单词 | ruin |
释义 | ruinn. I. The state or condition of collapse or downfall. 1. Frequently in in ruin, into ruin, to ruin. See also to go (etc.) to rack (and ruin) at rack n.9 1. a. The state or condition of a fabric or structure, esp. a building, which has given way and collapsed. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > condition of matter > bad condition of matter > [noun] > dilapidated or ruinous condition ruina1393 ruinosity1453 ruinousness1574 dilapidation1638 a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) Prol. 837 (MED) The wall and al þe Cit withinne Stant in ruine and in decas. c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) ii. 5961 (MED) Þei wynne schal þe toun And bringe it pleynly to distruccioun; Wal and touris schal falle to ruyne. 1449 Rolls of Parl.: Henry VI (Electronic ed.) Parl. Feb. 1449 §17. m. 5 Well nygh all places ben in such ruyne..that they be unable to be diffended and kept. a1513 J. Irland Meroure of Wyssdome (1926) I. 120 Lat nocht, mychtty lord, this hevinly place stand in ruyne. 1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis ii. 32 The old towne fals to ruin. 1604 E. Grimeston tr. True Hist. Siege Ostend 98 The enemie shott much vpon the towne, and battered it in ruine. 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics i, in tr. Virgil Wks. 60 Thrice his Lightning..their demolish'd Works in Ruin laid. View more context for this quotation 1718 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. 19 May (1965) I. 413 In a few years, they all fall to Ruin. 1793 H. Boyd Temple of Vesta v, in Poems 223 Those towers are doom'd to ruin, and the state To swift perdition, like the flaming walls Of old Gomorrah. 1820 P. B. Shelley Sensitive Plant in Prometheus Unbound 168 The leafless net-work of parasite bowers Massed into ruin. 1865 Times 16 Mar. 8/7 This century many more churches fell to ruin, and disappeared altogether, than were built anew. 1932 F. B. Austin Red Flag 118 The château of Ornière is in ruin. 1993 Utne Reader Jan.–Feb. 38/3 Unable to afford rehabbing their homes, residents let them fall into ruin instead. b. The state or condition of a person who or society which has suffered decay or downfall; esp. the condition of a person reduced to abject poverty. Also of a personal attribute, a relationship, a plan, etc. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > adversity > [noun] > fall from prosperous or thriving condition > fallen condition ruina1393 rot1581 declension1642 declinedness1648 downwardness1650 decayedness1702 decline1705 blast1795 the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > disgrace or dishonour > [noun] > complete or utter disgrace > condition of ruina1393 a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) v. 1706 And for that he [sc. Lucifer] was obstinat..He fell for evere into ruine. c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) ii. 8 (MED) Who sit hiȝest, sche [sc. Fortune] can doun hym enclyne, Whan he leest weneþ bring hym to ruyne. c1475 tr. C. de Pisan Livre du Corps de Policie (Cambr.) (1977) 189 The philosophre blamed..lecherie and shewed houghe by that vice dyuers citees wer fallen to ruynne [Fr. ruine]. c1500 (?a1437) Kingis Quair (1939) xxviii Quhat was the caus that he [me] more comprisit Than othir folk to lyve in suich ruyne? a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) I. clxxxxviii. f. cxiiv By which vngracious meane he brought this lande in such Ruyne. 1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice iv. i. 141 Repaire thy wit good youth, or it will fall to curelesse ruine . View more context for this quotation 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ii. 305 Princely counsel in his face yet shon, Majestick though in ruin . View more context for this quotation 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 131 The great Monarch's Death dissolves the Government. All goes to Ruin . View more context for this quotation 1725 C. Cibber Cæsar in Ægypt iv. 49 To save thy self, wou'd plunge thy Prince in Ruin? 1778 W. Pitt in J. Almon Anecd. Life Pitt (1810) II. 338 A cloud, that may crush this nation,..is ready to burst and overwhelm us in ruin. 1831 J. Sinclair Corr. II. 159 I am shocked with the idea, that many..should have perhaps..been reduced to beggary and ruin. 1886 Contemp. Rev. Aug. 285 It was the Conservative..party which brought this Bill to ruin. 1933 Times 1 Mar. 8/1 The most urgent question before Parliament is whether the Indian Empire is to be plunged into ruin and chaos. 1964 B. R. Andrzejewski & I. M. Lewis Somali Poetry 108 The whole Hagar people were brought to ruin by the claim ‘I am the King’. 2002 S. Turow Reversible Errors (2003) 21 He'd never said goodbye to any of the stuff that had led his marriage to ruin, the catting around. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > condition of matter > bad condition of matter > [adjective] > dilapidated or ruinous brychec1000 forcrazedc1320 falling-downc1384 ruinousc1384 forwordenc1450 ruin1467 failed1490 ruinatea1538 ruinated1555 ruined1560 ragged1565 dilapidate1590 through-shot1596 tattered1599 tottered1615 dilapidateda1806 delabrated1813 broken-down1816 tumble-down1819 run-down1832 tumblyc1855 raggedy1921 shot through1926 shot to hell or pieces1926 raddled1949 1467 in J. T. Smith & L. T. Smith Eng. Gilds (1870) 397 The Brugge may be ouerseyn at alle tymes..so that it may be remedyed and holpen when that it ys ruyn or in dispeyre. II. The action of falling down; collapse, destruction, downfall. 3. a. The collapse of a fabric or structure, esp. a building; the action of giving way and crashing down, or of being toppled, either accidentally or by force. Also figurative. Now rare (chiefly literary in later use). ΘΚΠ the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > falling > [noun] > collapsing fallOE ruinc1405 collapsiona1619 effusion1726 collapsing1789 collapse1833 c1405 (c1385) G. Chaucer Knight's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 1605 Myn is the ruyne [v.rr. ruen, rayne] of the heighe halles The fallyng of the toures and of the walles. c1480 (a1400) St. Barnabas 163 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 253 A part of It fel done,..& þai þat chapit þat ruyne, fled to þe tempil apolyne. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Isa. xxiv. C The earth shal geue a greate crack, it shal haue a sore ruyne, and take an horrible fall. 1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. cclvv Partly by the ruine and fall of houses. 1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene ii. vii. sig. S5 An huge caue..From whose rough vaut the ragged breaches hong..That heauy ruine they did seeme to threatt. 1632 T. Hawkins tr. P. Matthieu Vnhappy Prosperitie ii. 246 The death of the Duke of Britaine, slaine by the ruine of a wall. 1660 tr. R. Arnauld d'Andilly Manner of ordering Fruit-trees v. 71 That side of the Trench also, that is towards it [sc. a wall], must be cut aslope, for fear of uncovering the Foundation, and causing the ruine of the Wall. 1700 N. Rowe Ambitious Step-mother ii. i My devoted fabrick May in the universal ruine burn. 1746 P. Francis & W. Dunkin tr. Horace Satires ii. viii. 72 The canopy, that o'er us spreads, Tumbled, in hideous ruin, on our heads. 1793 W. Wordsworth Descr. Sketches 580 From age to age, throughout his lonely bounds The crash of ruin fitfully resounds. 1887 E. R. Sill Poems 67 Down, in great roar of ruin, crash Watch-tower and citadel and battlements. 1903 J. J. Le B. Hammond Charles James Fox xi. 275 In 1792 the governing classes of England saw their own doom in the resounding ruin of the old order in France. