rulern.1
/ˈruːlə/, U.S. /ˈrulər/ I. Senses relating to government, control, or influence.
1.
a. A person who exercises rule, command, or authority, esp. of a supreme or sovereign kind.
(a) With of, over, †upon (the people or region ruled).
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > [noun]
waldendeOE
prince?c1225
ordainerc1300
tyranta1340
prefecta1382
rulera1382
wieldera1382
corner of the people1382
lordshipperc1384
governora1393
moderatora1398
wieldinga1400
leader of lawsc1400
regent1415
governailc1440
dominatorc1450
reignera1464
regnanta1500
gubernator1522
despot1562
shepherd1577
swayer1598
Sophy1599
most mastera1616
Govr.1620
Gov.1630
archon1735
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Exod. xviii. 21 Ordeyn of hem rewlers aponn þousandus [L. tribunos] & rewlers apon hundreþs [L.V. centuriouns; L. centuriones] & rewlers apon fyfty [L. quinquagenarios] & rewlers apon tenn [L. decanos].
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Fairf. 14) 4643 (MED) I sal do him atte vnder-take he [sc. Joseph] sal be rewler of al my lande.
a1450 ( tr. Vegetius De Re Militari (Douce) f. 24 (MED) Þanne moot þe reulores of þe oost ordeyne alle þe horsmen & half þe foot men to defende and putte of þe enemyes.
a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) III. 1227 As sir Mordred was rular of all Inglonde.
c1500 (?a1475) Assembly of Gods (1896) 995 (MED) The Lord of Macrocosme [read Microcosme] and rewler of that fee Was callyd Frewyll.
a1530 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfeccyon (1531) iii. f. CCxxiiiiv Labourynge to..withdrawe ye people..from the dominyon of kynges, lordes & rulers of the temporalty.
1611 Bible (King James) Gen. xli. 43 He made him ruler ouer all the land of Egypt. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 1 (1623) iii. ii. 11 We be Lords and Rulers ouer Roan. View more context for this quotation
a1656 R. Gordon Geneal. Hist. Earldom of Sutherland (1813) 169 The cheiff ruellers of the state.
1757 W. Wilkie Epigoniad ii. 49 Stern ruler of the sky! Whose sport is man, and human misery.
1790 W. Cowper On Receipt Mother's Picture 108 My boast is not, that I deduce my birth From loins enthron'd, and rulers of the earth.
1845 S. Austin tr. L. von Ranke Hist. Reformation in Germany (ed. 2) II. 233 The Roman emperor..was in future to be the sole protector and ruler of the country.
1876 Appletons' Jrnl. 18 Mar. 354/1 Like the King of Dahomey, the chiefs of Porto Novo, and the rulers of many Nigerian tribes, these potentates may not look at the sea nor at the river.
1906 W. F. Butler Lombard Communes xiii. 378 Their history is for the most part unsullied by the crimes which stain the annals of the other despotic rulers over Lombardy.
1973 N.Y. Times 21 Feb. 8/3 An attempt by the out-of-town group to become ruler of the underworld.
2006 R. Chandrasekaran Imperial Life in Emerald City (2007) iv. 69 General Douglas MacArthur, the obsessive, all-powerful American ruler of Japan for three years after World War II.
(b) Without construction.
ΚΠ
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 370) (1850) 4 Kings xxv. 22 Nabugodonosor, king of Babyloyne..made rewler [L. rector] Godolyam the sone of Aycham.
c1475 in W. Heuser Kildare-Gedichte (1904) 184 (MED) A yong man, a rewler, recheles..shalle never thrif blamles.
1526 Bible (Tyndale) Acts vii. 27 Who made the a ruelar and a iudge amonge vs?
1562 in J. Stuart Sel. Rec. Kirk Aberdeen (1846) 7 All princis, magistratis, and reularis, quha..suld be faderis and motheris to the common veltht.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 2 (1623) v. i. 105 By heauen thou shalt rule no more O're him, whom heauen created for thy Ruler . View more context for this quotation
1641 H. Thorndike Of Govt. Churches 92 Rulers or Helps in the government, Elders of the people.
1665 R. Boyle Occas. Refl. iv. xi. sig. Ee3v Whereas..other Artificers work upon inanimate Materials, a Ruler must manage free Agents.
