made, That Scotland shal rew.

1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost i. 134 Too well I see and rue the dire event.

1702 C. Beaumont J. Beaumont's Psyche (new ed.) xii. cxlviii. 189 Both Sence and Reason rue that tyranny.

1796 E. Burke Two Lett. Peace Regicide Directory France iii, in Wks. (1808) VIII. 223 The world will have cause to rue this iniquitous measure.

1813 W. Scott Rokeby iv. 173 Redmond now alone must rue The love he never can subdue.

1863 E. Stephenson St. Olave's I. iv. 48 Often had she rued the over-much carefulness of the founders of the Home.

1941 P. Grainger Let. 27 Sept. in All-round Man (1994) 181 I am always so grieved to leave you & I rue deeply every sway, duty, task that holds you & me so far apart.

1957 L. E. Pearson Elizabethans at Home vi. 401 When her husband's coat of arms was defaced on an inn in Newark, she told the ‘rascal’ who had done the deed that his own son was also a reprobate and his child yet to be conceived would rue what had been done.

1975 F. Exley Pages from Cold Island viii. 134 Wilson had rued the hoodlum motorcyclists and snowmobilers cutting kitty-corner across his yard and ruining his ferns.

2009 New Yorker 22 June 18/3 The Spaniard..rued the absence on the menu of a delicacy called mollejas.

(b) transitive. With a specific period of time as object. Chiefly in to rue the day (also hour).

ΘΠ

the mind > emotion > suffering > regret > [verb (intransitive)]

sorroweOE

aruec1000

ruea1400

overthinka1450

regretc1450

to rue the day (also hour)c1461

fret1551

to cry over spilt milk (or water)1738

the mind > emotion > suffering > regret > [verb (intransitive)] > feel remorse

ofthinkOE

reusieOE

overthinkc1175

(it) forthinks (me, him, etc.)a1300

forthinkc1380

ruea1400

remordc1450

to rue the day (also hour)c1461

repoin1523

remorse1530

society > morality > virtue > righteousness or rectitude > reform, amendment, or correction > repentance or contrition > be repentant or contrite [verb (intransitive)] > repent a course of or the occasion of action

to rue one's resec1390

to rue a (also one's) racea1450

to rue the day (also hour)c1461

c1461 Piers in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 343 I may rewe the tyme þat I euer ded hym seruice.

1590 C. Marlowe Tamburlaine: 1st Pt. sig. D6 That Tamburlaine shall rue the day..Wherein he wrought such ignominious wrong.

1599 George a Greene sig. A.3^v All that sit vpon the bench this day, Shall rue the houre they haue withstood my Lords Commission.

a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) iii. i. 251 France, y^u shalt rue this houre within this houre.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 3 (1623) v. vi. 43 Orphans, for their Parents timeles death, Shall rue the houre that euer thou was't borne.

1653 J. Allington Grand Conspiracy Jewes against their King iii. 154 You will rue the time, that ever you crucified your King.

?1710 Squire Bickerstaff Detected 2 I am alive..to make him rue the Hour he ever affronted a Man of Science and Resentment.

1714 J. Gay Shepherd's Week iv. 5 I rue the day, a rueful day I trow,..When Lubberkin to Town his cattle drove.

1750 M. Jones Misc. in Prose & Verse 52 Now ponder well, Miss Clayton dear, And read your Bible book; Lest you one day should rue the time That you your promise broke.

1782 E. Blower George Bateman II. 170 Ye shall rue the day ye took it.

1801 W. H. Ireland Ballads in Imitation of Antient 11 God grant that so he keep his say She ne'er may rue the month of May.

1819 W. Scott Bride of Lammermoor ii, in Tales of my Landlord 3rd Ser. I. 53 You'll rue the day that clogs me with this answer.

1881 ‘Rita’ My Lady Coquette I. ii. 26 It will go hard with me if I don't make you rue the day you wrote or said it!

1925 A. J. Whyte tr. C. B. Cavour Let. in Early Life & Lett. Cavour vii. 191 Love me, Camille,..love me that I may never rue the hour when first I saw you.

1996 F. McCourt Angela's Ashes 183 If I have to climb these stairs I'll warm your behind and you'll rue the day.

2009 J. Dylan Good Life with Jesse Dylan i. i. 12 His patients don't tend to recognize that they're mortal until they become sick, and then they rue the time they've lost.

d. intransitive. To be sorry or distressed to do something; to feel reluctant to do something. Now archaic and rare.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > will > wish or inclination > unwillingness > be unwilling [verb (intransitive)]

nillOE

loathea1200

to make it tough1297

forthinka1300

reckc1300

ruea1400

to make (it) strangec1405

to make strangenessc1407

stick1418

resistc1425

to make (it) strange?1456

steek1478

tarrowc1480

doubt1483

sunyie1488

to make (it) nice1530

stay1533

shentc1540

to make courtesy (at)1542

to make it scrupulous1548

to think (it) much1548

to make dainty of (anything)1555

to lie aback1560

stand1563

steek1573

to hang back1581

erch1584

to make doubt1586

to hang the groin1587

to make scruple (also a, no, etc., scruple)1589

yearn1597

to hang the winga1601

to make squeamish1611

smay1632

bogglea1638

to hang off1641

waver1643

reluct1648

shy1650

reluctate1655

stickle1656

scruple1660

to make boggle1667

revere1689

begrudge1690

to have scruples1719

stopc1738

bitch1777

reprobate1779

crane1823

disincline1885

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 6784 (MED) Qua þat anurs godds neu, Him to sla sal naman reu.

1496 Epit. Iaspar Late Duke of Beddeforde (Pynson) sig. aiv^v The deth of our mayster rue to remembre.

1562 A. Brooke tr. M. Bandello Tragicall Hist. Romeus & Iuliet f. 1 Alas (I rewe to thinke) an heauy happe befell.

1583 G. Babington Very Fruitfull Expos. Commaundem. Pref. sig. ¶¶ 2 I rewe to thinke it, there are witnesses moe, than I woulde there were, that knowe it.

a1612 J. Harington Brief View Church of Eng. in Nugæ Antiquæ (1804) II. 138 This church (the ruins whereof I rue to behold even in wryting theis lynes).

1630 tr. G. Botero Relations Famous Kingdomes World (rev. ed.) 559 How long every particular Prince reigned..I rue to record, and meane not to relate.

1842 First Rep. Commissioners on Employment of Children in Rep. Commissoners I. 177 Has worked in a coal-pit eight years, went in at six years old; used to rue to go in, does not rue now.

1906 C. M. Doughty Dawn in Brit. VI. xxii. 88 Two poor women-wights Which wallow..before a burning pyre, and dreary shrieks, Cast forth; that even those enemies rue to hear!

†a. transitive. With impersonal or unexpressed subject and with the person (in early use dative or accusative) as object. To cause (a person) to feel regret for some act; to make (a person) wish that he or she had acted differently. Frequently with it as subject and clause as complement, and without it and with following clause as implicit subject. Obsolete.In quot. OE¹ with no subject expressed and with the action regretted in the genitive.

ΘΠ

the mind > emotion > suffering > regret > [verb (transitive)] > affect with regret

rueeOE

the mind > emotion > suffering > regret > [verb (transitive)] > feel remorse for an action > affect with remorse

rueeOE

remordc1400

remorse1483

society > morality > virtue > righteousness or rectitude > reform, amendment, or correction > repentance or contrition > repent (sin, wrongdoing, etc.) [verb (transitive)] > affect with remorse > for some act

rueeOE

eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) xxxix. 287 Ne doo ðu nan wuht butan geðeahte, ðonne ne hriwð hit ðe, ðonne hit gedon bið.

OE Soul & Body I 148 Ðu ne þearft sceamian.., þæs ðu me geafe, ne ðe hreowan þearf..ealles swa mycles swa ðu me sealdest.

OE Genesis A (1931) 1276 Hreaw hine swiðe þæt he folcmægþa fruman aweahte, æðelinga ord, þa he Adam sceop.

a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 65 (MED) Ðe wile sare rewen ðat tu ðe seluen ne haddest betere iholpen ðare hwile ðe ðu mihtest.

a1300 (?c1200) Prov. Alfred (Jesus Oxf.) (1955) 139 Þe þat nule one youhþe yeorne leorny..þat him schal on elde sore rewe.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 1602 (MED) Me reus þat euer made i man.

?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) ii. 237 (MED) Þe Walssh wer alle day slayn; now rewes þam þer res.

c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) 290 (MED) Sore hit me rwez Þat ever I made hem myself.

a1425 (?c1350) Ywain & Gawain (1964) 1040 (MED) Me rewes sore Þat I missayd þe ȝisterday.

a1450 York Plays (1885) 103 (MED) Þe bargayne I made þare, Þat rewes me nowe full sare.

1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) ii. 330 He that will trew His fa it sall him sum-tyme rew.

a1500 (a1400) Sir Cleges (Adv.) (1930) 269 (MED) Yf þou com more inward, It schall þe rewe afterward.

b. transitive. With personal subject. To regret (some act or course of action or fact about oneself) and wish it undone or altered, on account of its consequences. Frequently with the implication of suffering or punishment as a consequence of the act.to rue a (also one's) race: see race n.¹ Phrases 1. to rue one's rese: see rese n. Phrases 2.

ΘΠ

the mind > emotion > suffering > regret > [verb (transitive)] > feel remorse for an action

rue?c1335

resent1618

?c1335 in W. Heuser Kildare-Gedichte (1904) 81 (MED) Al we beþ iclung so clai, We schold rew þat sore.

a1350 in R. H. Robbins Hist. Poems 14th & 15th Cent. (1959) 25 (MED) Y shal falle hem byfore & lurnen huere lay, ant rewen alle huere redes.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 4138 (MED) Þat Baret rede i noght yee bru; þat yow mai euer after ru.

1415 T. Hoccleve Addr. to Sir John Oldcastle l. 467 in Minor Poems (1970) i. 23 Come on whan yow list, yee shul reewe it deere!

c1480 (a1400) St. Machor 972 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) II. 28 Bot he in þame ruit his techi[n]g; ffor..þai na tyme for to scorne hym fane.

1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) viii. l. 857 The layff raturnyt..And rwyt full sar that euyr thai furth coud found.

a1500 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Trin. Dublin) 1975 Remefe agayn to þi realm, or þou sall it rewe.

1548 Hall's Vnion: Edward IV f. ccj^v Whiche vnmercifull acte, the Welshemen sore ruied the next daie or night.

1595 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 3 i. i. 94 I remember it to my griefe, And by his soule thou and thy house shall rew it.

a1600 R. Lindsay Hist. & Cron. Scotl. (1899) II. 16 He rewit the promisse maid to my lord of Lennox.

1611 W. Mure Misc. Poems ii. 51 Too lait, I feir, thow rew thou did espy him.

1642 D. Rogers Naaman 160 Examine thy selfe about this now, one day thou wilt else rue it.

1680 M. Stevenson Wits Paraphras'd 59 Nor am I such a slippery Eel, To rue my choice; I'm true as Steel.

1726 E. Fenton in A. Pope et al. tr. Homer Odyssey IV. xix. 371 Who-e'er neglects to pay distinction due, The breach of hospitable right may rue.

1760 Gentleman's Mag. Jan. 40/2 The knot once ty'd, you soon wou'd rue it.

1796 Juvenile Tour on Borders of Parnassus 8 No evils dire its motions can cantroul; Nor e'en a martyr shall his actions rue.

1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth ii, in Chron. Canongate 2nd Ser. I. 42 Well, my princess.., I will teach you to rue this.

1841 G. P. R. James Corse de Leon III. xiv. 263 If they hurt a hair of his head they shall rue it.

1865 R. Hay Redstan 16 Many families in Wales had been bereaved in the late war, and now many left-handed men rued that they had little regarded Earl Harold's bloody law.

1885 R. Bridges Eros & Psyche iii. xxviii. 38 And yet..no sooner was alone, Than she for loneliness her promise rued.

1920 L. C. Schem Hyphen I. ii. xii. 529 The day may come when the idealist shall rue him his idealism.

1929 P. H. Frye Visions & Chimeras 37 She had failed to foresee the hardships of such a lot and bitterly she seems to have rued her decision.

1961 E. Prosser Drama & Relig. in Eng. Myst. Plays ii. v. 93 He rues that they ever met.

1999 Big Issue 2 Aug. 10/2 Farmers who'd been planning for months to rent out their fields are ruing their investment in portaloos.