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > falling > [noun] > falling down or from erect position (animates) falla1400 ruin1483 tumbling?1523 cast1530 tumble1716 spilla1845 1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende f. lxviijv/2 I thenne stondyng on hym slewe hym, knowyng wel that he myght not lyue after the ruyne. 1633 C. Aleyn Battailes Crescey & Poictiers (ed. 2) 94 He's highly rais'd by flattering conceit And selfe opinion, that he might be strooke With greater ruine from so great a height. 1700 M. Prior Carmen Sæculare 12 She from the noble Precipices thrown, Comes rushing with uncommon Ruin down. 4. a. The downfall or decay of a person or society; complete loss of resources, wealth, moral or social standing, well-being, etc. Also as a count noun with possessive or of: the downfall of the person, society, etc., indicated (also in plural).In quot. c1405 personified: cf. sense 5b. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > adversity > [noun] > fall from prosperous or thriving condition rureOE ebbingc1200 fallc1225 declinea1327 downfallingc1330 downfalla1400 fall of mana1400 wanea1400 ruinc1405 wrack1426 inclinationc1450 declination1533 labefactation1535 ebb1555 falling off1577 declining1581 inclining1590 declension1604 downset1608 neck-breaka1658 overseta1658 lapsing1665 reducement1667 lapse1680 labefaction1792 downshift1839 subsidence1839 downgrade1857 downturn1858 downslide1889 downswing1922 turn-down1957 tail-off1975 the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > disgrace or dishonour > [noun] > complete or utter disgrace extinction1542 ruin1621 c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Melibeus (Hengwrt) (2003) §594 Therfore clepeth Cassidore pouerte the moder of Ruyne [v.r. ruyen], that is to seyn, the moder of ouerthrowynge or fallynge down. a1413 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (Pierpont Morgan) (1882) iv. l. 387 Fortune oure Ioye..han ouer-þrowe For..þere is no creature..þat euere saw ruyne Straungere þan þis. c1475 (a1449) J. Lydgate Minor Poems (1911) i. 139 Pray for alle tho, and kepe hem fro ruyne, That do reuerence to both your passioun. 1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid iii. vii. 10 O thou Anchises, that..twise eschapit of Troy the sair rewyne. 1517 R. Fox Let. 30 Apr. (1929) 92 The state and condicion of the toune and marches of Calis..and of theyr ruynes, decayes, mutacyons and alteracions fro the auncyent estatutz and ordinances [etc.]. 1586 G. Whetstone Eng. Myrror iii. 11 Time was able to repaire his ruines of fortune. 1600 E. Blount tr. G. F. di Conestaggio Hist. Uniting Portugall to Castill 10 To the fatall ruine of his subiects. 1621 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy i. ii. iii. vii. 137 Nothing fattes him but other mens ruines. 1665 T. Manley tr. H. Grotius De Rebus Belgicis 235 To perfect their Ruine, there hapned another fatal Mischance to them. 1705 Boston News-let. 29 Oct. 2/2 The old Gentlewoman dyed, and by Will bequeathed 3000 l. to her Grand son Henry Burch, and in case of his Death, to his Uncle Henry Burch; for Lucre of which, his uncle contrived his Nephew's ruin. 1751 T. Gray Elegy xvi. 8 Threats of pain and ruin to despise. 1788 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall V. xlix. 128 Irene more seriously undertook the ruin of the Iconoclasts. 1793 H. Boyd Temple of Vesta i. ii, in Poems 168 On this I build A scheme for all their ruins. 1838 A. De Morgan Ess. Probabilities 110 In the long run, only 170 out of 421 such banks would avoid ruin. 1874 J. R. Green Short Hist. Eng. People viii. §5. 500 The ruin that James had wrought was suddenly averted. 1937 Times 1 Nov. 12/4 Lust captures him and drives him,..to his ruin. 1989 S. Bedford Jigsaw i. 5 The war was a dangerous folly bringing ruin to all concerned. 2001 P. Fitzgerald in Granta Summer 254 The loss of their tiny stock (nothing was insured) meant ruin. b. spec. Dishonour of a woman caused by her seduction and subsequent abandonment; degradation resulting from this. Now chiefly historical. ΘΚΠ society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > unchastity > loss of chastity > [noun] > of woman shamec1275 ruin1567 (a fate) worse than death1631 1567 W. Painter Palace of Pleasure II. xxii. f. 159 The mayd..cared no more for his flatteries..seing the same to tend to nothing else but to hir ruine and great dishonor. 1624 F. Quarles Sions Sonets viii. vi Shield my simple Love, From those that seeke her ruine. 1688 A. Behn Fair Jilt 36 'Twas impossible he cou'd marry her, or lay before her any Argument that might prevent her Ruin. 1706 J. Addison Rosamond i. iv Every charm, and every grace, That to thy ruin made their way. 1780 M. Madan (title) Thelyphthora; or, A treatise on female ruin. 1848 C. Dickens Dombey & Son liii. 534 Wretched marriages don't come of such things, in our degree; only wretchedness and ruin. 1871 W. Logan Great Social Evil 116 Every opportunity is taken to familiarise her with the taste of drink and to induce a giddy and thoughtless state of mind. At length the hour of her ruin is fixed. 1919 T. W. Hughes Treat. Criminal Law & Procedure ii. xxiii. 293 There are others..who would have perhaps escaped irretrievable ruin had not their confidence been secured, and their apprehensions put at rest, by a promise of marriage. 1993 B. Joyce Promise of Rose 62 Until the minute Mary had come to his chamber, confronted with her enemy and his obvious desire, she had harbored desperate hope. She would not accept her ruin, at least not meekly. 5. Destruction; complete overthrow or devastation of a thing. a. With of.Esp. in early use, frequently with reference to the destruction of a city, etc. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > [noun] > of something ruinc1425 c1425 (c1400) Laud Troy-bk. 3602 A, Priamus, if that thow wistes..Of noble Troy the gret ruyne. c1480 (a1400) SS. Simon & Jude 448 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 221 Þai war..ful of yre..of þe ruyne wes þare mad of þare goddis. a1500 (a1450) tr. Secreta Secret. (Ashm. 396) (1977) 35 (MED) Theft [leads to] shame and reproff that ledeth hym to prison and captiuite, and to execucion of the lawe-is rigour, and to destruccion of famuliarite, and to rvyne [L. ruinam] of all. ?1520 A. Barclay tr. Sallust Cron. Warre agaynst Iugurth i. f. vv Finally..was foughten an vnkynde, vnnaturall, & cruel batel..to ye greuous ruine of ye Romayne empire. 1555 R. Eden in tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde f. 329v In dyggynge..eschewe as muche as yowe maye, the cuttynge of softe or brykell stones..for that it may bee daungerous for ruine of the caue. 1646 in L. B. Taylor Aberdeen Council Lett. (1952) III. 61 The utter rewine and desolation of thair said burghe. 1673 Remarques on Humours of Town 64 The ruine of those excellent principles which so many Ages have honoured and revered. 1719 D. Defoe Farther Adventures Robinson Crusoe 60 This Presence of Mind was wanting to them, which was the Ruin of their Tranquillity for a great while. 1796 R. Bage Hermsprong I. xiv. 144 It is only for philosophers..to bear patiently the ruin of a work almost compleated by their own labour. a1817 J. Austen Lady Susan xxvii, in Wks. (1954) VI. 296 Not all the Masters in London could compensate for the ruin of her comfort. 1863 W. C. Baldwin Afr. Hunting iv. 96 I..escaped with no further injury than the ruin of my shirt. 1871 J. R. Macduff Memories of Patmos ix. 113 Mourning over the apparent ruin and frustration of her fondest hopes. 