2007 C. Coates First Impressions xxiv. 256 I certainly wouldn't want to take on someone like her. He'll rue it, I reckon.

c. intransitive. To be full of regret and dissatisfaction in respect of some act. In later use esp. (Scottish, English regional (northern), Irish English (northern), and U.S. regional) to back out of a bargain or arrangement, to renege on a promise; also (U.S. regional) with back; also with of, for (a bargain, promise, etc.), on (a person or bargain, etc.).marry in May, rue for aye: see May n.² Phrases 3.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > suffering > regret > [verb (intransitive)]

sorroweOE

aruec1000

ruea1400

overthinka1450

regretc1450

to rue the day (also hour)c1461

fret1551

to cry over spilt milk (or water)1738

the mind > emotion > suffering > regret > [verb (intransitive)] > feel remorse

ofthinkOE

reusieOE

overthinkc1175

(it) forthinks (me, him, etc.)a1300

forthinkc1380

ruea1400

remordc1450

to rue the day (also hour)c1461

repoin1523

remorse1530

the mind > emotion > suffering > displeasure > discontent or dissatisfaction > be discontented [verb (intransitive)]

ruea1400

grate1555

alamort?1705

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) 4325 (MED) Who so doþ shal rewe sore.

c1426 J. Audelay Poems (1931) 39 (MED) After here werkus worche ȝe neuer a dele, Ellus schul ȝe reue.

c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) 871 (MED) Þen rewis [Dublin rewys hym] þe riche kyng of vnride werkis.

a1500 (?c1400) Earl of Toulous 929 in W. H. French & C. B. Hale Middle Eng. Metrical Romances (1930) I. 958 (MED) They þat haue hur accused schull rewe But they stynte of ther stryfe.

a1586 Sir P. Sidney tr. Psalms (1963) xviii. xlv. 38 They do faile, and in their mazed corners rue.

a1586 King Hart l. 567 in W. A. Craigie Maitland Folio MS (1919) I. 272 Thow bird think schame [and] of thy riot rew.

1603 J. Davies Microcosmos 93 Thus when our Teares doe testifie our ruth, We neede not rue, or of them be asham'd.

1637 S. Rutherford Let. 9 Mar. (1848) cxv. 221 I hope that ye do not rue, though your cause be hated.

a1695 J. Scott Wks. (1826) V. xix. 328 He might have..made us for ever rue for our own folly and madness.

c1706 in Coll. Dying Testimonies (1806) 186 That none may think..I am rueing.

1713 W. Hunt Fall of Tarquin iii. iii. 32 Tarquin and Charon are in League together, but the old Fool will rue of the Bargain.

1731 C. Coffey & J. Mottley Devil to Pay ii. ii. 38 Here are Cloaths! Rags; Faugh! Oh, miserable Woman! I shall be deliver'd, and make them rue for this Usage of me.

1790 A. Shirrefs Poems 87 Aft has he promis'd, that he wad be true; But, now, I find my lad begins to rue.

1821 J. Hogg Mountain Bard (ed. 3) p. lv Mr. Miller has rued of his bargain, and will never publish the poem, unless he is sued at law.

1823 J. Hogg Three Perils of Woman II. 44 So you neither have rued on me, nor broken your word to me?

1826 G. C. Sibley Jrnl. 21 Jan. in K. L. Gregg Road Santa Fé (1952) 139 Bot 2 mules for $70. But the Man Rued & took one back.

1842 T. P. Thompson Exercises I. 235 The caution of the nurse is, ‘Avoid green gooseberries, or you will have cause to rue’.

a1855 H. Anderton Life & Poems (1868) 38 I can see Nothing to give me cause to rue For having fixed my love on thee.

1884 Harper's Mag. Mar. 655/1 B— issued a license for the marriage of John Murphy and Mary Manning... But the intended bride ‘rued’.

1891 Publ. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer. 6 174 To rue back is to back out, and is used in such examples as, ‘he cheated me and I want to rue back.’

a1892 Tennyson in H. Tennyson Tennyson Mem. (1897) II. 402 A relation of mine had secured a berth..then, as they say in the north, he ‘rued’ and offered it to my father.

1903 J. Lumsden Toorle & Other Pieces 240 Soon he rued, And slap on that the lease renew'd.

1908 E. G. Sihler Testimonium Animæ xiv. 321 The poet Nævius tried to be a Roman Aristophanes..but rued for it in prison.

1912 L. Tracy Stowaway Girl xvi. 333 It was all cut an' dried weeks ago, an' she 'asn't rued of 'er bargain yet, as far as I can make out.

1917 T. Fujimoto Story of Geisha Girl iv. 76 Though she was very glad to have heard of her lover's safety, yet she rued on his cruel instructions.

1926 Dial. Notes 5 402 We done swapped fa'r an' squa'r, an' now Ed he's a-tryin' t' rue back on me.

1928 A. E. Pease Dict. Dial. N. Riding Yorks. 106/1 He's rued on't, an' they're nut gannin ti wed.

1965 B. Davis Summer Land 107 Wash overheard him and rolled his eyes like he was about to rue back on his trade, but he shook Jimroe by the hand and took the blind mare.

2000 J. Fenton in M. Montgomery From Ulster to Amer. (2006) 134 A quare price, as lang as he daesnae rue.

d. transitive (reflexive). To feel regret for some act; to wish that one had not done something. With of. archaic.

ΚΠ

1813 W. Scott Bridal of Triermain iii. xvii. 154 He that would win the war-wolf's skin, May rue him of his boast.

1836 A. Cunningham Lord Roldan I. xvi. 202 Their words..might poison the ear of your brother, and he might rue him of his unhappy bargain.

1865 H. Carr in H. Carr & G. Carr Ephemera i. 124 But a hot pain darted through me, As a bullet pierced my side, And weary months I rue me Of that wild and deadly ride.

1928 W. B. Otorohanga Where White Man Treads 290 And when the shameful barbarity was repeated to me I suddenly rued me of my anti-prohibition vote, and pondered!

2003 G. Gilman in K. Link Trampoline 134 What's done is done, he thought. I rue me of that cheat.

3. Chiefly Theology.

†a. transitive. With impersonal or unexpressed subject and with the person (in early use dative or accusative) as object.

(a) To cause (a person) to feel penitence, remorse, or contrition. Also with non-referential it as subject and clause as complement. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > morality > virtue > righteousness or rectitude > reform, amendment, or correction > repentance or contrition > repent (sin, wrongdoing, etc.) [verb (transitive)] > affect with remorse

rueOE

remorse1483

remord1567

OE Handbk. for Use of Confessor (Corpus Cambr. 201) in Anglia (1965) 83 19 Gif he wille and cunne eadmodlice his dæda andettan, and þu ongite þæt him his sinna reowan.

lOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Bodl.) (2009) I. xxxvi. 344 Ne bið [se] cwuca þonne nyttra þe se deada gif him his yfel ne hreowð.

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 3976 Ȝiff..þatt he miss doþ. Onn aniȝ kinne wise Itt reoweþþ himm.

a1250 in C. Brown Eng. Lyrics 13th Cent. (1932) 6 (MED) Þet ich ðe wreðede sume siðe, hit me reoweð sore.

c1300 St. Theophilus (Laud) l. 112 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 291 (MED) Ich habbe i-sunegut manne mest; þat rewez [a1325 Corpus Cambr. reuweþ] me wel sore.

a1400 (?c1300) Lay Folks Mass Bk. (Royal) (1879) l. 359 (MED) Gyue me grace for to etchewe to do þat þing þat me shulde rewe.

a1438 Bk. Margery Kempe (1940) i. 50 (MED) I haue not lovyd þe alle þe days of my lyue, & þat sor rewyth me.

c1450 (a1425) Metrical Paraphr. Old Test. (Selden) 15154 (MED) I wott I haue done wrang; þat sayng rewys me sore.

(b) impersonal with the sin repented of as second object. me (him, etc.) rues (a sin) : I (he, etc.) repent of (a sin). Also with of. Obsolete.

ΚΠ

OE Vercelli Homilies (1992) ix. 164 Þonne hreoweð hyre swiðe þa yfelan dæda.

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 5566 Himm reoweþþ off hiss aȝhenn woh & off hiss aȝhenn sinne.

a1350 in G. L. Brook Harley Lyrics (1968) 52 (MED) Suete Iesu, me reoweþ sore gultes þat y ha wroþt ȝore.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 16465 (MED) Iudas stode amang þe folk..Quen þat he saght þar was na soigne..þan him reued [Gött. reud] of his res.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 28676 (MED) Þis man sais..þat him reuys his sinnes sare.

†b. intransitive. To be penitent or contrite; to feel repentance or remorse. Also with for. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > morality > virtue > righteousness or rectitude > reform, amendment, or correction > repentance or contrition > be repentant or contrite [verb (intransitive)]

rueOE

i-rewOE

ofthinkOE

again-chareOE

reusieOE

overthinkc1175

beetc1200

it athinks me1250

to do (also make, etc.) (one's) penancea1300

(it) forthinks (me, him, etc.)a1300

repentc1300

forthinkc1380

remordc1450

repoin1523

remorse1530

to take the rue1789

OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Mark i. 15 Paenitemini et credite euangelio : hreowigas & gelefes to godspell.

c1300 Body & Soul (Laud Misc. 108) (1889) 63 (MED) Þo þat sunfol ben, i rede hem red, To schriven hem and rewen sore.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 19014 (MED) For þair misdedis þai ru [Trin. Cambr. rewed].

c1450 in F. J. Furnivall Hymns to Virgin & Christ (1867) 69 (MED) I wole biþinke me on my werkis biforn, Do almes dede, praie, & rewe.

?a1475 Ludus Coventriae (1922) 34 (MED) A cursyd Caym..for þi dede þou xalt sore rewe.

a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 139 O wreche, be war,..Remeid in tyme and rew nocht all to lait.

a1532 in G. S. Stevenson Pieces from Makculloch & Gray MSS (1918) iv. 138 Oute of this warld thow sall sair rew, Becaus that thow art sa vnkynd.

1580 H. Gifford Poems (1870) 75 Ah! Jesus! how then my heart did rue Because I had folowed them, as true!

1768 A. Tucker Light of Nature Pursued I. ii. 223 I shall find perpetual cause, if not to repent, at least to rue sufficiently for my misconduct.

1871 R. Ellis tr. Catullus Poems xxx. 12 Hereafter again honour awakes, causeth a wretch to rue.

c. transitive. With personal subject. To repent of (sins or of crimes frequently regarded theologically); to feel penitence, remorse, or contrition for; to do penance for. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

society > morality > virtue > righteousness or rectitude > reform, amendment, or correction > repentance or contrition > repent (sin, wrongdoing, etc.) [verb (transitive)]

bireusyc1000

birewec1175

ruea1200

repenta1325

sorrya1450

a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 95 Armheorted is þe man þe swiðere reoweð his sinne.

a1325 in C. Brown Relig. Lyrics 14th Cent. (1924) 31 Ȝeue me grace in erþe my sinnes to reve sare.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 7965 (MED) In takening sare he reud his sake, An orisun sun can he make.

a1450 (?a1390) J. Mirk Instr. Parish Priests (Claud.) (1974) l. 1904 Ȝef þow hyt fynde no wey myȝte, þrytty dayes þow rewe hyt ryȝte.

a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1897–1973) 351 (MED) My synfull dede I rew ay.

1567 Compend. Bk. Godly Songs (1897) 126 The sinfull than..Sall..rew thair sinnis with thair hart.

1628 G. Wither Britain's Remembrancer 240 Nor shall I live to view Thy sorrows ended, if thou do not rue Thy sins with speed.

1670 N. Wanley tr. J. Lipsius Disc. of Constancy ii. xvii. 132 Posterity should rue the crimes of their Ancestours.

1774 J. Beattie Minstrel: 2nd Bk. xiv. 8 But now with pangs of keen remorse I rue Those years of trouble and debasement vile.

?1798 D. R. O'Conor Wks. I. 363 To rue our crimes 'till we can weep no more.

1813 W. Scott Rokeby i. 5 Conscience, anticipating time, Already rues the unacted crime.

1846 J. Keble Lyra Innocentium 229 And thou in sevenfold guilt thy heart's backsliding rue.

2002 Sarasota Herald-Tribune (Florida) (Nexis) 18 Jan. 18 I'd much rather rue the sins of commission than those of omission.

†a.

(a) transitive. Chiefly with impersonal subject and with the person (in early use dative or accusative) as object. To move to pity or compassion. Also with non-referential it as subject and clause as complement. Obsolete.

ΘΠ

the mind > emotion > compassion > quality of exciting pity > affect with pity [verb (transitive)]

rueOE

movea1325

enpitec1400

relent1509

pity1515

yearn1603

melt1605

bowel1645

tenderize1733

OE Seven Sleepers (Julius) (1994) 45 Þa he [sc. God] ðæs caseres mycclan hreowsunga geseah, him eac sona þæt hreow and his þæt sarlice anginn.

lOE St. Nicholas (Corpus Cambr.) (1997) 85 Þa hreaw him swiðe se earme man & his dohtra þe wæron of æþele byrde gecuman; & þohte heom to helpone.