1906 Jrnl. Amer. Folklore 19 2 The sudden ruin of this hypothesis was owing in part to more exact knowledge. 1995 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 19 Oct. 48/2 Britain suffered neither occupation by a conqueror nor..the ruin of her cities. 2006 Sight & Sound Sept. 23/3 See how far it predicts..the ruin of a strange enterprise where art and business played terrific ping-pong for 50 years. b. Chiefly literary. Without construction. Frequently personified. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > [noun] end832 bale-sithea1000 wrakea1275 wonderc1275 destroyingc1300 destruction1340 contritionc1384 stroying1396 undoing1398 tininga1400 ruinc1425 fatec1430 fordoingc1450 perishing?1523 shipwreck1526 pernicion?1530 ruining1562 ruinating1587 defeasance1590 defeature1592 breakneck1598 ruination1599 defeat1600 doom1609 planet-striking1611 mismaking1615 rasurea1616 destructa1638 perition1640 interemption1656 smashing1821 degrowth1876 uncreation1884 creative destruction1927 c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) iv. 7042 (MED) Now fare wel Troye..Of inward wo myn herte I fele blede..whan þat I remembre..By ruyne how þou art brouȝt to nouȝt. c1450 (c1380) G. Chaucer House of Fame (Fairf. 16) (1878) l. 1974 Ouer alle the houses Angles Ys ful of rovnynges..Of plente and of grete famyne Of chepe of derthe, and of ruyne. a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1593) ii. sig. V2 This still should be my case, Ruines relique, cares web, and sorrowes foode. 1597 W. Shakespeare Richard II iii. ii. 98 Crie woe, destruction, ruine, and decay. View more context for this quotation 1606 No-body & Some-body sig. D Crowne me with ruine, since not with a Crowne. 1678 F. W. in Wits led by Nose Prol. sig. A2v Ruin's Triumphant, and in Masquerade Appears in ev'ry Corner to invade The easie natur'd fools. 1746 P. Francis & W. Dunkin tr. Horace Satires i. ix. 65 Nor poison fell, with ruin stored, Nor horrid point of hostile sword. 1757 T. Gray Ode II i. i, in Odes 13 Ruin seize thee, ruthless King! 1817 P. B. Shelley Mont Blanc iii, in Hist. Six Weeks' Tour 179 Is this the scene Where the old Earthquake-dæmon taught her young Ruin? 1820 P. B. Shelley Prometheus Unbound i. i. 58 Tho' Ruin now Love's shadow be, Following him, destroyingly. 1859 Ld. Tennyson Guinevere in Idylls of King 247 The children born of thee are sword and fire, Red ruin, and the breaking up of laws. 1904 F. M. Hueffer Face of Night 41 I..heard The east wind shake the windows when that wind Meant parched up land, dried herbage, blighted wheat, And ruin, always ruin creeping near. 2005 S. Winchester Crack in Edge of World x. 310 How difficult must it have been for a soldier to shoot someone dead, particularly some shabbily dressed thief who was, in all likelihood, a victim of ruin just trying to survive? 6. Chiefly in plural. Damage or injury done to a thing. Now rare. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > damage > [noun] harmOE tinsela1340 damagec1374 offensiona1382 pairmentc1384 wrongc1384 offencec1385 wrackc1407 lesion?a1425 ruin1467 prejudicec1485 domager1502 qualm1513 jacture1515 imblemishment1529 perishment1540 impeachment1548 blame1549 dommagie1556 execution1581 damagement1603 sufferancea1616 stroy1682 murder1809 punishment1839 1467 in J. T. Smith & L. T. Smith Eng. Gilds (1870) 397 (MED) Reparacyon of the seid Brugge..to be made..in eschewynge of grete myscheves, or ruyn might falle the same. 1555 E. Bonner Profitable & Necessarye Doctryne sig. Ss.iiv A slipper toungue worketh ruines or destructyons. c1592 C. Marlowe Jew of Malta v. iv Till thy father hath made good The ruins done to Malta and to us. 1631 J. Weever Anc. Funerall Monuments To Rdr. This worthy repairer of eating-times ruines. 1657 W. Rand tr. P. Gassendi Mirrour of Nobility iii. 216 Designing how to repair those remarkable ruines, which had happened to the Monastery in the civill wars. 1691 J. Ray Wisdom of God 137 The Earth..ought to be firm, and stable, and solid, and..secured from all Ruins and Concussions. 1727 J. Swift Let. to very Young Lady in Misc. II. 334 Vain endeavours to repair by art and dress the ruins of Time. 1794 B. Davies Some Acct. City Philadelphia 18 The vast influx of foreigners, who have fled from the ruins of war in Europe. 1861 H. Read Coming Crisis of World xxii. 342 This material ball we call earth, has not suffered the ruins of sin so disastrously as man has. 1992 C. Shields Republic of Love (1993) xviii. 191 It strikes him that a good many of his friends are frightened of their own children, that the little ruins and ironies of married life were furiously multiplied by their presence. 7. a. A cause of destruction or downfall; a destructive influence or agent. Chiefly in predicative use, and frequently with possessive or of. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > [noun] > one who or that which destroys > cause of lossc1386 undoing1390 ruinc1480 destruction1529 stumbling-block1535 fall1593 perdition1649 c1480 (a1400) St. John Baptist 620 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) II. 241 Sancte Iohnne..of al vicis þe rwyne. a1500 Eng. Conquest Ireland (Rawl.) (1896) 91 He graunted the kynge that he sholde into Irland wende..forto wythstonde and lete the ruene of synne. 1533 J. Bellenden tr. Livy Hist. Rome (1901) I. ii. 205 Civil seditioun is þe onelie poisson and rewyne of all riche cieteis. a1593 C. Marlowe Edward II (1594) sig. Bv The pessant..who swolne with venome of ambitious pride, Will be the ruine of the realme and vs. 1611 Bible (King James) 2 Chron. xxviii. 23 They were the ruine of him, and of all Israel. View more context for this quotation 1678 J. Bunyan Pilgrim's Progress 107 He has..caused many to stumble and fall; and will be, if God prevent not, the ruine of many more. View more context for this quotation 1710 D. Defoe Let. Mr. Bisset 8 Precipitations have always fixt the Interest they would Destroy, and been the Ruin of the Precipitators. 1781 W. Cowper Heroism 76 The sad lesson..That wealth within is ruin at the door. 1822 W. Scott Fortunes of Nigel I. iv. 101 By a quarrel you would become the ruin of me your informer. 1852 G. C. Mundy Our Antipodes I. xii. 384 Drink is the ruin, body and soul, of the people of this country. 1889 M. Arnold Disc. Amer. i. 56 The unsoundness of the majority, if it is not withstood and remedied, must be their ruin. 1902 K. Federn Dante & his Time i. v. 42 The strong adherence to a dying institution was the ruin of the Hohenstaufens. 1954 Times 9 Apr. 6/3 Pride and ambition have been his ruin. 2007 Age (Melbourne) (Nexis) 17 Mar. 56 The couch in the other room is calling, like a siren. But I know it'll be my ruin. b. slang. Gin of a poor quality. Frequently characterized as blue: cf. blue ruin n. at blue adj. and n. Compounds 1d. Now only in mother's ruin n. at mother n.1 Compounds 5b. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > distilled drink > gin > [noun] > inferior gin ruin1819 allsorts1823 bluestone1880 bath-tub gin1930 1819 J. Keats in W. M. Rossetti Life Keats (1887) ii. 26 He sipped no olden Tom or ruin blue. 1820 J. H. Reynolds Fancy 28 The ruin you've drawn down upon your lips Has made it rather foggy. 1843 T. Hood Drop of Gin in Punch 18 Nov. 223/2 Happy the wretch that it does not win To change the black hue Of his ruin to blue. III. That which remains after collapse or downfall. 8. Material which remains after the decay and collapse of a structure; ruined buildings (cf. sense 9b); debris, wreckage, remains. Also in extended use. Now rare. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > that which is left or remainder > [noun] > remains > after destructive agency > decayed remnant(s) relicsc1350 ruinc1425 ruins1544 decays1582 debris1708 wreck1713 shard1786 faulturea1821 detritus1834 c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) ii. 545 (MED) Whan þe soille, defoulit with ruyne Of walles old, was made pleyn as lyne, Þe werkmen gan þis cite for to founde. c1475 tr. C. de Pisan Livre du Corps de Policie (Cambr.) (1977) 52 (MED) It apperith by the ruyne of the shipp with what wynde it is smyten. 1511 Pylgrymage Richarde Guylforde (Pynson) f. xiv This Jaffe was somtyme a grete Cytie as apperyth by the ruyne of the same. 1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice ii. ix. 47 Honour Pickt from the chaft and ruin of the times. View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) iii. i. 206 That is the way to lay the Citie flat,..And burie all..In heapes, and piles of Ruine . View more context for this quotation 1694 E. Settle Ambitious Slave iv. i. 42 What a vast Pile Of Ruine shall I build. 1704 J. Addison Campaign 5 Whilst here the Vine o'er Hills of Ruin climbs. 1761 R. Cumberland Banishm. of Cicero iv. vi. 65 Came you thence, From yonder pile of ruin? 1858 Times 24 Sept. 8/6 They heard a noise resembling a slight clap of thunder, and in another moment the two houses were a heap of ruin. 1922 E. H. Haight Italy Old & New xi. 140 I was sorry to learn that the corner had been set up, reconstructed from the pile of ruin, for that fact made it somehow less real. 9. In plural. The remains of a person who or thing which has suffered collapse, destruction, or downfall. Frequently in in ruins. a. Of a person, attribute, relationship, plan, etc. ΚΠ 1509 H. Watson tr. S. Brant Shyppe of Fooles (de Worde) lxxii. sig. Q.viiiv Some saye they be good medecynes Experte in physyke and moche thynge Puttynge the people in ruynes And the poore men sore oppressynge. 1534 T. Elyot in tr. Swete & Devoute Serm. sig. C.vi What valyantenesse of currage is hit, ye and what honour to stande bolte vpprighte amonge the ruynes of man kinde. 1597 R. Parry Sinetes Passions sig. C5 Sing Muses, sing, the ruines of my time, Reade in my face the Kalender of care. a1616 W. Shakespeare Julius Caesar (1623) iii. i. 259 Thou art the Ruines of the Noblest man That euer liued in the Tide of Times. View more context for this quotation 1676 G. Etherege Man of Mode iii. iii. 44 A fellow-beauty of the last Kings time, though by the Ruines you would hardly guess it. 1700 J. Dryden tr. Ovid Of Pythagorean Philos. in Fables 516 So Helen wept when her too faithful Glass Reflected to her Eyes the ruins of her Face. 1781 W. Cowper Epist. to Lady in France in Poems (1980) I. 444 In pity to the sinners he design'd To rescue from the ruins of mankind. 1814 Confessions of Drunkard (rev. ed.) in B. Montagu Some Enq. Effects Fermented Liquors 202 Trample not on the ruins of a man. 1834 Parterre 1 37/1 He kept his flame in the inmost recesses of his heart, like a lamp in a sepulchre, and which lighted up the ruins of his happiness alone. 1882 Cent. Mag. Mar. 682/1 She rose with a smile from the ruins of her life. 1905 National Mag. Nov. 155/2 Failing to find a companion gloom in the spirits of her relatives or in the ruinous old manor, she turned to the ruins of her heart. 1969 R. Howard Untitled Subj. 42 A noble mind In ruins is the most Heartbreaking thing I can conceive. 1990 D. Kavanagh Thatcherism & Brit. Politics (ed. 2) viii. 234 For the first two years..this strategy lay in ruins. b. Of a decayed and fallen building, town, etc. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > condition of matter > bad condition of matter > [noun] > dilapidated or ruinous condition > that which is dilapidated or ruinous ruinosity1453 ruins1544 demolitions1608 demolishments1628 demolishings1632 rumble1866 the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > that which is left or remainder > [noun] > remains > after destructive agency > decayed remnant(s) relicsc1350 ruinc1425 ruins1544 decays1582 debris1708 wreck1713 shard1786 faulturea1821 detritus1834 1544 T. Chaloner tr. St. J. Chrysostom Homilie sig. Ciii Nowe put case some one as he digged amonges those ruines, shuld plucke out now a stone. ?1571 tr. G. Buchanan Detectioun Marie Quene of Scottes sig. Diiij Betwene the ruynes of twa Tempillis. 1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie ii. xi. 45b The promontory is ful of ruines vnhabited. 1600 J. Pory tr. J. Leo Africanus Geogr. Hist. Afr. iv. 231 Now there are a few ruines onely of this towne to be seene. 1662 J. Davies tr. A. Olearius Voy. & Trav. Ambassadors 40 There are still to be seen the ruins of a fair Monastery. 1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 421. ¶6 Babylon in Ruins is not so melancholy a Spectacle. 1726 G. Leoni tr. L. B. Alberti Architecture I. 68/2 Those walls..may..so be kept from filling up the ditch with their ruines. 1774 J. Bennet Poems Several Occasions 14 Near my lov'd vill, fam'd Woodstock of renown, Yet stands in ruins, shame to England's crown, A royal palace. 1835 Court Mag. 6 146 The ruins of Tintern,..Alas! now profaned by a sight-seeing crew. 1885 C. E. Pascoe London of To-day xxix. 259 The Lycian cities, some most valuable ruins of which were removed to London..between 1842 and 1846. 1946 J. Masefield King Cole in King's Daughter 602 They rode with her down to the ruins of what had been Troy. 1964 M. Gowing Brit. & Atomic Energy 1939–45 ix. 267 Dr Penney was one of the scientific observers who saw the mushroom cloud rise from the ruins of Nagasaki. 2003 K. Hosseini Kite Runner (2004) xx. 220 The cratered streets were flanked by little more than ruins of shelled buildings and abandoned homes. c. Of an institution, state, etc. ΚΠ 1554 J. Christopherson Exhort. to All Menne sig. Ff.vj v And nowe moste mercyfull lorde..graunte..that the ruines and decayes of thy holy church may be repayred and buylded vp agayne. 1623 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Henry VIII ii. i. 115 [He] restor'd me to my Honours: and out of ruines Made my Name once more Noble. View more context for this quotation 1695 Ld. Preston tr. Boethius Of Consol. Philos. Pref. 5 Arts and Civility were buried in their own Ruines. 1733 D. Neal Hist. Puritans III. 415 They insisted peremptorily on the establishment of the Presbyterian church government upon the ruins of the Prelatical. 1788 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall V. xlix. 156 Amidst the ruins of Italy, the famous Marozia invited one of the usurpers to assume the character of her third husband. 1822 P. B. Shelley Hellas 44 Islam must fall, but we will reign together Over its ruins. 1866 J. Bryce Holy Rom. Empire (new ed.) iv. 37 Of the new monarchies that had risen on the ruins of Rome, that of the Franks was by far the greatest. 1918 Outlook 20 Mar. 440/2 There has come to the Kaiser..the vision of a new and more splendid Pan-Germany rising on the ruins of Russia. 1998 S. Faulks Charlotte Gray iii. iii. 271 His country was in ruins, invaded from without, betrayed from within. d. Of any material thing. ΚΠ 1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 ii. ii. 22 + 2 God knows whether those that bal out the ruines of thy linnen shal inherite his kingdom. View more context for this quotation 1632 W. Lithgow Totall Disc. Trav. x. 479 Christ forbid, that euery Shippe which coasteth the rockey shoare, should leaue her ruines there. 1719 D. Defoe Life Robinson Crusoe 263 I shew'd him the Ruins of our Boat. 1854 Bizarre 7 Jan. 210/1 He repaired to the place where the ruins of the wardrobe were lying, ready to be appropriated to the manufacture of some other article of household utility. 