?a1300 Iacob & Iosep (Bodl.) (1916) l. 423 (MED) Iosep sauȝ his breþren wepe; sore hit him gan rewe.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 20074 (MED) Lo hou i hing a-pon þis tre; Forsoth i wat, it reus te.

?c1475 Catholicon Anglicum (BL Add. 15562) f. 106 It Rewis, miseret.

a1575 N. Harpsfield Treat. Divorce Henry VIII (1878) (modernized text) 136 It pitieth and rueth every good man..to remember the same.

1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. ii. sig. B6 Deare dame, your suddein ouerthrow Much rueth me.

(b) transitive. impersonal. me (him, etc.) rues : I (he, etc.) feel pity for (a person), to feel sorry for (a person's misfortune). With for, of, on. Obsolete.

OE Lambeth Psalter: Canticles vi. 246 In seruis suis miserebitur : on þeowum his him hrywð.

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 5592 Himm reoweþþ ec off alle þa Þatt follȝhenn deofless lare.

c1330 (?a1300) Sir Tristrem (1886) l. 216 Þe tiding come wiþ care To blauncheflour..For hir me reweþ sare.

c1425 (c1400) Laud Troy-bk. 3367 (MED) Alas, me rewes of Priamus.

a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) I. 211 Fayre cosyn, me ruys of thyne hurtys!

a1500 Trental St. Gregory (Adv.) l. 96 in Anglia (1891) 13 305 Me rewes, modur, of þi smarte.

b. To have, take, or feel pity or compassion; (also Theology) †to show mercy (obsolete).

(a) intransitive. With †of, on, upon.

ΚΠ

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 14782 Moysæs ræw off þatt follc Þatt swa wass haldenn harrde. Forr þatt itt wass hiss aȝhenn kinn.

?c1250 in C. Brown Eng. Lyrics 13th Cent. (1932) 11 (MED) Iesu crist..thu rew vpon me.

c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 967 (MED) Þe cok bigan of him to rewe, And bouthe him cloþes.

c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 9229 He wep & cride on is men þat hii ssolde on him rewe.

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Lament. iv. 16 The faces of prestus thei shameden not, ne of the olde men thei reweden [a1425 L.V. hadden merci; L. miserti sunt].

?a1430 Compleynte Virgin (Huntington) l. 238 in Minor Poems T. Hoccleve (1970) i. 7 Þat yee nat reewe on him, myn herte it sleeth.

c1450 (c1375) G. Chaucer Anelida & Arcite (Fairf. 16) (1878) l. 287 God so wisly vpon my soule rewe [a1456 BL Add. ruwe, c1465 Huntington rue] As verrely ye sleen me with the peyn.

c1475 Babees Bk. (Harl. 5086) (2002) i. 3 Off myn vnkunnynge, swete lady, now Rewe.

c1500 (?a1437) Kingis Quair (1939) ci Have pitee now..Off your pure man, and rew on his distress.

a1547 Earl of Surrey tr. Virgil Fourth Bk. Aeneas (1554) iv. sig. Cii Rue on thys realme, whose ruine is at hande.

1578 G. Whetstone Promos & Cassandra: 2nd Pt. v. iii. sig. L iij Rue of my teares, from true intent which flowe.

1632 S. Rutherford Lett. (1863) I. xxi. 85 Till your Dear Lord come and loose the pawn, and rue upon you.

1776 D. Herd Anc. & Mod. Sc. Songs (ed. 2) II. 6 O my bonny, bonny May, Will ye not rue upon me.

1792 R. Burns in J. Johnson Scots Musical Museum IV. 378 Rew on thy dispairing Lover Canst thou break his faithfu' heart!

1865 A. C. Swinburne Masque Queen Bersabe in Poems & Ballads 365 Lord, thou rue on me.

a1901 E. J. W. Gibb tr. Nefʿí in Hist. Ottoman Poetry (1904) III. ix. 269 Should she still nor pity nor rue its plight upon, Is there not yet thy justice, my Sovran?

†(b) intransitive. Without prepositional phrase. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > compassion > feel pity or compassion [verb (intransitive)]

ruec1330

pity1549

c1330 (?a1300) Sir Tristrem (1886) l. 2541 (MED) Mark rewed þer fore.

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) v. 5760 I ye knewe Of myn astat, ye wolde rewe.

a1400 Psalter (Vesp.) xxxvi. 27 in C. Horstmann Yorkshire Writers (1896) II. 168 Alle daie he rewes [c1350 BL Add. 17367 ys merciful] and lenes his þinge.

c1450 in F. J. Furnivall Polit., Relig., & Love Poems (1903) 177 Ȝit muste y rue til þat he [sc. man] rise.

1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 690/2 I rewe, I pytie or have compassion of one.

1568 A. Scott Poems (1896) ix. 30 It is ane hairt..set in to sabill, Ane wofull hairt, bot gif ȝe rew.

1583 R. Sempill Warning to Lords vii Ane rewthfull revar vill nocht be russet to rew.

†c. transitive. With personal subject. To regard with pity and compassion; to feel sorry for (a person, etc.). Also Theology: to show mercy to. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > compassion > feel pity for [verb (transitive)]

bireusyc1000

ruea1200

aruec1220

meanc1225

birewea1300

pity?a1475

compassionate1598

passionate1638

a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 95 (MED) Mildheorted beð þe man þe reouð his nehgebures unselðe.

a1350 in G. L. Brook Harley Lyrics (1968) 34 (MED) Leuedi, þou rewe me.

c1390 (?c1350) Joseph of Arimathie (1871) l. 154 (MED) Þe ky[n]g bi-heold on his face..and witerli him rewes.

c1450 C. d'Orleans Poems (1941) 28 (MED) Mercy my lady rad To rewe me, wreche.

1483 ( tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage of Soul (Caxton) iv. xx. f. lxviij That ye ne reweth hym myn herte it sleeth.

1558 T. Phaer tr. Virgil Seuen First Bks. Eneidos ii. 43 Mine own hand shall my deth obteyn, my foo will rue my plight.

1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. i. sig. B2 Die is my dew: yet rew my wretched state.

?1611 G. Chapman tr. Homer Iliads xxi. 72 I kiss thy knees, divine Æacides! Respect me, and my fortunes rue.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2011; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	rue
释义	ruen.¹ Brit. /ruː/, U.S. /ru/ Forms: Old English hreow, Old English hrew- (inflected form), Old English hryw- (inflected form), Old English reow (rare), Middle English rew, Middle English–1500s rewe, 1600s– rue; Scottish pre-1700 roue, pre-1700 row, pre-1700 1700s–1800s rew, 1700s– rue, 1900s– rewe. Origin: A word inherited from Germanic. Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian riōwa (West Frisian rouwe mourning), Old Dutch rouwa (Middle Dutch rōwe , rouwe , Dutch rouw ), Middle Low German rouwe , ruwe , Old High German hriuwa , riuwa (Middle High German riuwe , German Reue ), all in senses ‘regret, repentance, remorse’ < the same Germanic base as rue v.¹ Compare later ruth n. Chiefly regional or archaic. 1. Sorrow, distress; penitence, repentance; regret. Also: an instance of such a feeling. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > suffering > sorrow or grief > [noun] rueeOE teeneOE sorrowOE gramec1000 sytec1175 ruthc1225 dolea1240 balec1275 sighinga1300 dolour13.. ermingc1300 heartbreakc1330 discomfortc1350 griefa1375 tristourc1380 desolation1382 sichinga1387 tristesse1390 compassiona1400 rueinga1400 smarta1400 displeasure14.. gremec1400 heavity14.. dillc1420 notea1425 discomforturec1450 dolefulnessc1450 wandremec1450 regratec1485 doleance1490 trista1510 mispleasance1532 pathologiesa1586 balefulness1590 drearing1591 distressedness1592 woenessa1600 desertion1694 ruesomeness1881 schmerz1887 the mind > emotion > suffering > regret > [noun] rueeOE ruenessOE forthinkinga1250 rueinga1400 regratec1485 remorse?1528 regretting1531 regret1534 resentment1632 reluctance1650 reluctancy1654 resentinga1716 lamentation1850 ruesomeness1881 society > morality > virtue > righteousness or rectitude > reform, amendment, or correction > repentance or contrition > [noun] reusingeOE rueeOE ruenessOE bireusingc1000 penitencea1200 rutha1200 after-charc1220 again-charc1220 ruesomenessa1225 ofthinkingc1225 forthinkinga1250 repentancec1300 penancea1325 pityc1330 compunctiona1340 agenbite1340 repentingc1350 athinking1382 contritionc1386 repentaillec1390 rueinga1400 remorse of conscience (also mind)c1410 conscience?a1425 remorsea1425 penitencya1500 penitudea1538 resipiscency?c1550 penancy?1567 resipiscence1570 repent1573 brokennessa1617 remorsefulnessa1617 synteresy1616 synderesis1639 heart-searching1647 synteresis1650 remordency1658 contriteness1692 resentment1705 penitentness1727 eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) liii. 415 Ðonne wyrð hit [sc. ðæt beswicene mod] amierred from ðære incundan hreowe [L. ab intentione poenitentiae], to ðon ðæt hit nan god ne gemete, forðæm him nan yfel ne hriwð. OE Guthlac A 10 Þær næfre hreow cymeð, edergong fore yrmþum, ac þær biþ engla dream. OE Beowulf (2008) 2129 Þæt wæs Hroðgar[e] hreowa tornost. OE Blickling Homilies 35 Don we urum Drihtne soþe hreowe & bote. a1500 (?c1400) Song of Roland (1880) l. 555 (MED) He may walk homward with hert rew. a1500 Partonope of Blois (Rawl. Poet.) (1862) App. l. 3052* Allas he thought I am but rewe To hur that is my soverayne lady. 1559 D. Lindsay Dreme 321 That dully den..Quhose reward is rew without remede Euer deyand and neuer to be dede. 1581 R. Sempill Complaint vpon Fortoun (single sheet) Of rasche decreitis cums rew and may not mend it. 1628 G. Wither Britain's Remembrancer ii. 1142 His Physicke must be Rue (ev'n Rue for Sinne). 1848 A. B. Longstreet Georgia Scenes (new ed.) 29 I'm a man that, when he makes a bad trade, makes the most of it... I'm for no rues and after-claps. 1896 A. E. Housman Shropshire Lad liv. 83 With rue my heart is laden For golden friends I had. 1959 Listener 31 Dec. 1174/2 The nature and the mixture of the ingredients in the poetry—nostalgia, bathos, irony, rue, and religious fervour. 1996 F. McCourt Angela's Ashes (1997) x. 279 She keeps telling us we're still dirty and if she has to come out to scrub us we'll rue the day. Another rue. I scrub myself harder. 2008 R. Wexelblatt Zublinka among Women i. 76 It ends by my reflecting with rue and envy that my own past cannot be restored. 2. Pity, compassion. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > compassion > [noun] rutha1200 ruenessa1225 ruefulnessc1225 birewnessa1250 pityc1300 ruea1325 compassionc1340 midtholing1340 miserationa1382 rueinga1382 bowel1382 mildc1390 tendresse1390 ruefulhead?a1400 ruthnessa1400 tendernessa1400 compunction1430 bowels of compassion1526 remorse1538 commiseration1582 kindheartedness1583 commorse1595 earning1603 tender-heartedness1607 compassionateness1614 visceraa1651 ruthfulness1674 karuna1850 a1325 St. Thomas Becket (Corpus Cambr.) l. 1057 in C. D'Evelyn & A. J. Mill S. Eng. Legendary (1956) 644 (MED) Nou God almiȝti be is help, for [he] hadde þere lite rewe. 1568 Want of Wyse Men (Bannatyne) in R. Henryson Poems (1908) III. 174 Sic sturtfull stering in to godis neiss it stinkis Bot He haif rew all Is vnremedable. 1867 J. Ingelow Story of Doom v. 102 I was good—Had rue on thee a tender sucking child. 1900 F. S. Ellis tr. G. de Lorris Rom. Rose I. ii. 12 Till every eye that saw her grew Bedewed with tears of pitying rue. 1975 F. Exley Pages from Cold Island vi. 102 He spent days staring at me over his twitching bandido mustache, shaking his head with heartfelt rue at my abhorrent sobriety. 1988 E. White Beautiful Room is Empty (1989) v. 103 Don't you see, Bunny, middle-class rue is a way of condescending to our noblest feelings out of middle-class embarrassment. Phrases to take the rue Scottish and Irish English (northern) to repent; to feel regret; to change one's mind. ΘΚΠ society > morality > virtue > righteousness or rectitude > reform, amendment, or correction > repentance or contrition > be repentant or contrite [verb (intransitive)] rueOE i-rewOE ofthinkOE again-chareOE reusieOE overthinkc1175 beetc1200 it athinks me1250 to do (also make, etc.) (one's) penancea1300 (it) forthinks (me, him, etc.)a1300 repentc1300 forthinkc1380 remordc1450 repoin1523 remorse1530 to take the rue1789 1789 Shepherd's Wedding 10 I own, indeed, I've ta'en the rue, My mind is fairly alter'd. 1816 W. Scott Old Mortality xv, in Tales of my Landlord 1st Ser. III. 315 Tam Halliday took the rue, and tauld me a' about it. a1882 in A. Nimmo Songs Clydesdale (1882) 145 She wanted him to break the marriage, for she had ta'en the rue. a1908 H. C. Hart MS Coll. Ulster Words in M. Traynor Eng. Dial. Donegal (1953) 237/1 To take the rue, to regret.., to repent of a proposal or bargain. a1917 E. C. Smith Braid Haaick (1927) 18 A'm no gaun ti dui'd; A've taen the rewe. 1935 W. D. Cocker Further Poems 41 The fermer took thocht, an' syne pit it to grass, Wi' a guid feed o' aits; but he then took the rue. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2011; most recently modified version published online June 2022). ruen.² Brit. /ruː/, U.S. /ru/ Forms: α. Middle English ru, Middle English rve, Middle English rwe, Middle English– rue, late Middle English twe (transmission error), 1700s rhue; Scottish pre-1700 rhue, pre-1700 1700s– rue. β. Middle English ruwe. γ. late Middle English reuwe, late Middle English–1600s rewe, late Middle English–1700s rew; Scottish pre-1700 reu, pre-1700 rew. Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymon: French rue. Etymology: < Anglo-Norman ruwe, Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French rue (although this is first attested slightly later: c1200; end of the 11th cent. as rude rude n.¹; French rue ) < classical Latin rūta rude n.¹ Compare earlier rude n.¹ 1. a. Any of various southern European dwarf shrubs constituting the genus Ruta (family Rutaceae), esp. (more fully common or garden rue) R. graveolens, which has yellow flowers and bitter, strongly scented feathery leaves, and was formerly much used for medicinal purposes. Also with distinguishing word.Aleppo rue: see first element. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular medicinal plants or parts > medicinal trees or shrubs > [noun] > rue rudeeOE rue?a1200 herb-grace1548 serving-man's joy1671 countryman's treacle1745–7 herb of repentance1858 the world > health and disease > healing > medicines or physic > medical preparations of specific origin > medicine composed of a plant > [noun] > plant used in medicine > specific plant > rue rue?a1200 Aleppo rue1731 countryman's treacle1745–7 α. ?a1200 ( tr. Pseudo-Apuleius Herbarium (Harl. 6258B) cxx. 102 Wið hæfed-ece drinca rue on wine; Eaft cnuca rue & wring þat wos on ecede, smyra þat heafod þarmid; Eac rue fremeð wyd deade spri[n]cas. a1300 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 554/5 (MED) Ruta, i. rue. a1400 tr. Lanfranc Sci. Cirurgie (Ashm.) (1894) 104 Anoynte his nolle & his necke wiþ..oile of rue. J. Metham Amoryus & Cleopes (1916) l. 1325 Modyrwort, rwe, redmalwys. a1500 (?a1425) tr. Secreta Secret. (Lamb.) 78 (MED) He þat etys ffyges with notes and a fewe leuys of Rue, þat day venom shall noght dere hym. 1562 W. Turner Herball (1568) ii. 123 The iuice of Rue..is good for the ake of the eares. 1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball 260 There be two sortes of Rue, that is garden Rue, and wilde Rue. 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost xi. 414 Then purg'd with Euphrasie and Rue The visual Nerve, for he had much to see. View more context for this quotation 1731 P. Miller Gardeners Dict. I. at Thalictrum Some Botanists have classed this Plant with Rues. 1789 H. L. Piozzi Observ. Journey France I. 417 I perceived all the company..stop their noses with rue. 1813 W. Scott Rokeby v. 228 When villagers my shroud bestrew With pansies, rosemary, and rue. 1874 H. C. Wood Treat. Therapeutics 455 The influence of rue upon the system is similar to, but less decided than that of savine. 1907 Year-bk. Pharmacy 142 A specimen of fresh rue sent from Corsica as Corsican rue, also proved to be Ruta bracteosa, and not R. corsica. 1973 C. A. Wilson Food & Drink in Brit. iii. 74 Sucking pig roasted in the oven was served..under a thickened sauce which contained pepper, lovage, caraway, celery seed, asafoetida root, rue, [etc.]. 2001 C. A. Wright Mediterranean Veg. 145/1 North African Jews traditionally used Egyptian rue as a condiment in cooking. β. c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Luke xi. 42 Woo to ȝou, Pharisees, that tythen mynte and ruwe [L. rutam].c1390 Pistel of Swete Susan (Vernon) l. 112 With Ruwe and Rubarbe, Ragget ariht. Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 438 Ruwe, herbe, ruta.a1500 Agnus Castus (Laud) (1950) 200 (MED) Rvta domestica is an herbe þat me clepuþ Ruwe; þis herbe is comyn y-now, and he bereþ a ȝelwe flour.γ. ?a1425 (?1373) Lelamour Herbal (1938) f. 67 ^v Rewe ys hote and drye and dothe gode to the stomake.?c1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (Paris) (1971) 479 (MED) Chewynge of schere gresse hideþ the sauour of wyne and rewe of oynouns and of garlik.a1475 Liber Cocorum (Sloane) (1862) 23 (MED) In brothe þou boyle þy chekyns gode..Take powder gynger, abrayde, And sugur and rew and safron clere.1539 T. Elyot Castel of Helthe (new ed.) 21 Two drye nuttes, as many fygges, and .xx. leaues of Rewe.1570 in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. xv. 25 Cum, Nettillis, thornie breiris, & rew, With all foull filthie weid.1617 Salerne's Regiment 46 From Garlicke, Nuttes, Hearb-grace, or Rew.1786 J. Pinkerton Anc. Sc. Poems II. 407 The herb rew was..an emblem of pity. b. With punning allusion to rue n.¹ ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular medicinal plants or parts > medicinal trees or shrubs > [noun] > rue > as a pun on the name in the sense of regret ruec1500 c1500 in Speculum (1954) 29 717 (MED) In my garding..now fynd I nocht bot rewe. a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 235 Leif nor flour fynd could I nane of rew. a1592 R. Greene Mamillia (1593) ii. sig. O4 Least time and triall make thee account Rue a most bitter hearbe. 1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet iv. v. 181 Oh you [sc. Claudius] must weare your rewe with a difference. 1616 J. Davies Select Second Husband sig. C1^v So shalt thou But beare thine own Harts-ease, & neuer Rue. 1653 Duchess of Newcastle Poems & Fancies 146 Mirtle for Lovers constant, which are true, Then for Misfortunes lay the bitter Rue. 1721 J. Kelly Compl. Coll. Scotish Prov. 284 Rue in Thyme should be a Maiden's Posie. 1825 C. Waterton Wanderings in S. Amer. iii. 238 They did all in their power to procure balm for me instead of rue. But it would not answer. 1902 J. Payne Poet. Wks. II. 178 The land where Love at last should be consoled And balm flower forth among Life's leaves of rue. 1964 J. Garrigue Sel. Poems (1992) 83 My ticking heart was put from me Into some troped-up garden of old rue. Forgive, because I set up roses too, Improbable as madrigals. 2004 J. Dalmas Second Coming iii. lxiii ‘Seven-Up?’ she asked. ‘Pepsi?’ He turned, his grin was back. ‘How about rue? Some bitter rue would be about right.’ 2. With distinguishing word: any of various plants of other genera and families which resemble common rue in some way, esp. in having bitter or similarly shaped leaves.black, dog's, goat's, meadow, stone, wall rue, etc.: see the first element. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular medicinal plants or parts > medicinal trees or shrubs > [noun] > rue > type of rue1548 1548 W. Turner Names of Herbes sig. H.iiij Saluia vita or Ruta muralis..maye be called in english Stone Rue, or wal Rue. 1668 Bp. J. Wilkins Ess. Real Char. ii. iv. §4. 83 Meadow Rue,..either that whose leaves resemble those of the Oak, with red veins: or that whose leaves resemble those of Wormwood. 1731 P. Miller Gardeners Dict. I. at Scrophularia Figwort, commonly called Dogs Rue. 1825 E. Kent Flora Domestica (ed. 2) 179 The Common Goat's-rue grows naturally in Africa, and in many parts of Europe. It usually has blue flowers. 1874 J. Lindley & T. Moore Treasury Bot. Suppl. Rue, Black (N. Zeal.), Podocarpus spicata. 1900 H. D. Geldart in W. A. Dutt Norfolk ii. 200 We may find..the sea-shore form of Mountain Rue (Thalictrum dunense). 1955 G. Grigson Englishman's Flora 308 Rock rue, Donegal. 2002 Horticulture Nov.–Dec. 45 (table) A superb meadow rue with lavender sepals. Compounds C1. General attributive, as rue-juice, rue-leaf, rue-oil, rue-water. ΚΠ ?c1450 in G. Müller Aus Mittelengl. Medizintexten (1929) 81 (MED) For a woman þat haþ lornn her floures, to restoren is a-ȝen: Tak mader-rotes and rue-leues and sethem to-gedre in wyn. 1553 H. Llwyd tr. Pope John XXI Treasury of Healthe (new ed.) sig. Siii Brimstone, myrhe Agaricke, Rue leaues, cassia Fistula. 1558 W. Ward tr. G. Ruscelli Secretes Alexis of Piemount f. 37 Rue water, Rose water. 1617 Salerne's Regiment 133 Rew-water sprinckled in the house, kils all the fleas. 1681 N. Grew Musæum Regalis Societatis ii. v. ii. 248 Of a russet colour, and as it were all over pounced, somewhat after the manner of a Rue-Leaf. 1711 tr. L. Bordelon Hist. Ridiculous Extravagancies Monsieur Oufle vi. 222 They prescribe Rue Leaves, the smoak of Ash-wood, and Goats Horns. 1799 tr. Laboratory (ed. 6) II. xiii. 449 Put into very strong vinegar, verdigrise, rue-juice, and gum-arabic. 1822 G. Thorburn Let. in 40 Yrs Resid. in Amer. (1834) 237 Took half a glass of rue water, which is made by putting two ounces of green rue in a porter-bottle, and adding one pint of clear rain water, and one pint of Holland gin. 1921 Classical Jrnl. 16 527 This is the formula: four onions, bitter rue leaves, water parsley. 1947 Econ. Bot. 1 25 During recent years Spain produced from two to twelve tons of rue oil annually. 2001 J. B. Harborne & H. Baxter Chem. Dict. Econ. Plants 87/2 Rue oil. Steam distillation of the fresh herb of Ruta graveolens. C2. rue anemone n. North American any of several low-growing woodland plants of the family Ranunculaceae, esp. the meadow rue, Thalictrum thalictroides. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Ranunculaceae (crowfoot and allies) > [noun] > thalictrum or meadow rue feathered columbine1629 meadow rue1648 meadow rhubarb1656 Thalictrum1664 rue anemone1817 muskrat weed1830 fen-rue1863 feather-columbine1878 1817 A. Eaton Man. Bot. 62 Anemone..thalictroides, (rue anemone). 1884 Harper's Mag. May 934/2 Burt now appeared with a handful of rue-anemones. 1910 Good Housek. Mag. Mar. 293/2 Go out into the spring woods while the rue anemones bloom. Dig up the small plants and take them home with you. 2003 J. Sanders Secrets of Wildflowers 15 Rue anemone is often confused with the wood anemone. Both have white, similarly shaped flowers, blooming at the same times and in the same places. rue family n. the family Rutaceae, chiefly comprising woody shrubs and trees, often with strongly scented foliage and fruit, and of which the genus Ruta is the type. ΚΠ 1836 C. F. Partington Brit. Cycl. Arts & Sci. (new ed.) II. 137/2 Coriarieæ..resembles Rutaceæ, the rue family, and has some affinity with Connaraceæ. 1933 W. W. Robbins & F. Ramaley Plants useful to Man xviii. 312 The Rue Family is composed of trees, shrubs, and herbs, usually with aromatic fruits and glandular dotted leaves. 1995 Guardian 5 Dec. i. 12/7 Its attractive, wintergreen, finely divided triangular fronds are very similar to the leaves of the rue family of flowering plants. † rue maidenhair n. Obsolete the wall rue, Asplenium ruta-muraria. ΚΠ 1597 J. Gerard Herball ii. ccccxcvii. 983 Wall Rue, or Rue Maiden haire. 1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Rue de muraille, wall rue, Rue Maiden haire. 1777 J. Lightfoot Flora Scotica II. 665 [Asplenium ruta muraria] Wall Rue, Rue Maidenhair. Anglis. 1824 R. K. Greville Flora Edinensis 219 Rue Maidenhair—Plant tufted, 2-6 inches long, the stalks issuing from a dense mass of roots. rue order n. now rare = rue family n. ΚΠ 1847 Rural Cycl. I. 907/1 Crowea. A small genus of very beautiful, greenhouse, Australian, evergreen shrubs, of the corræa division of the rue order. 1857 A. Henfrey Elem. Course Bot. 266 Rutaceæ, the Rue order. 1937 E. G. Wheelwright Greenhouse Culture for Amateurs (2008) ii. 44 Correa speciosa belongs to the Rue order, and is an Australian, requiring a sunny house. rue-weed n. †(a) any of several plants of the genus Thalictrum; a meadow rue (obsolete); (b) (poetic) a plant resembling rue (rare). ΚΠ 1769 J. Hill Veg. Syst. XIV. 22 Rueweed. 1796 W. Withering Arrangem. Brit. Plants (ed. 3) II. 501 Thalictrum alpinum, Mountain Rue-weed. T. flavum, Meadow Rue-weed. T. minus, Lesser Rue-weed. 1802 A. F. M. Willich Domest. Encycl. III. (at cited word) Common Meadow-rue, Spurious Rhubarb, or Rue-weed. 1985 P. Levine in C. Buckley Poetry P. Levine 229 Pond snipe, bleached pine, rue weed, wart—I walk by sedge and brown river rot. ruewort n. (a) the common rue, Ruta graveolens (see sense 1a) (obsolete); (b) (J. Lindley's name for) any plant of the family Rutaceae (see rue family n.) (now rare). ΚΠ ?a1500 in G. Henslow Med. Wks. 14th Cent. (1899) 53 (MED) For to make greyne-tret, þat ys y-callyd gratia dei: Take pigle, bugle, sanigle, dytayne, scabiose, rewe-wort. 1846 J. Lindley Veg. Kingdom 470 The Cneoreæ..seem to be a form of this Order of Rueworts. 1902 C. L. Pollard Families of Flowering Plants 145 The only reliable means of distinguishing the rueworts from allied families is by the glandular-dotted foliage. Derivatives rue-like adj. ΚΠ 1725 R. Bradley Chomel's Dictionaire Œconomique at Ranunculus The Yellow Ranunculus, with Rue-like Flowers. 1863 R. C. A. Prior On Pop. Names Brit. Plants 193 Its rue-like much divided leaves. 1901 Pharmaceut. Jrnl. 6 July 1/1 The odour is rue-like with a distinct suggestion of a fatty ketone. 2002 R. Darke Amer. Woodland Garden v. 226 The ruelike foliage of blue cohosh Caulophyllum thalictrioides, is among the prettiest of all woodland herbs. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2011; most recently modified version published online March 2022). ruev.¹ Brit. /ruː/, U.S. /ru/ Forms: 1. Present stem. a. Old English hræwende (Northumbrian, present participle), Old English hreowan, Old English hreowigas (Northumbrian, imperative plural), Old English hriwe (singular subjunctive, rare), Old English hrywe (singular subjunctive, rare), Old English reowan (rare), early Middle English reowenn ( Ormulum), early Middle English riewe (south-eastern and East Anglian), early Middle English rywe (south-west midlands), Middle English reewe, Middle English reouwe (south-west midlands), Middle English reowe (chiefly west midlands), Middle English reu, Middle English reue, Middle English reuwe, Middle English reve, Middle English rewwe, Middle English rowe (chiefly south-west midlands), Middle English ru, Middle English ruwe, Middle English–1500s rwe, Middle English–1600s rew, Middle English–1600s rewe, Middle English– rue, 1500s reew; English regional (chiefly northern and north midlands) 1800s– rew, 1800s– rewe, 1900s– riew; Scottish pre-1700 reu, pre-1700 rewe, pre-1700 1700s–1800s rew, pre-1700 1700s– rue; also Irish English (northern) 1800s rew. b. 3rd singular indicative early Old English hriwð, Old English hreoweþ, Old English hreoweð, Old English hreowð, Old English hreues (Northumbrian), Old English hrywð, Old English hrywyð, Old English reowaþ, Old English reowað, early Middle English reouð, early Middle English reoweð, early Middle English reoweþþ ( Ormulum), early Middle English reut, early Middle English reuweð, early Middle English rewet, early Middle English rewit, early Middle English rewð, early Middle English riweþ, early Middle English roweþ (south-west midlands), early Middle English rowð (south-west midlands), Middle English reues, Middle English reueþ, Middle English reus, Middle English reuus, Middle English reuweþ, Middle English reweþ, Middle English rewez, Middle English rewis, Middle English rewith, Middle English rewys, Middle English rewyth, Middle English ruys, Middle English ruyþ, Middle English rweȝ, Middle English rwyth, Middle English–1500s reweth, Middle English–1600s rewes, Middle English–1600s rueth, Middle English– rues, late Middle English rewþe, late Middle English rewyþe, 1500s ruithe; also Scottish pre-1700 rewis, pre-1700 rewys. 2. Past tense. a. Strong (originally 1st and 3rd singular indicative) Old English hreaw, Old English hreow (rare), Old English hrew (rare), Old English reow (rare), Old English (rare)–early Middle English reaw, early Middle English ræw ( Ormulum), early Middle English reu, early Middle English rev, early Middle English rewh, early Middle English riu (south-western), Middle English rew, Middle English rewe, Middle English ru, Middle English rue. b. Weak Middle English reud, Middle English reude, Middle English reued, Middle English rewde, Middle English rewede, Middle English rewide, Middle English rewit, Middle English ruet, Middle English rwed, Middle English–1500s rewyd, Middle English–1600s rewed, Middle English– rued, late Middle English sowed (transmission error), 1500s ruied; English regional 1800s– ru't; also Scottish pre-1700 revyd, pre-1700 rewed, pre-1700 rewid, pre-1700 rewit, pre-1700 rewt, pre-1700 rewyt, pre-1700 ruit, pre-1700 rwyt, 1800s rewet. 3. Past participle. a. Strong Old English rowen. b. Weak late Middle English–1500s rewed, 1500s rewde, 1500s– rued; also Scottish pre-1700 rewit, pre-1700 rowed. Origin: A word inherited from Germanic. Etymology: A merging of two distinct but closely related words from the same Germanic base: (i) an Old English strong verb of Class II (hrēowan ), cognate with Old Frisian riōwa , riouwa (strong verb; West Frisian rouwe , rouje , weak), Middle Dutch rouwen , rowen , ruwen , rauwen (inflected both strong and weak; Dutch rouwen , weak), Old Saxon hreuwan (strong; Middle Low German rǖwen , rūwen , rouwen , weak), Old High German hriuwan , riuwan (strong; Middle High German riuwen , rūwen , strong, German reuen , weak); and, (ii) an Old English weak verb of Class II (hrēowian ), cognate with Old Saxon hriwōn , hrewōn , Old High German hriuwōn , riuwōn ; compare also (with different suffixes) Old High German riuwēn (weak Class III), and Old Icelandic hryggva , hryggja (weak Class I); further etymology uncertain: perhaps related to Sanskrit karuṇa pitiable, woeful. The diphthongal West Germanic stem forms do not reflect a Proto-Germanic diphthong, but rather show the result of the operation of Holtzmann's Law (compare the Old Icelandic form); this proves that the conjugation as a strong verb of Class II must be an analogical development in West Germanic. Compare also from the same Germanic base the adjectives Old English hrēow , Old Saxon hriuwi , Old Icelandic hryggr , all in sense ‘sad, sorrowful’. Compare rue n.