1898 G. B. Shaw Arms & Man in Plays Pleasant & Unpleasant i. 8 His belt..keeping together the ruins of the blue tunic. 1922 North Western Reporter 189 796/2 The witnesses..appear to have gathered there to look at the ruins of the car which still remained in the ditch. 1982 A. Price Old ‘Vengeful’ vii. 104 I think I'd better see to the ruins of dinner. 2000 K. Atkinson Emotionally Weird (2001) 315 He bowed courteously at the ruins of salmon. 10. a. A ruined or ruinous building, town, etc. ΘΚΠ society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > types of building generally > [noun] > ruin ruin1561 derry1968 society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > district in relation to human occupation > town as opposed to country > town or city > [noun] > other types of town or city ruin1561 metropolitan district1817 ville lumière1920 Middletown1926 Motopia1959 1561 T. Norton tr. J. Calvin Inst. Christian Relig. i. f. 54 In a ruine they sought for an vpright building, and for strong ioyntes in an vnioynted ouerthrow. 1596 A. Copley Fig for Fortune 68 Had she might according to her malice Sion had been a ruine long ere this. a1600 (?c1535) tr. H. Boece Hist. Scotl. (Mar Lodge) (1946) i. viii. 67 The signis of ye samyn quhare it stude and ye rewyne [sc. Castle Urquhart], to ye behaldaris ar richt wounderfull. 1611 Bible (King James) Isa. xxv. 2 Thou hast made of a citie, an heape; of a defenced city, a ruine . View more context for this quotation 1780 W. Cowper Progress of Error 286 As creeping ivy clings to wood or stone, And hides the ruin that it feeds upon. 1816 J. Wilson City of Plague i. i. 34 There it stands, like a majestic ruin Mouldering in a desert. 1836 J. Murray Hand-bk. for Travellers on Continent 238/1 One of these ruins has recently been restored as far as possible to its original condition. 1884 R. Paton Sc. Church vii. 70 He fixed his residence in an old ruin on the top of a hill. 1914 Harper's Mag. July 166/2 A half-mile southward lay an ancient ruin. 1938 Amer. Antiq. 4 40 A small axe..was excavated in a ruin in New Mexico. 2007 Smithsonian Feb. 67/1 In Delhi, perching vultures ornamented the tops of every ancient ruin. b. Any ruined thing, situation, or (esp.) person. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > ill health > sick person > [noun] sickc888 lazar1340 sickmanc1340 laborant?a1425 suffererc1450 malade1483 patient1484 lazar-man1552 languisher1599 ruina1616 plaintiff1633 valetudinarist1651 valetudinaire?c1682 valetudinarian1703 invalid1709 infirm1711 invaletudinarian1762 valetudinary1785 complainant1861 aegrotant1865 degenerate1895 the world > action or operation > adversity > [noun] > tribulation, trouble, or affliction > wretched person > at the end of his resources forlorn hope1572 bankrupt1578 ruina1616 a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) iv. iii. 65 It is the shamefull worke of Huberts hand, The practice, and the purpose of the king: From whose obedience I forbid my soule, Kneeling before this ruine of sweete life. View more context for this quotation 1764 D. Garrick Let. 11 Apr. (1963) I. 412 Where is ye bold Churchill?—What a Noble ruin! 1844 H. Smith Arthur Arundel III. ii. 43 You remember what I was, Alice; behold what a ruin I am now. 1860 T. Macknight Hist. Life & Times Edmund Burke III. xliv. 656 Broken-hearted and dying, he was a ruin. 1946 B. Marshall George Brown's Schooldays ii. 7 Hullo, here's Abinger. He looks a fearful ruin, doesn't he? 1992 Chess Monthly Sept. 20/4 Now material is level but White's position is a ruin. Compounds C1. Objective, instrumental, locative, and limitative. Chiefly literary. ΚΠ 1811 M. Starke Beauties of C. M. Maggi 16 The ruin-breathing tempest seems to burst. ruin-loving adj. ΚΠ 1808 Athenæum 1 Jan. 57 Is yon mouldering pile thy shrine, Whose pillar'd cloisters' height The ruin-loving weeds entwine. 1830 N. S. Wheaton Jrnl. 499 The ruins..almost covered with wild briars and the ruin-loving ivy. 1992 Gazette (Montreal) (Nexis) 25 July j2 This ruin-loving sensibility rejoices in the softening effect of decay. ruin-crowned adj. ΚΠ 1822 J. F. Turner Harp of Beech Woods 67 Through thy scenes, fair Llangollen, delighted I wander, O'er thy ruin-crowned hill, 'mid thy rocks and thy woods. a1849 J. C. Mangan Poems (1859) 354 The hill, now, alas! ruin-crowned. 1998 N. Clapp Road to Ubar (1999) ii. 29 A city, a lost city! The aviators plotted its position. It would be easy to find: the ruin-crowned mesa was within sight of a known desert landmark. ruin-heaped adj. ΚΠ 1843 Metrop. Mag. Apr. 376 The sight of the arid, dry, and ruin-heaped earth which we traversed,..gave rise to the most striking contrast when,..we turned towards the site of Naples. 1944 S. Putnam tr. E. da Cunha Rebellion in Backlands x. 462 This ruin-heaped fragment of the settlement, had now absorbed those brigades and their reinforcements. ruin-hurled adj. ΚΠ 1820 T. Mitchell tr. Aristophanes Knights in tr. Aristophanes Comedies I. 232 With a fleet ruin-hurl'd, They took rank in the world. 1904 Atlanta Constit. 9 Mar. 4/6 Burning bridges, scuttling ships, Cities ruin-hurled, boys; Bleeding breasts, and voiceless lips—War is in the world, boys! ΚΠ 1876 J. R. Lowell Ode 4th July ii. i She also hath her monuments; Not such as stand decrepitly resigned To ruin-mark the path of dead events. ΚΠ 1593 T. Nashe Christs Teares f. 19v Had you rested them on the true Rocke they had beene ruine-proofe. 1633 F. Quarles in P. Fletcher Purple Island sig. ¶¶3v Put case the stuffe Were ruine-proofe, by nature strong enough To conquer time, and age. 1880 C. W. Palmer Weed ii. 63 'Twas with like art old architects designed Those granite piles we still in Egypt find, Which, ruin-proof, preserve their ancient state. C2. attributive. Designating varieties of ornamental stone distinguished by markings likened to the outline of ruined buildings, as ruin agate, ruin jasper, ruin marble. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > rock > metamorphic rock > [noun] > marble > others Florentine marble1706 Carraraa1728 rosso antico1730 giallo antico1741 campan1794 dolomite1794 ruin marble1798 turquin1811 picrite1814 landscape marble1816 snow1848 Irish green1850 palombino1859 Tennessee marble1875 corallite1883 stalagmite marble1895 Piastraccia1909 the world > the earth > minerals > types of mineral > silicates > tectosilicate > [noun] > quartz > cryptocrystalline quartz > chert > jasper jasperc1330 riband jasper1790 ruin jasper1798 ribbon jasper1804 jasp1900 the world > the earth > minerals > types of mineral > silicates > tectosilicate > [noun] > quartz > cryptocrystalline quartz > chalcedony > agate > varieties sea-agatea1593 phassachate1634 sardachate1706 jaspagate1748 peacock stone1753 moss agate1798 ruin agate1798 1798 G. Mitchell tr. D. L. G. Karsten Descr. Minerals in Leskean Mus. I. v. 612 A slab of Florentine Ruin Marble. 1807 A. Aikin & C. R. Aikin Dict. Chem. & Mineral. I. 283/1 The landscape or ruin agate represents rocks or buildings. 1823 W. Phillips Elem. Introd. Mineral. (ed. 3) 20 Ruin-Jasper..is commonly known by the name of Ruin Agate, but its opacity..evinces that it ought to be classed with jaspers. 1876 Proc. Geologists’ Assoc. 1874–6 4 448 The brecciated state of some agates, from pressure, from contraction, or other causes, was noticed, as giving rise to some of the ‘Ruin-agates’. 1922 I. Kozminsky Magic & Sci. Jewels & Stones xix. 244 Ruin Jasper occurs in darker shades of browns and yellows, giving the appearance of venerable ruins. 