¹In Old English the weak verb hrēowian is very much less common than its strong counterpart, and is attested only (in Northumbrian) in intransitive use with personal subject (see sense 3b); in contrast, the strong verb is overwhelmingly attested in transitive use with impersonal subject (there is apparently only one attestation of use with personal subject: see quot. OE at sense 1b). It is unclear whether this apparent distinction in use between strong and weak verb reflects a more ancient grammatical and semantic distinction or is simply an accident of the historical record (however, compare the apparently parallel distinction shown by the Old Saxon and Old High German verbs); compare also the more common weak verb hrēowsian reusie v., representing a suffixed form of the same Germanic base. It is uncertain to what extent, if any, forms of the Old English weak verb underlie the Middle English and later weak forms. Weak forms of the past tense are first attested c1300 in Middle English (see Forms 2b), and by the middle of the 14th cent. appear to have almost entirely replaced the strong forms. By the 15th cent. the Middle English diphthong ēu , ēw (in which the first element was a long close ē ), the usual vocalism of the stem syllable, had fallen together (perhaps as /ɪu/) with the reflex of Old French u (i.e. /y/), giving rise to such spellings as ru , rue (compare true adj.). (Similar earlier spellings in western texts (e.g. ruwe) represent the regular west midland and south-western development of Old English ēo into a mid front rounded vowel often written u ; compare R. Jordan Handb. der mittelenglischen Grammatik (ed. 2, 1934) §109 note 1.) Occasional (chiefly early and western) Middle English forms in row- probably reflect shift of stress from a falling to a rising diphthong and subsequent monophthongization to long close ō . The Old English past tense forms hreow, reow (with ēo for expected ēa ) show the continuing rounding influence of following w (compare A. Campbell Old Eng. Gram. (1959) §275). The Middle English past tense forms ru, rue may show the reflex of the vocalism of the (unattested) Old English past plural form hruwon , or (perhaps more likely) may simply represent spellings of original Old English ēo before w (either as the reflex of the Old English past tense variant hrēow* discussed above or as a levelling of the present stem). In Old English the prefixed forms gehrēowan and (late) gehrēowian are also attested (see i-rew v.); compare also ofhrēowan arue v. 1. a. transitive. With impersonal subject and with the person (in early use dative or accusative) as object. To affect with sorrow or regret; to distress, grieve. Frequently with it as subject and clause as complement, and without it and with following clause as implicit subject. Now archaic. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > suffering > sorrow or grief > be sorry or grieved at [verb (transitive)] > sadden or grieve rueOE grieve?c1225 teen1340 moana1425 contrist1490 sadden1565 sad1578 ensorrow1593 contristate1616 tristitiate1628 dolea1637 endolour1884 OE Crist III 1414 Ða mec ongon hreowan þæt min hondgeweorc on feonda geweald feran sceolde. OE Genesis B 426 Þæt me is on minum mode swa sar, on minum hyge hreoweð, þæt hie heofonrice agan to aldre. OE Genesis B 819 Swa me nu hreowan mæg æfre to aldre þæt ic þe minum eagum geseah. c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 5576 Himm reoweþþ þatt he dwelleþþ her. Swa swiþe lange onn eorþe. a1200 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Trin. Cambr.) l. 358 in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 231 (MED) Þe þat blisse forgoð, hit sal him rewen sore. c1300 St. Mary of Egypt (Laud) l. 281 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 269 Sorest him rev þat he nuste ȝwat hire name was. c1300 Life & Martyrdom Thomas Becket (Harl. 2277) (1845) l. 298 Sire Gilbert Foliot..was..ymaked Bischop of Londone that ne reude him noȝt sore. a1350 in G. L. Brook Harley Lyrics (1968) 72 Lef þou no false lore; Ȝef þou dost, hit wol me reowe sore. c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 2 Cor. vii. 8 If I made ȝou sori in a pistle, now it rewith me not. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 10279 (MED) Þat I naue childe reweþ [c1460 Laud ruyþ] me sore. c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Merchant/Franklin Link (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 14 Me reweth soore I am vnto hire teyd. c1425 (c1400) Laud Troy-bk. l. 6064 (MED) The terme is gon now of treus; Some it likes and some it reus. c1450 (c1415) in W. O. Ross Middle Eng. Serm. (1940) 158 (MED) I am now in prisone, And þat me reweþ sore. a1500 (?a1400) Morte Arthur (1903) 1029 (MED) Me Rewith the deth of hyr for his sake. 1548 W. Patten Exped. Scotl. B v b It would haue rued any good huswiues heart, to haue beholden ye..murder. 1822 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. May 571/2 It rued me to leave thee, Hiltegund. a1864 J. Clare Later Poems (1984) II. 843 The voice it gaed through me like throwing a stone And sair did it rue me knocking at my breast bone. 1881 C. Geikie Hours with Bible I. vii. 103 It almost ‘rues him’ that God had created Eve. 1883 E. K. Corbett tr. G. E. Lessing Nathan the Wise v. iv. 147 The Templars..Can never do me so much harm, that aught Can rue me, much less that. 1909 D. B. Shumway tr. Nibelunglied iii. 17 It rued the king that he had held his peace so long. 1963 I. Morris tr. I. Saikaku Life of Amorous Woman 180 The idea that it would simply become old and rusty, without ever having been used for any noble exploit, rued me sorely. b. intransitive. To feel sorrow or grief, especially because of a personal circumstance or event; to lament. †Also with of, for. ΘΠ the mind > emotion > suffering > sorrow or grief > feel sorrow or grief [verb (intransitive)] sorroweOE sorryeOE careOE heavyOE mournOE rueOE murkenOE dole13.. likec1330 wailc1374 ensorrowc1384 gloppen?a1400 sytea1400 teena1400 grievec1400 angera1425 erme1481 yearna1500 aggrieve1559 discomfort?a1560 melancholyc1580 to eat one's (own) heart1590 repent1590 passion1598 sigh1642 OE Descent into Hell 90 Wæron ure ealdfind ealle on wynnum þonne hy gehyrdon hu we hreowen [de mændon] murnende mægburg usse. a1350 Maximian (Harl.) l. 65 in K. Böddeker Altengl. Dichtungen (1878) 247 (MED) Hunten herd y blowe, hertes gonne rowe. a1450 York Plays (1885) 39 (MED) No man shal rewe of thy misfare. c1450 (?a1400) Sege Melayne (1880) 197 (MED) Þe peris take a concelle newe Þat made alle fraunce ful sore to rewe. a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) I. 119 My herte rwyth sore of the deth of hir that lyeth yondir. 1548 Hall's Vnion: Richard III f. xxxiij^v I remembred an olde prouerbe.., that often ruithe the realme, where chyldren rule, and woman gouerne. 1603 Prophecie of Merling in Whole Prophesie Scotl. sig. Aij^v When the Rauen roupes, many man shall rue. 1650 J. Trapp Clavis to Bible (Gen. ix. 22) 84 The whole race of Religious persons must rue for it. 1663 S. Butler Hudibras: First Pt. i. i. 19 Like Sampson's Heart-breakers, it grew In time to make a nation rue. a1774 A. Tucker Light of Nature Pursued (1777) II. iv. xxxvi. 304 I have heard people value themselves upon their inability to resist an importunity they know to be hurtful; but..they know not how severely their darlings may rue for the delay. 1813 W. Scott Rokeby v. 213 Ambition's dreams I've seen depart, Have rued of penury the smart. 1888 in J. Crawhall Beuk Newcassel Sangs 35 I have married a Keelman, An' sair he makes me rue. 1990 R. Blount First Hubby 129 So say this was a rueberry bush. I was sitting there in it, rueing. 2003 C. Holt Absolute Pleasure 334 She would lounge in the window seat while she rued and moped. c. To regard or think of (an event, fact, etc.) with sorrow or regret; to wish that (something) had never taken place or existed. (a) transitive. gen. In early use also in the infinitive with passive sense. Also with clause as object. ΘΠ the mind > emotion > suffering > regret > [verb (transitive)] forthink?a1250 ruea1300 remordc1400 sorrow?a1425 forruec1425 overthinkc1450 regreta1500 deplore1567 grieve1597 unwish1629 repent1631 lament1794 a1300 in B. J. Whiting Prov., Sentences, & Proverbial Phrases (1968) 167 (MED) That einen ne sen, herte ne reut [L. tristatur]. c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 10127 (MED) Is londes..ne come nammore To þe croune of engelond, & þat was to rewe sore. a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) Prol. 164 (MED) Thilke werre..now groweth newe, And that is gretly forto rewe, In special for Cristes sake. c1400 (?a1300) Kyng Alisaunder (Laud) (1952) 3940 (MED) Þere miȝth man in herte rewe [Linc. Inn reowe] Hou noble kniȝttes ouer-þrewe. c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) iii. 1105 (MED) Þe slauȝter gan gretly for to rewe. c1450 in F. J. Furnivall Hymns to Virgin & Christ (1867) 47 Oonys he bad me, ‘go, foule sathan’; Euere-more þat repreef y rewe. 1557 Earl of Surrey et al. Songes & Sonettes (new ed.) f. 90 It was the day on which the sunne..To rew Christs death amid his course gaue place vnto y^e night. 1603 Prophecie of Bertlington in Whole Prophesie Scotl. sig. A7^v Throw a tretie of a true, a trayne shalbe made, That Scotland shal rew. 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost i. 134 Too well I see and rue the dire event. View more context for this quotation 1702 C. Beaumont J. Beaumont's Psyche (new ed.) xii. cxlviii. 189 Both Sence and Reason rue that tyranny. 1796 E. Burke Two Lett. Peace Regicide Directory France iii, in Wks. (1808) VIII. 223 The world will have cause to rue this iniquitous measure. 1813 W. Scott Rokeby iv. 173 Redmond now alone must rue The love he never can subdue. 1863 E. Stephenson St. Olave's I. iv. 48 Often had she rued the over-much carefulness of the founders of the Home. 1941 P. Grainger Let. 27 Sept. in All-round Man (1994) 181 I am always so grieved to leave you & I rue deeply every sway, duty, task that holds you & me so far apart. 1957 L. E. Pearson Elizabethans at Home vi. 401 When her husband's coat of arms was defaced on an inn in Newark, she told the ‘rascal’ who had done the deed that his own son was also a reprobate and his child yet to be conceived would rue what had been done. 1975 F. Exley Pages from Cold Island viii. 134 Wilson had rued the hoodlum motorcyclists and snowmobilers cutting kitty-corner across his yard and ruining his ferns. 2009 New Yorker 22 June 18/3 The Spaniard..rued the absence on the menu of a delicacy called mollejas. (b) transitive. With a specific period of time as object. Chiefly in to rue the day (also hour). ΘΠ the mind > emotion > suffering > regret > [verb (intransitive)] sorroweOE aruec1000 ruea1400 overthinka1450 regretc1450 to rue the day (also hour)c1461 fret1551 to cry over spilt milk (or water)1738 the mind > emotion > suffering > regret > [verb (intransitive)] > feel remorse ofthinkOE reusieOE overthinkc1175 (it) forthinks (me, him, etc.)a1300 forthinkc1380 ruea1400 remordc1450 to rue the day (also hour)c1461 repoin1523 remorse1530 society > morality > virtue > righteousness or rectitude > reform, amendment, or correction > repentance or contrition > be repentant or contrite [verb (intransitive)] > repent a course of or the occasion of action to rue one's resec1390 to rue a (also one's) racea1450 to rue the day (also hour)c1461 c1461 Piers in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 343 I may rewe the tyme þat I euer ded hym seruice. 1590 C. Marlowe Tamburlaine: 1st Pt. sig. D6 That Tamburlaine shall rue the day..Wherein he wrought such ignominious wrong. 1599 George a Greene sig. A.3^v All that sit vpon the bench this day, Shall rue the houre they haue withstood my Lords Commission. a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) iii. i. 251 France, y^u shalt rue this houre within this houre. View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 3 (1623) v. vi. 43 Orphans, for their Parents timeles death, Shall rue the houre that euer thou was't borne. View more context for this quotation 1653 J. Allington Grand Conspiracy Jewes against their King iii. 154 You will rue the time, that ever you crucified your King. ?1710 Squire Bickerstaff Detected 2 I am alive..to make him rue the Hour he ever affronted a Man of Science and Resentment. 1714 J. Gay Shepherd's Week iv. 5 I rue the day, a rueful day I trow,..When Lubberkin to Town his cattle drove. 1750 M. Jones Misc. in Prose & Verse 52 Now ponder well, Miss Clayton dear, And read your Bible book; Lest you one day should rue the time That you your promise broke. 1782 E. Blower George Bateman II. 170 Ye shall rue the day ye took it. 1801 W. H. Ireland Ballads in Imitation of Antient 11 God grant that so he keep his say She ne'er may rue the month of May. 1819 W. Scott Bride of Lammermoor ii, in Tales of my Landlord 3rd Ser. I. 53 You'll rue the day that clogs me with this answer. 1881 ‘Rita’ My Lady Coquette I. ii. 26 It will go hard with me if I don't make you rue the day you wrote or said it! 1925 A. J. Whyte tr. C. B. Cavour Let. in Early Life & Lett. Cavour vii. 191 Love me, Camille,..love me that I may never rue the hour when first I saw you. 1996 F. McCourt Angela's Ashes 183 If I have to climb these stairs I'll warm your behind and you'll rue the day. 2009 J. Dylan Good Life with Jesse Dylan i. i. 12 His patients don't tend to recognize that they're mortal until they become sick, and then they rue the time they've lost. d. intransitive. To be sorry or distressed to do something; to feel reluctant to do something. Now archaic and rare. ΘΚΠ the mind > will > wish or inclination > unwillingness > be unwilling [verb (intransitive)] nillOE loathea1200 to make it tough1297 forthinka1300 reckc1300 ruea1400 to make (it) strangec1405 to make strangenessc1407 stick1418 resistc1425 to make (it) strange?1456 steek1478 tarrowc1480 doubt1483 sunyie1488 to make (it) nice1530 stay1533 shentc1540 to make courtesy (at)1542 to make it scrupulous1548 to think (it) much1548 to make dainty of (anything)1555 to lie aback1560 stand1563 steek1573 to hang back1581 erch1584 to make doubt1586 to hang the groin1587 to make scruple (also a, no, etc., scruple)1589 yearn1597 to hang the winga1601 to make squeamish1611 smay1632 bogglea1638 to hang off1641 waver1643 reluct1648 shy1650 reluctate1655 stickle1656 scruple1660 to make boggle1667 revere1689 begrudge1690 to have scruples1719 stopc1738 bitch1777 reprobate1779 crane1823 disincline1885 a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 6784 (MED) Qua þat anurs godds neu, Him to sla sal naman reu. 1496 Epit. Iaspar Late Duke of Beddeforde (Pynson) sig. aiv^v The deth of our mayster rue to remembre. 