1938 S. Beckett Murphy xii. 260 They carried him into the p.m. room, they laid him out on the slab of ruin marble in the key of the bay. 2004 M. Freeman Close-up Photogr. iii. 153 (caption) A common way of presenting rock specimens is in cut sections, such as this small slab of ruin marble. C3. ruin-mound n. = tell n.2 ΘΚΠ society > communication > record > memorial or monument > [noun] > structure or erection > mound or dome mind hilla1425 mound1775 Indian mound1791 tope1815 tell1840 stupa1841 ruin-mound1911 ahu1917 ishan1921 pillow mound1928 1911 Encycl. Brit. XIV. 741/2 There are in Irak hundreds of ruin mounds, some of them of considerable size, covering ancient Babylonian cities. 1939 P. Carleton Buried Empires i. 23 Attracted by the numerous tells, or ruin-mounds, in his district, he set workmen to dig. 2000 Yoga May 10/1 The 6 inch steatite sculpture shown here, known as the ‘priest king’ was discovered in the early 1920s on the banks of the river Indus, at a ruin mound called Mohenjo-daro, in what is now Pakistan. Derivatives ˈruin-like adj. ΚΠ 1684 T. Burnet Theory of Earth i. 142 There are some regions of it strangely rude and ruine-like. 1791 Monthly Rev. 3 App. 578 There are immense excavations, bordered also by ruin-like eminences. 2001 I. Hoesterey Pastiche ii. 35 The Stuttgart museum features a ruin-like structure, a broken wall with stones toppling. ˈruinward adv. ΚΠ 1653 J. Rogers Channuccah in Dod or Chathan 40 Are yee so senselesse, to runne ruine-ward? to keep in Babylon? 1861 Eclectic Mag. Aug. 462/1 When morbid appetite or inclination pulls ruinward, brace the moral system against it; pit manhood against temptation. 1936 A. E. Housman More Poems 61 And on through night to morning The world runs ruinward. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2011; most recently modified version published online March 2022). ruinv. 1. a. intransitive. Chiefly literary. Of a building, town, society, etc.: to fall into ruins; to decay, crumble, collapse; (also) to fall headlong or with a crash. Now rare. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > falling > fall [verb (intransitive)] > fall down or from erect position > fall in pieces or ruins to-fallc893 fallOE to fall downc1175 tumblea1400 sinka1450 ruin1531 to fall in1611 the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > falling > fall [verb (intransitive)] > with a crash ruinate1562 ruin1793 1531 in J. C. Tingey Rec. City of Norwich (1910) II. 112 The same Citie felle thereby to desolacion, the seruyce of god mynyyshed, churches that were wonte to be richelye adhourned ruyned and ffell down. 1604 E. Grimeston tr. True Hist. Siege Ostend 202 They..suffered it to burne and ruine. 1638 G. Sandys Paraphr. Iob xxvii, in Paraphr. Divine Poems Though he his House of polisht Marble build,..Yet shall it ruine like the Moth's fraile cell. 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost vi. 868 Hell saw Heav'n ruining from Heav'n. View more context for this quotation 1793 W. Wordsworth Descr. Sketches 203 Ruining from the cliffs, the deafening load Tumbles. 1847 Ld. Tennyson Princess ii. 40 Let not your prudence, dearest, drowse,..for fear This whole foundation ruin. 1871 Atlantic Monthly Oct. 455/1 The road..is unguarded by any sort of parapet.., and carriages go ruining over the brink from time to time. 1939 C. Williams Descent of Dove iii. 72 The exterior crisis of the world..exposes to us that expansion of the Apostolic word at the moment when the world was ruining. b. transitive. To reduce (a building, town, etc.) to a state of decay, collapse, or disintegration. Also figurative and in figurative contexts. ΚΠ 1572 Acts Parl. Scotl. (1814) 76/2 That all housis, landis & tenementis rewinit, cassin doun, distroyit, or deteriorat, within..the said burghe..salbe reparit. 1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie ii. xii. 47 b [They] ruined and cast down to the ground the wals of the city. 1603 R. Johnson tr. G. Botero Hist. Descr. Worlde 114 From thence alongst the shore lieth Cæsaria, now ruined by them of Gallipoli. a1616 W. Shakespeare Comedy of Errors (1623) ii. i. 96 What ruines are in me..By him not ruin'd? View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare Antony & Cleopatra (1623) v. ii. 50 This mortall house Ile ruine, Do Cæsar what he can. View more context for this quotation 1686 tr. J. Chardin Trav. Persia 410 An Inundation of Waters ruin'd a thousand Houses. 1720 D. Defoe Mem. Cavalier 30 I went into the Town, and there Things were still in a worse Condition, the Houses beaten down, the Walls and Works ruined. 1787 C. Cullen tr. F. S. Clavigero Hist. Mexico II. x. xxv. 176 They..put the city, excepting the temples and houses ruined by the enemy, into the state it was in before the siege commenced. 1839 A. Alison Hist. Europe from French Revol. VII. lii. 193 The wall, which was of tough mud, was imperfectly ruined. 1854 Dublin Univ. Mag. Feb. 150/2 On the 14th, the Hanover battery ruined the north-west bastion. 1931 Art Bull. 13 254 In the wars that followed, the abbey was again ruined. 1997 W. T. Treadgold Hist. Byzantine State & Soc. 776 An earthquake ruined the walls of Callipolis. 2. a. transitive. To inflict great and irretrievable damage, loss, or disaster upon (a person or community); to deprive of social or moral standing. Also occasionally intransitive. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > adversity > calamity or misfortune > have befallen as a misfortune to [verb (transitive)] > bring disaster upon doa1375 pluckc1475 ruin1558 tragedize1593 disaster1596 planet-strike1600 to bring to grief1850 to do in1905 to wreak havoc1926 society > morality > moral evil > moral or spiritual degeneration > degrading or impairing morally > degrade or impair morally [verb (transitive)] > ruin or damage morally perishc1390 marc1400 ruin1558 1558 Speciall Grace after Banket at Yorke sig. a.viv What a gap opened to the enemie, to run in as he list, and ruin vs all. a1572 J. Knox Hist. Reformation Scotl. in Wks. (1846) I. ii. 407 Your commun-welth, quhilk ye see manifestlie..rewyneit befoir your eyis. 1623 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Henry VIII iii. ii. 440 Marke but my Fall, and that that Ruin'd me. View more context for this quotation 1623 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Henry VIII iv. ii. 40 He was neuer (But where he meant to Ruine) pittifull. View more context for this quotation 1660 R. Coke Elements Power & Subjection v. iv. 266 in Justice Vindicated At this time it ruins him, which other while was of much advantage to him. 1702 N. Rowe Ambitious Step-mother (ed. 2) i. i The shallow Fraud Will ruine him for ever with my Enemies. 1781 W. Cowper Table Talk 60 The diadem, with mighty projects lin'd, To catch renown by ruining mankind. 1832 B. Disraeli Contarini Fleming I. i. viii. 73 It was universally agreed that College had ruined me..and all witnessed the horrible deterioration of my manners and my morals. 1848 C. Brontë Let. 22 June (2000) II. 78 They ruined him,..deadened his fine nature and generous sentiments, made all his greatness as nothing. 1869 H. F. Tozer Res. Highlands of Turkey II. 309 An obdurate lady, who is charged with ruining her lover. 1933 S. Walker Night Club Era 228 He was,..immune to the more serious forms of criticism which, in other times, would have ruined any man in public life. 1968 G. M. Williams From Scenes like These i. 10 It seemed more natural to fight when there were other men there, quite apart from the fact that the others would stop the fight before McCann could ruin him for life. 2003 Independent 29 July (Review section) 2/2 LeRoy Mosley was the victim of a system of racism that had ruined his people for six, eight, 10 and more generations. b. transitive. To reduce to a state of complete poverty; to deprive of wealth or other resources. Also occasionally intransitive. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > poverty > make poor or impoverish [verb (transitive)] destroy1297 poverisha1382 apoora1400 impover1418 poora1425 dispurveyc1430 impoverish1440 beggar1528 weaken1530 ruinate1547 ruin1560 depauper1562 depoverish1569 craze1573 soak1577 sift1591 waste1599 impoor1613 uncluea1616 depauperate1623 disenrich1647 necessitate1647 erumnate1676 straiten1699 poorify1711 pauperize1806 pauperate1839 pauper1841 to clear out1884 immiserate1956 penny-pincha1961 immiserize1971 1560 W. Baldwin Funeralles Edward VI sig. Cij Repent you caytifes..Your turning of tillage so much into pasture, That townes and towneships are ruyned past cure. c1570 J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1830) 58 He and his frindes had sufferit so greyt domage and skaith that thay wer utterlie reuyned. 1627 G. Hakewill Apologie iv. v. 330 Nero..wasted Italy by contributions and borrowing of money, ruined the provinces, and impoverished the confederates of the people of Rome. 1660 F. Brooke tr. V. Le Blanc World Surveyed 366 Having consum'd all he had gotten, besides what his sister had, and other friends whom he quite ruined [Fr. qu'il ruina du tout]. 1732 G. Berkeley Alciphron I. ii. ii. 72 Many Gentlemen and Ladies are ruined by play. 1776 A. Smith Inq. Wealth of Nations II. iv. i. 13 Though a particular merchant..may sometimes be ruined by not being able to sell them in time. 1810 G. Crabbe Borough vii. 95 But now our Quacks are Gamesters, and they play With Craft and Skill to ruin and betray. 1849 E. Bulwer-Lytton Caxtons II. xi. v. 228 A London daily paper might ruin a man in a few weeks. 1874 W. Stubbs Constit. Hist. I. xii. 575 The freeman is not to be amerced in a way that will ruin him. 1935 Michigan Law Rev. 33 611 If these restrictions are carried out, that prevents capricious suits which tend to ruin the corporations. 1967 E. C. C. Uzodinma Our Dead Speak xii. 83 If the accuser failed to prove her case the restitution might ruin her family and the husband's family. 2003 Independent 9 Oct. (Review section) 12/1 She has ruined them by secretly running up enormous debts. c. transitive (reflexive). To reduce oneself to a state of complete personal, social, or (esp.) financial loss. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > poverty > impoverish oneself [verb (reflexive)] ruinate1547 ruin1585 waste1599 worsen1828 worser1851 the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > destroy oneself [verb (reflexive)] spillc950 waste1548 wrack1564 spoil1578 ruin1585 consume1606 death warrant1721 1585 R. Parsons Christian Directorie i. iii. 124 Herodias did ruine her self and her husband. c1588 R. Persons in J. Morris Troubles Catholic Forefathers (1875) (modernized text) 2nd Ser. 311 When the one [sc. Judas] would fall and ruin himself wilfully. 1619 F. Rous Arte of Happines i. i. 3 He that proposeth for an End, a seeming good, but a reall euill,..shall substantially lessen and ruine himselfe. 1712 R. Steele Spectator No. 278. ⁋1 I am afraid I shall be obliged to ruin my self to procure her a Settlement. a1754 H. Fielding Fathers (1778) iv. i. 75 Indeed, Sir, I don't know by what means men ruin themselves. 1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. III. ii. v. 124 The Mother Society, so far as natural reason can predict, seems ruining herself. 1858 J. Kingsbury Let. 14 Aug. in J. Elder & D. Weber Trading in Santa Fe (1996) 105 Brittingham has completely ruined himself with Liquor. 1865 J. Ruskin Sesame & Lilies i. 75 You never call any one a horse-maniac, though men ruin themselves every day by their horses. 1934 C. Brooks Jrnl. 1 July (1998) 63 ‘I don't believe,’ he said ‘that if a man or a woman goes to the dogs or the races they are necessarily going to ruin themselves.’ 1956 P. O'Brian Golden Ocean ii. 30 He was the son of..a gentleman who had almost ruined himself by pursuing three law-suits at once. 2003 A. Bromfield tr. B. Akunin Winter Queen (2004) i. 5 First he'd built up a fortune during the railway boom and then he'd ruined himself in the banking boom. 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 the mind > possession > poverty > be poor [verb (intransitive)] > become poor poor?a1300 to come downa1382 decay1483 to bring haddock to paddock1546 to come to want1590 ruina1600 to come (also go) down in the world1819 a1600 R. Lindsay Hist. & Cron. Scotl. (1899) I. 163 He delyttit mair in singing and playing wpoun instrumentis nor he did in..the ministratioun of iustice, the qhuilk at length caussit him to ruine. 1602 W. Warner Albions Eng. (rev. ed.) xii. lxxiii. 303 Religion, Realmes, and all haue ruin'd then. 1659 J. Milton Let. Rupture Commonw. in Wks. (1698) II. 781 Unless these things..be once settl'd, in my fear, which God avert, we instantly ruin. 1692 J. Locke Some Considerations Lowering Interest 27 We may Trade,..and grow Poor by it..; If to this we are Idle,..we shall Ruine the faster. 1715 Marquis of Huntly in J. Sinclair Memoirs Insurrection Scotl. in 1715 (1858) 333 We must all ruin with him: would God he had comed sooner. e. transitive. To dishonour (a woman) by seducing and then abandoning her. Now chiefly historical. ΘΚΠ society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > unchastity > loss of chastity > deprive of chastity [verb (transitive)] > a woman > so as to ruin undo1612 ruin1677 1677 C. Davenant Circe iv. ii. 33 At last come ruine me she cry'de And then there fell a Tear. 1728 J. Gay Beggar's Opera i. viii. 10 Tell me, Hussy, are you ruin'd or no? 1767 E. Lloyd Conversation 35 These Beldames..Who slander Women, and the Men condemn, 'Cause none was kind enough to ruin them. 1835 G. W. M. Reynolds Youthful Impostor (1836) I. viii. 77 Her tears fell less rapidly, and as she sank into his arms, declaring as he had ruined her, she must trust his honour, and deliver herself over to his mercy. 1893 C. G. Leland Memoirs I. 164 She replied, ‘Please sir, I don't live anywhere now; I've been ruined’. 1929 E. O'Neill Dynamo i. ii. 28 Pa and Ma warned me linesmen were no good…they just ruined you and went their way. 1955 Radio Times 22 Apr. 4/3 The sentimental blatherings of Mrs. Arbuthnot who was ‘ruined’ by Lord Illingworth twenty years before. 2009 C. Dain Courtesan's Wager xii. 129 He ruined her! It's common knowledge! 3. a. transitive. To cause great and usually irreparable damage to (something); to have a disastrous effect on. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > damage > damage or injure [verb (transitive)] mareOE shendOE hinderc1000 amarOE awemc1275 noyc1300 touchc1300 bleche1340 blemisha1375 spill1377 misdoa1387 grieve1390 damagea1400 despoil?a1400 matea1400 snapea1400 mankc1400 overthrowa1425 tamec1430 undermine1430 blunder1440 depaira1460 adommage?1473 endamage1477 prejudicec1487 fulyie1488 martyra1500 dyscrase?1504 corrupt1526 mangle1534 danger1538 destroy1542 spoil1563 ruinate1564 ruin1567 wrake1570 injury1579 bane1587 massacre1589 ravish1594 wrong1595 rifle1604 tainta1616 mutilea1618 to do violence toa1625 flaw1665 stun1676 quail1682 maul1694 moil1698 damnify1712 margullie1721 maul1782 buga1790 mux1806 queer1818 batter1840 puckeroo1840 rim-rack1841 pretty1868 garbage1899 savage1899 to do in1905 strafe1915 mash1924 blow1943 nuke1967 mung1969 1567 in C. Innes Registrum Honoris de Morton (1853) I. 18 The Erll Bothvell..intendis to utterlie rwyn and decay the guid fame and brute of our derrast soveran. 1656 Earl of Monmouth tr. T. Boccalini Ragguagli di Parnasso i. i. xii. 23 They break them, and quite ruine the Lutes. 