1562 A. Brooke tr. M. Bandello Tragicall Hist. Romeus & Iuliet f. 1 Alas (I rewe to thinke) an heauy happe befell. 1583 G. Babington Very Fruitfull Expos. Commaundem. Pref. sig. ¶¶ 2 I rewe to thinke it, there are witnesses moe, than I woulde there were, that knowe it. a1612 J. Harington Brief View Church of Eng. in Nugæ Antiquæ (1804) II. 138 This church (the ruins whereof I rue to behold even in wryting theis lynes). 1630 tr. G. Botero Relations Famous Kingdomes World (rev. ed.) 559 How long every particular Prince reigned..I rue to record, and meane not to relate. 1842 First Rep. Commissioners on Employment of Children in Rep. Commissoners I. 177 Has worked in a coal-pit eight years, went in at six years old; used to rue to go in, does not rue now. 1906 C. M. Doughty Dawn in Brit. VI. xxii. 88 Two poor women-wights Which wallow..before a burning pyre, and dreary shrieks, Cast forth; that even those enemies rue to hear! 2. †a. transitive. With impersonal or unexpressed subject and with the person (in early use dative or accusative) as object. To cause (a person) to feel regret for some act; to make (a person) wish that he or she had acted differently. Frequently with it as subject and clause as complement, and without it and with following clause as implicit subject. Obsolete.In quot. OE¹ with no subject expressed and with the action regretted in the genitive. ΘΠ the mind > emotion > suffering > regret > [verb (transitive)] > affect with regret rueeOE the mind > emotion > suffering > regret > [verb (transitive)] > feel remorse for an action > affect with remorse rueeOE remordc1400 remorse1483 society > morality > virtue > righteousness or rectitude > reform, amendment, or correction > repentance or contrition > repent (sin, wrongdoing, etc.) [verb (transitive)] > affect with remorse > for some act rueeOE eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) xxxix. 287 Ne doo ðu nan wuht butan geðeahte, ðonne ne hriwð hit ðe, ðonne hit gedon bið. OE Soul & Body I 148 Ðu ne þearft sceamian.., þæs ðu me geafe, ne ðe hreowan þearf..ealles swa mycles swa ðu me sealdest. OE Genesis A (1931) 1276 Hreaw hine swiðe þæt he folcmægþa fruman aweahte, æðelinga ord, þa he Adam sceop. a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 65 (MED) Ðe wile sare rewen ðat tu ðe seluen ne haddest betere iholpen ðare hwile ðe ðu mihtest. a1300 (?c1200) Prov. Alfred (Jesus Oxf.) (1955) 139 Þe þat nule one youhþe yeorne leorny..þat him schal on elde sore rewe. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 1602 (MED) Me reus þat euer made i man. ?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) ii. 237 (MED) Þe Walssh wer alle day slayn; now rewes þam þer res. c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) 290 (MED) Sore hit me rwez Þat ever I made hem myself. a1425 (?c1350) Ywain & Gawain (1964) 1040 (MED) Me rewes sore Þat I missayd þe ȝisterday. a1450 York Plays (1885) 103 (MED) Þe bargayne I made þare, Þat rewes me nowe full sare. 1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) ii. 330 He that will trew His fa it sall him sum-tyme rew. a1500 (a1400) Sir Cleges (Adv.) (1930) 269 (MED) Yf þou com more inward, It schall þe rewe afterward. b. transitive. With personal subject. To regret (some act or course of action or fact about oneself) and wish it undone or altered, on account of its consequences. Frequently with the implication of suffering or punishment as a consequence of the act.to rue a (also one's) race: see race n.¹ Phrases 1. to rue one's rese: see rese n. Phrases 2. ΘΠ the mind > emotion > suffering > regret > [verb (transitive)] > feel remorse for an action rue?c1335 resent1618 ?c1335 in W. Heuser Kildare-Gedichte (1904) 81 (MED) Al we beþ iclung so clai, We schold rew þat sore. a1350 in R. H. Robbins Hist. Poems 14th & 15th Cent. (1959) 25 (MED) Y shal falle hem byfore & lurnen huere lay, ant rewen alle huere redes. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 4138 (MED) Þat Baret rede i noght yee bru; þat yow mai euer after ru. 1415 T. Hoccleve Addr. to Sir John Oldcastle l. 467 in Minor Poems (1970) i. 23 Come on whan yow list, yee shul reewe it deere! c1480 (a1400) St. Machor 972 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) II. 28 Bot he in þame ruit his techi[n]g; ffor..þai na tyme for to scorne hym fane. 1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) viii. l. 857 The layff raturnyt..And rwyt full sar that euyr thai furth coud found. a1500 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Trin. Dublin) 1975 Remefe agayn to þi realm, or þou sall it rewe. 1548 Hall's Vnion: Edward IV f. ccj^v Whiche vnmercifull acte, the Welshemen sore ruied the next daie or night. 1595 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 3 i. i. 94 I remember it to my griefe, And by his soule thou and thy house shall rew it. a1600 R. Lindsay Hist. & Cron. Scotl. (1899) II. 16 He rewit the promisse maid to my lord of Lennox. 1611 W. Mure Misc. Poems ii. 51 Too lait, I feir, thow rew thou did espy him. 1642 D. Rogers Naaman 160 Examine thy selfe about this now, one day thou wilt else rue it. 1680 M. Stevenson Wits Paraphras'd 59 Nor am I such a slippery Eel, To rue my choice; I'm true as Steel. 1726 E. Fenton in A. Pope et al. tr. Homer Odyssey IV. xix. 371 Who-e'er neglects to pay distinction due, The breach of hospitable right may rue. 1760 Gentleman's Mag. Jan. 40/2 The knot once ty'd, you soon wou'd rue it. 1796 Juvenile Tour on Borders of Parnassus 8 No evils dire its motions can cantroul; Nor e'en a martyr shall his actions rue. 1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth ii, in Chron. Canongate 2nd Ser. I. 42 Well, my princess.., I will teach you to rue this. 1841 G. P. R. James Corse de Leon III. xiv. 263 If they hurt a hair of his head they shall rue it. 1865 R. Hay Redstan 16 Many families in Wales had been bereaved in the late war, and now many left-handed men rued that they had little regarded Earl Harold's bloody law. 1885 R. Bridges Eros & Psyche iii. xxviii. 38 And yet..no sooner was alone, Than she for loneliness her promise rued. 1920 L. C. Schem Hyphen I. ii. xii. 529 The day may come when the idealist shall rue him his idealism. 1929 P. H. Frye Visions & Chimeras 37 She had failed to foresee the hardships of such a lot and bitterly she seems to have rued her decision. 1961 E. Prosser Drama & Relig. in Eng. Myst. Plays ii. v. 93 He rues that they ever met. 1999 Big Issue 2 Aug. 10/2 Farmers who'd been planning for months to rent out their fields are ruing their investment in portaloos. 2007 C. Coates First Impressions xxiv. 256 I certainly wouldn't want to take on someone like her. He'll rue it, I reckon. c. intransitive. To be full of regret and dissatisfaction in respect of some act. In later use esp. (Scottish, English regional (northern), Irish English (northern), and U.S. regional) to back out of a bargain or arrangement, to renege on a promise; also (U.S. regional) with back; also with of, for (a bargain, promise, etc.), on (a person or bargain, etc.).marry in May, rue for aye: see May n.² Phrases 3. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > suffering > regret > [verb (intransitive)] sorroweOE aruec1000 ruea1400 overthinka1450 regretc1450 to rue the day (also hour)c1461 fret1551 to cry over spilt milk (or water)1738 the mind > emotion > suffering > regret > [verb (intransitive)] > feel remorse ofthinkOE reusieOE overthinkc1175 (it) forthinks (me, him, etc.)a1300 forthinkc1380 ruea1400 remordc1450 to rue the day (also hour)c1461 repoin1523 remorse1530 the mind > emotion > suffering > displeasure > discontent or dissatisfaction > be discontented [verb (intransitive)] ruea1400 grate1555 alamort?1705 a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) 4325 (MED) Who so doþ shal rewe sore. c1426 J. Audelay Poems (1931) 39 (MED) After here werkus worche ȝe neuer a dele, Ellus schul ȝe reue. c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) 871 (MED) Þen rewis [Dublin rewys hym] þe riche kyng of vnride werkis. a1500 (?c1400) Earl of Toulous 929 in W. H. French & C. B. Hale Middle Eng. Metrical Romances (1930) I. 958 (MED) They þat haue hur accused schull rewe But they stynte of ther stryfe. a1586 Sir P. Sidney tr. Psalms (1963) xviii. xlv. 38 They do faile, and in their mazed corners rue. a1586 King Hart l. 567 in W. A. Craigie Maitland Folio MS (1919) I. 272 Thow bird think schame [and] of thy riot rew. 1603 J. Davies Microcosmos 93 Thus when our Teares doe testifie our ruth, We neede not rue, or of them be asham'd. 1637 S. Rutherford Let. 9 Mar. (1848) cxv. 221 I hope that ye do not rue, though your cause be hated. a1695 J. Scott Wks. (1826) V. xix. 328 He might have..made us for ever rue for our own folly and madness. c1706 in Coll. Dying Testimonies (1806) 186 That none may think..I am rueing. 1713 W. Hunt Fall of Tarquin iii. iii. 32 Tarquin and Charon are in League together, but the old Fool will rue of the Bargain. 1731 C. Coffey & J. Mottley Devil to Pay ii. ii. 38 Here are Cloaths! Rags; Faugh! Oh, miserable Woman! I shall be deliver'd, and make them rue for this Usage of me. 1790 A. Shirrefs Poems 87 Aft has he promis'd, that he wad be true; But, now, I find my lad begins to rue. 1821 J. Hogg Mountain Bard (ed. 3) p. lv Mr. Miller has rued of his bargain, and will never publish the poem, unless he is sued at law. 1823 J. Hogg Three Perils of Woman II. 44 So you neither have rued on me, nor broken your word to me? 1826 G. C. Sibley Jrnl. 21 Jan. in K. L. Gregg Road Santa Fé (1952) 139 Bot 2 mules for $70. But the Man Rued & took one back. 1842 T. P. Thompson Exercises I. 235 The caution of the nurse is, ‘Avoid green gooseberries, or you will have cause to rue’. a1855 H. Anderton Life & Poems (1868) 38 I can see Nothing to give me cause to rue For having fixed my love on thee. 1884 Harper's Mag. Mar. 655/1 B— issued a license for the marriage of John Murphy and Mary Manning... But the intended bride ‘rued’. 1891 Publ. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer. 6 174 To rue back is to back out, and is used in such examples as, ‘he cheated me and I want to rue back.’ a1892 Tennyson in H. Tennyson Tennyson Mem. (1897) II. 402 A relation of mine had secured a berth..then, as they say in the north, he ‘rued’ and offered it to my father. 1903 J. Lumsden Toorle & Other Pieces 240 Soon he rued, And slap on that the lease renew'd. 1908 E. G. Sihler Testimonium Animæ xiv. 321 The poet Nævius tried to be a Roman Aristophanes..but rued for it in prison. 1912 L. Tracy Stowaway Girl xvi. 333 It was all cut an' dried weeks ago, an' she 'asn't rued of 'er bargain yet, as far as I can make out. 1917 T. Fujimoto Story of Geisha Girl iv. 76 Though she was very glad to have heard of her lover's safety, yet she rued on his cruel instructions. 1926 Dial. Notes 5 402 We done swapped fa'r an' squa'r, an' now Ed he's a-tryin' t' rue back on me. 1928 A. E. Pease Dict. Dial. N. Riding Yorks. 106/1 He's rued on't, an' they're nut gannin ti wed. 1965 B. Davis Summer Land 107 Wash overheard him and rolled his eyes like he was about to rue back on his trade, but he shook Jimroe by the hand and took the blind mare. 2000 J. Fenton in M. Montgomery From Ulster to Amer. (2006) 134 A quare price, as lang as he daesnae rue. d. transitive (reflexive). To feel regret for some act; to wish that one had not done something. With of. archaic. ΚΠ 1813 W. Scott Bridal of Triermain iii. xvii. 154 He that would win the war-wolf's skin, May rue him of his boast. 1836 A. Cunningham Lord Roldan I. xvi. 202 Their words..might poison the ear of your brother, and he might rue him of his unhappy bargain. 1865 H. Carr in H. Carr & G. Carr Ephemera i. 124 But a hot pain darted through me, As a bullet pierced my side, And weary months I rue me Of that wild and deadly ride. 1928 W. B. Otorohanga Where White Man Treads 290 And when the shameful barbarity was repeated to me I suddenly rued me of my anti-prohibition vote, and pondered! 2003 G. Gilman in K. Link Trampoline 134 What's done is done, he thought. I rue me of that cheat. 3. Chiefly Theology. †a. transitive. With impersonal or unexpressed subject and with the person (in early use dative or accusative) as object. (a) To cause (a person) to feel penitence, remorse, or contrition. Also with non-referential it as subject and clause as complement. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > morality > virtue > righteousness or rectitude > reform, amendment, or correction > repentance or contrition > repent (sin, wrongdoing, etc.) [verb (transitive)] > affect with remorse rueOE remorse1483 remord1567 OE Handbk. for Use of Confessor (Corpus Cambr. 201) in Anglia (1965) 83 19 Gif he wille and cunne eadmodlice his dæda andettan, and þu ongite þæt him his sinna reowan. lOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Bodl.) (2009) I. xxxvi. 344 Ne bið [se] cwuca þonne nyttra þe se deada gif him his yfel ne hreowð. c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 3976 Ȝiff..þatt he miss doþ. Onn aniȝ kinne wise Itt reoweþþ himm. a1250 in C. Brown Eng. Lyrics 13th Cent. (1932) 6 (MED) Þet ich ðe wreðede sume siðe, hit me reoweð sore. c1300 St. Theophilus (Laud) l. 112 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 291 (MED) Ich habbe i-sunegut manne mest; þat rewez [a1325 Corpus Cambr. reuweþ] me wel sore. a1400 (?c1300) Lay Folks Mass Bk. (Royal) (1879) l. 359 (MED) Gyue me grace for to etchewe to do þat þing þat me shulde rewe. a1438 Bk. Margery Kempe (1940) i. 50 (MED) I haue not lovyd þe alle þe days of my lyue, & þat sor rewyth me. c1450 (a1425) Metrical Paraphr. Old Test. (Selden) 15154 (MED) I wott I haue done wrang; þat sayng rewys me sore. (b) impersonal with the sin repented of as second object. me (him, etc.) rues (a sin) : I (he, etc.) repent of (a sin). Also with of. Obsolete. ΚΠ OE Vercelli Homilies (1992) ix. 164 Þonne hreoweð hyre swiðe þa yfelan dæda. c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 5566 Himm reoweþþ off hiss aȝhenn woh & off hiss aȝhenn sinne. a1350 in G. L. Brook Harley Lyrics (1968) 52 (MED) Suete Iesu, me reoweþ sore gultes þat y ha wroþt ȝore. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 16465 (MED) Iudas stode amang þe folk..Quen þat he saght þar was na soigne..þan him reued [Gött. reud] of his res. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 28676 (MED) Þis man sais..þat him reuys his sinnes sare. †b. intransitive. To be penitent or contrite; to feel repentance or remorse. Also with for. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > morality > virtue > righteousness or rectitude > reform, amendment, or correction > repentance or contrition > be repentant or contrite [verb (intransitive)] rueOE i-rewOE ofthinkOE again-chareOE reusieOE overthinkc1175 beetc1200 it athinks me1250 to do (also make, etc.) (one's) penancea1300 (it) forthinks (me, him, etc.)a1300 repentc1300 forthinkc1380 remordc1450 repoin1523 remorse1530 to take the rue1789 OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Mark i. 15 Paenitemini et credite euangelio : hreowigas & gelefes to godspell. c1300 Body & Soul (Laud Misc. 108) (1889) 63 (MED) Þo þat sunfol ben, i rede hem red, To schriven hem and rewen sore. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 19014 (MED) For þair misdedis þai ru [Trin. Cambr. rewed]. c1450 in F. J. Furnivall Hymns to Virgin & Christ (1867) 69 (MED) I wole biþinke me on my werkis biforn, Do almes dede, praie, & rewe. ?a1475 Ludus Coventriae (1922) 34 (MED) A cursyd Caym..for þi dede þou xalt sore rewe. a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 139 O wreche, be war,..Remeid in tyme and rew nocht all to lait. a1532 in G. S. Stevenson Pieces from Makculloch & Gray MSS (1918) iv. 138 Oute of this warld thow sall sair rew, Becaus that thow art sa vnkynd. 1580 H. Gifford Poems (1870) 75 Ah! Jesus! how then my heart did rue Because I had folowed them, as true! 1768 A. Tucker Light of Nature Pursued I. ii. 223 I shall find perpetual cause, if not to repent, at least to rue sufficiently for my misconduct. 1871 R. Ellis tr. Catullus Poems xxx. 12 Hereafter again honour awakes, causeth a wretch to rue. c. transitive. With personal subject. To repent of (sins or of crimes frequently regarded theologically); to feel penitence, remorse, or contrition for; to do penance for. Now rare. ΘΚΠ society > morality > virtue > righteousness or rectitude > reform, amendment, or correction > repentance or contrition > repent (sin, wrongdoing, etc.) [verb (transitive)] bireusyc1000 birewec1175 ruea1200 repenta1325 sorrya1450 a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 95 Armheorted is þe man þe swiðere reoweð his sinne. a1325 in C. Brown Relig. Lyrics 14th Cent. (1924) 31 Ȝeue me grace in erþe my sinnes to reve sare. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 7965 (MED) In takening sare he reud his sake, An orisun sun can he make. a1450 (?a1390) J. Mirk Instr. Parish Priests (Claud.) (1974) l. 1904 Ȝef þow hyt fynde no wey myȝte, þrytty dayes þow rewe hyt ryȝte. a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1897–1973) 351 (MED) My synfull dede I rew ay. 1567 Compend. Bk. Godly Songs (1897) 126 The sinfull than..Sall..rew thair sinnis with thair hart. 1628 G. Wither Britain's Remembrancer 240 Nor shall I live to view Thy sorrows ended, if thou do not rue Thy sins with speed. 1670 N. Wanley tr. J. Lipsius Disc. of Constancy ii. xvii. 132 Posterity should rue the crimes of their Ancestours. 1774 J. Beattie Minstrel: 2nd Bk. xiv. 8 But now with pangs of keen remorse I rue Those years of trouble and debasement vile. ?1798 D. R. O'Conor Wks. I. 363 To rue our crimes 'till we can weep no more. 1813 W. Scott Rokeby i. 5 Conscience, anticipating time, Already rues the unacted crime. 1846 J. Keble Lyra Innocentium 229 And thou in sevenfold guilt thy heart's backsliding rue. 2002 Sarasota Herald-Tribune (Florida) (Nexis) 18 Jan. 18 I'd much rather rue the sins of commission than those of omission. 4. †a. (a) transitive. Chiefly with impersonal subject and with the person (in early use dative or accusative) as object. To move to pity or compassion. Also with non-referential it as subject and clause as complement. Obsolete. ΘΠ the mind > emotion > compassion > quality of exciting pity > affect with pity [verb (transitive)] rueOE movea1325 enpitec1400 relent1509 pity1515 yearn1603 melt1605 bowel1645 tenderize1733 OE Seven Sleepers (Julius) (1994) 45 Þa he [sc. God] ðæs caseres mycclan hreowsunga geseah, him eac sona þæt hreow and his þæt sarlice anginn. lOE St. Nicholas (Corpus Cambr.) (1997) 85 Þa hreaw him swiðe se earme man & his dohtra þe wæron of æþele byrde gecuman; & þohte heom to helpone. ?a1300 Iacob & Iosep (Bodl.) (1916) l. 423 (MED) Iosep sauȝ his breþren wepe; sore hit him gan rewe. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 20074 (MED) Lo hou i hing a-pon þis tre; Forsoth i wat, it reus te. ?c1475 Catholicon Anglicum (BL Add. 15562) f. 106 It Rewis, miseret. a1575 N. Harpsfield Treat. Divorce Henry VIII (1878) (modernized text) 136 It pitieth and rueth every good man..to remember the same. 1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. ii. sig. B6 Deare dame, your suddein ouerthrow Much rueth me. (b) transitive. impersonal. me (him, etc.) rues : I (he, etc.) feel pity for (a person), to feel sorry for (a person's misfortune). With for, of, on. Obsolete. Π OE Lambeth Psalter: Canticles vi. 246 In seruis suis miserebitur : on þeowum his him hrywð. c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 5592 Himm reoweþþ ec off alle þa Þatt follȝhenn deofless lare. c1330 (?a1300) Sir Tristrem (1886) l. 216 Þe tiding come wiþ care To blauncheflour..For hir me reweþ sare. c1425 (c1400) Laud Troy-bk. 3367 (MED) Alas, me rewes of Priamus. a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) I. 211 Fayre cosyn, me ruys of thyne hurtys! a1500 Trental St. Gregory (Adv.) l. 96 in Anglia (1891) 13 305 Me rewes, modur, of þi smarte. b. To have, take, or feel pity or compassion; (also Theology) †to show mercy (obsolete). (a) intransitive. With †of, on, upon. ΚΠ c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 14782 Moysæs ræw off þatt follc Þatt swa wass haldenn harrde. Forr þatt itt wass hiss aȝhenn kinn. ?c1250 in C. Brown Eng. Lyrics 13th Cent. (1932) 11 (MED) Iesu crist..thu rew vpon me. c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 967 (MED) Þe cok bigan of him to rewe, And bouthe him cloþes. c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 9229 He wep & cride on is men þat hii ssolde on him rewe. a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Lament. iv. 16 The faces of prestus thei shameden not, ne of the olde men thei reweden [a1425 L.V. hadden merci; L. miserti sunt]. ?a1430 Compleynte Virgin (Huntington) l. 238 in Minor Poems T. Hoccleve (1970) i. 7 Þat yee nat reewe on him, myn herte it sleeth. c1450 (c1375) G. Chaucer Anelida & Arcite (Fairf. 16) (1878) l. 287 God so wisly vpon my soule rewe [a1456 BL Add. ruwe, c1465 Huntington rue] As verrely ye sleen me with the peyn. c1475 Babees Bk. (Harl. 5086) (2002) i. 3 Off myn vnkunnynge, swete lady, now Rewe. c1500 (?a1437) Kingis Quair (1939) ci Have pitee now..Off your pure man, and rew on his distress. a1547 Earl of Surrey tr. Virgil Fourth Bk. Aeneas (1554) iv. sig. Cii Rue on thys realme, whose ruine is at hande. 1578 G. Whetstone Promos & Cassandra: 2nd Pt. v. iii. sig. L iij Rue of my teares, from true intent which flowe. 1632 S. Rutherford Lett. (1863) I. xxi. 85 Till your Dear Lord come and loose the pawn, and rue upon you. 1776 D. Herd Anc. & Mod. Sc. Songs (ed. 2) II. 6 O my bonny, bonny May, Will ye not rue upon me. 1792 R. Burns in J. Johnson Scots Musical Museum IV. 378 Rew on thy dispairing Lover Canst thou break his faithfu' heart! 1865 A. C. Swinburne Masque Queen Bersabe in Poems & Ballads 365 Lord, thou rue on me. a1901 E. J. W. Gibb tr. Nefʿí in Hist. Ottoman Poetry (1904) III. ix. 269 Should she still nor pity nor rue its plight upon, Is there not yet thy justice, my Sovran? †(b) intransitive. Without prepositional phrase. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > compassion > feel pity or compassion [verb (intransitive)] ruec1330 pity1549 c1330 (?a1300) Sir Tristrem (1886) l. 2541 (MED) Mark rewed þer fore. a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) v. 5760 I ye knewe Of myn astat, ye wolde rewe. a1400 Psalter (Vesp.) xxxvi. 27 in C. Horstmann Yorkshire Writers (1896) II. 168 Alle daie he rewes [c1350 BL Add. 17367 ys merciful] and lenes his þinge. c1450 in F. J. Furnivall Polit., Relig., & Love Poems (1903) 177 Ȝit muste y rue til þat he [sc. man] rise. 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 690/2 I rewe, I pytie or have compassion of one. 1568 A. Scott Poems (1896) ix. 30 It is ane hairt..set in to sabill, Ane wofull hairt, bot gif ȝe rew. 1583 R. Sempill Warning to Lords vii Ane rewthfull revar vill nocht be russet to rew. †c. transitive. With personal subject. To regard with pity and compassion; to feel sorry for (a person, etc.). Also Theology: to show mercy to. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > compassion > feel pity for [verb (transitive)] bireusyc1000 ruea1200 aruec1220 meanc1225 birewea1300 pity?a1475 compassionate1598 passionate1638 a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 95 (MED) Mildheorted beð þe man þe reouð his nehgebures unselðe. a1350 in G. L. Brook Harley Lyrics (1968) 34 (MED) Leuedi, þou rewe me. c1390 (?c1350) Joseph of Arimathie (1871) l. 154 (MED) Þe ky[n]g bi-heold on his face..and witerli him rewes. c1450 C. d'Orleans Poems (1941) 28 (MED) Mercy my lady rad To rewe me, wreche. 1483 ( tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage of Soul (Caxton) iv. xx. f. lxviij That ye ne reweth hym myn herte it sleeth. 1558 T. Phaer tr. Virgil Seuen First Bks. Eneidos ii. 43 Mine own hand shall my deth obteyn, my foo will rue my plight. 1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. i. sig. B2 Die is my dew: yet rew my wretched state. ?1611 G. Chapman tr. Homer Iliads xxi. 72 I kiss thy knees, divine Æacides! Respect me, and my fortunes rue. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2011; most recently modified version published online June 2022). † ruev.² Forms: 1500s rewe, 1500s rue. Origin: A borrowing from Latin. Etymon: Latin ruere. Etymology: < classical Latin ruere to rush, to rush headlong, to fall, collapse, to come to grief, to cause to rush, to overthrow < the same Indo-European base as Early Irish rúathar attack, onslaught, and perhaps ancient Greek ὀρούειν to hurry. Compare earlier rueing adj.²Classical Latin ruere to churn or plough up, dig out, is now generally assumed to be from a different Indo-European base (see roo v.¹). Obsolete. rare. intransitive. To fall, decline. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > adversity > be in adversity [verb (intransitive)] > fall from prosperous or thriving condition afalleOE wanec1000 fallOE ebba1420 to go backward?a1425 to go down?1440 decay1483 sink?a1513 delapsea1530 reel1529 decline1530 to go backwards1562 rue1576 droop1577 ruina1600 set1607 lapse1641 to lose ground1647 to go to pigs and whistles1794 to come (also go) down in the world1819 to peg out1852 to lose hold, one's balance1877 to go under1879 toboggan1887 slip1930 to turn down1936 1576 G. Gascoigne Steele Glas sig. C.j^v This is the cause (beleue me now my Lorde) That Realmes do rewe, from high prosperity. a1591 H. Smith Wks. (1867) II. 477 So, lowly rest; so, lofty rues. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2011; most recently modified version published online December 2020). < n.¹eOEn.²?a1200v.¹eOEv.²1576
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ruen.1

Phrases

ruen.2

Compounds

Derivatives

ruev.1

† ruev.2

ruen.¹

ruen.²

ruev.¹

† ruev.²