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 136 Root up my Trees,..My Vineyards Ruin, and my Sheepfolds burn. View more context for this quotation 1767 A. Young Farmer's Lett. 152 These destructive practices of ruining young trees. 1774 J. Bryant New Syst. (new ed.) I. 332 Their learning was greatly impaired, and their ancient theology ruined. 1838 W. S. Landor Imaginary Conversat. in Monthly Repository Apr. 227/2 I have ruined the way through my estate by the carriage of supplementary loads. 1867 M. E. Herbert Cradle Lands ix. 245 The contents of his pack, though recovered, were irretrievably ruined. 1889 J. K. Jerome Three Men in Boat v. 66 I remember a holiday of mine being completely ruined one late autumn by our paying attention to the weather report of the local newspaper. 1908 Westm. Gaz. 5 Feb. 12/1 His silk hat..had been ruined by the beer-boy spilling a pint of ale into it. 1979 H. Kissinger White House Years xx. 837 We could ruin the trilateral relationship by seeming to exploit it. 1996 Woman's Day (Sydney) 3 June 83/1 A little light..saves ruining your eyes peering at maps in the dark. b. transitive. To spoil, thwart, or subvert completely (a project, design, hope, etc.); to cause to fail; to make entirely abortive. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > failure or lack of success > fail in [verb (transitive)] > cause to fail bringc1175 abort?1548 foil1548 ruin1593 to throw out1821 to put a person's pot on1864 mucker1869 collapse1883 to fix (someone's) wagon1951 1593 W. Shakespeare Venus & Adonis sig. Fiiijv Nature cares not for thy mortall vigour, Since her best worke is ruin'd with thy rigour. View more context for this quotation 1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 iii. ii. 37 The hope and expectation of thy time Is ruind . View more context for this quotation 1623 in L. B. Taylor Aberdeen Council Lett. (1942) I. 210 And ther guid and commendabill workis..for making of..stuffes sall lykwayes be almost rownet and gevin up. a1680 S. Butler Genuine Remains (1759) I. 208 Scholars by preposterous over-doing, And under-judging, all their Projects ruin. 1736 Bp. J. Butler Analogy of Relig. ii. v. 199 People ruin their Fortunes by Extravagance. 1782 W. Cowper Conversation in Poems 230 Our self-importance ruins its own scheme. 1847 C. Dickens Dombey & Son (1848) xlv. 448 The reflection that you had injured her position and ruined her future hopes. 1872 W. Black Strange Adventures Phaeton xxvi. 357 He pretty nearly ruined his prospects in life. 1917 Mod. Lang. Rev. 12 435 She ruined his whole plan by precipitating matters and leaving her father's house. 1993 United Church Observer June 44/3 They spend months..saving and planning for a once-in-a-lifetime vacation, only to have their dreams ruined when they find themselves mugged. c. transitive. To overturn, invalidate completely (an idea, theory, etc.). ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > testing > refutation, disproof > refute, disprove [verb (transitive)] > completely to put silence toc1384 to put (a person or thing) to silencea1464 convell1536 silence1592 to reduce (a person or thing) to silence1605 explode1629 to fetch overa1640 out-argue1662 ruin1665 settle1849 scuttle1888 skyrocket1928 banjax1956 1665 J. Webb Vindic. Stone-Heng Restored 68 Whatever else he could invent to ruin Mr. Jones his Opinion. 1693 J. Edwards Disc. conc. Old & New-Test. I. ix. 314 It ruines his Hypothesis. 1808 C. Breck Fox Chase ii. i. 21 Stop, blunderer, stop: you have ruined my whole theory! 1862 Methodist Q. Rev. July 364 He leaves behind, on the same pages, numberless other facts that ruin his hypothesis. 1912 Amer. Catholic Q. Rev. Apr. 356 So you excuse them theoretically and hang them practically... Because to hold them really responsible would undoubtedly ruin your theory. 2007 S. Newman Real Hist. Behind Templars iv. xlv. 378 If the churches on Bornholm are connected to any military order, it would make more sense that it would be the Hospitallers,... But that would ruin the hypothesis. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > destroy [verb (transitive)] > overthrow or overturn > a kingdom, state, etc. ruinate1565 ruin1585 the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > breaking or cracking > break [verb (transitive)] > break down, demolish, or ruin spillc950 fellOE to cast downc1230 destroy1297 to turn up?c1335 to throw down1340 to ding downc1380 to break downa1382 subverta1382 underturn1382 to take downc1384 falla1400 to make (a building, etc.) plain (with the earth)a1400 voida1400 brittenc1400 to burst downc1440 to pull downc1450 pluck1481 tumble1487 wreck1510 defacea1513 confound1523 raze1523 arase1530 to beat downc1540 ruinate1548 demolish1560 plane1562 to shovel down1563 race?1567 ruin1585 rape1597 unwall1598 to bluster down16.. raise1603 level1614 debolish1615 unbuilda1616 to make smooth work of1616 slight1640 to knock down1776 squabash1822 collapse1883 to turn over1897 mash1924 rubble1945 to take apart1978 the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > mastery or superiority > have or gain mastery or superiority over [verb (transitive)] > overcome or overwhelm > completely or overthrow > specifically a thing allayOE vanquishc1380 breaka1400 quealc1530 quail1533 ruin1585 to wrestle down?1611 to take down1889 to beat down- 1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie ii. xiii. 49 After hee hadde ruined the Empyre of Constantinople. 1631 C. Aleyn Battailes Crescey & Poictiers sig. B7 Divisions ruine Realmes: the Monarchies Of Mars his Rome, and Macedon thus fall. 1671 J. Milton Paradise Regain'd iv. 360 In them is plainest taught..What ruins Kingdoms, and lays Cities flat. View more context for this quotation 1766 Debates & Proc. House of Commons I. 25 France had a Mind to have the Power of that House reduced, but..no Mind to see it absolutely ruined. 1790 J. Hurdis Poems 205 Is this the man who made the Earth afraid, Shook thrones, and ruin'd kingdoms with his frown? 1856 J. A. Froude Hist. Eng. (1858) I. ii. 146 Charles..was not ruining the papacy, and had no intention of ruining it. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > destroy [verb (transitive)] > eradicate or extirpate fornimOE to put awaya1382 outroot?a1425 unroot?a1425 out-razec1425 to pluck up1484 avell1530 sweep1560 depopulate1576 ruina1586 assoil1596 to lay aside1596 untop1598 displant1603 float1606 to take off1619 amolish1624 uproota1639 eradicate1647 to lay by1681 to polish off1827 uprend1911 to zero out1951 a1586 Sir P. Sidney Apol. Poetrie (1595) sig. B3v Some of whom did seeke to ruine all memory of learning from among them. 1628 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy (ed. 3) ii. iii. vii. 329 He fel down dead vpon the Dragon, & killed him with the fall, so both were ruined. 1645 R. Symonds Diary (1859) 163 Cromwell's horse and dragoons ruined some of our horse that quartered about Islip. 1658 J. Evelyn tr. N. de Bonnefons French Gardiner 255 You shall every year renew some of your beds, ruining such as are above four or five years old. 1712 J. James tr. A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville Theory & Pract. Gardening 175 Dip it into Water and drown them;..and by doing thus, you entirely ruin them. 1725 D. Defoe New Voy. round World ii. 154 Our Men were not ruined, as they would certainly have been, if the Mountaineers had taken the Alarm. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2011; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.a1393v.1531 |
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