1717 A. Pope tr. Homer Iliad III. x. 473 Other Rulers those proud Steeds demand.
1781 W. Cowper Retirem. 104 Compar'd with this sublimest life below, Ye kings and rulers, what have courts to show?
1856 C. Merivale Hist. Romans under Empire IV. xxxviii. 323 The accessibility of Italy upon this side..was at all times a matter of anxiety to her rulers.
1878 W. E. Gladstone Homer 113 The absurd idea that the nation exists for the rulers, and not the rulers for the nation.
1931 Internat. Affairs 10 152 India was content to be ruled patriarchically by a succession of brilliant rulers.
1957 S. Plath Coll. Poems (1981) 71 Sick of their ruler's godling airs, In one body those earthborn commoners Rose up and put royal nerves to the rack.
2009 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 12 Feb. 44/1 The authority of a new female ruler could only be captured by representing her in the guise of a man.
b. A person who has control, management, or headship within some limited sphere. Now rare except as merged with sense 1a.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > control > person in control > [noun] > within some limited sphere
rulera1387
supremo1959
big enchilada1973
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1882) VIII. 259 (MED) Þe popes legat þat was rulere [L. gubernator] of pilgremages in þe Holy Lond deyde.
?c1430 (c1400) J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 242 Lordis..maken summe prestis stiwardis..& summe conseileris & reuleris of here worldly plees.
a1475 in Archaeologia (1887) 50 50 We beyng Rewlers and gouernerse of the parissch of seynt Stephan in Colmanstrete.
1511–12 Act 3 Hen. VIII c. 3 §1 The father, governours and rulers of such as be of tendre age.
1555 Act 2 & 3 Phil. & Mary c. 7 §2 The said Ruler or Keeper of the said Fair or Market.
c1600 in Balfour's Practicks (1754) 27 And ordanis the Dean of Gilde, kirk-maisteris and reularis, to gar leisch barnis that perturbis the kirk.
1662 in R. Pitcairn Criminal Trials Scotl. (1833) III. 617 Walter..and Allexander..nixt to the divell, wer ruleris.
1708 Constitutions Company Watermen & Lightermen xviii If any..of the Rulers or Auditors shall happen to dye, or be turned out for Corruption.
1767 Ann. Reg. 1766 134 The Rulers of the Watermens company attended.
1826 M. M. Sherwood Lady of Manor (ed. 2) IV. xviii. 32 There is nothing which retards the progress of the Gospel so much as the remaining eruptions of sin among the rulers of the Church.
1864 Reader 21 May 652/1 The rulers of the British Museum are an irresponsible corporation.
1920 Law Notes June 54/2 He..was formerly grand exalted ruler of the Elks.
1991 I. W. Archer Pursuit of Stability iv. 109 The rulers had regarded the yeomanry box as a cash reserve to be raided for general company purposes.
c. A person who leads or directs a choir, esp. each of two or more vicars choral leading a cathedral choir under the direction of the precentor; = rector n. 4. Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > church government > member of the clergy > other clergy > [noun] > precentor
arch-chantera1387
chanterc1390
chanterer1482
ruler1485
precentor1516
cantora1552
taker-up1578
uptaker1620
praise leader1920
society > leisure > the arts > music > musician > singer > singer of church music > [noun] > cantor or precentor
arch-chantera1387
chanterc1390
chanterer1482
ruler1485
precentor1516
cantora1552
taker-up1578
uptaker1620
precentorial1825
praise leader1920
1485 Device Coronation Henry VII in W. Jerdan Rutland Papers (1842) 21 Thoffice of the masse..shalbe begon of the rulers of the quere with the Kyrie and Gloria in excelsis.
a1538 Acc. St. Michael Cornhill (1871) 208 One discrete preste shalbe chosen by the Parson..to be a Ruler or Deane of the quyre in executing and seying the dyvyne servyce.
1853 D. Rock Church of our Fathers IV. xii. 136 The rulers of the choir, or..chanters, were arrayed in silken copes.
1877 J. D. Chambers Divine Worship Eng. 146 Let this be sung by Rulers, Clerk, Choir, and people together.
1906 A. F. Leach Hist. Warwick School v. 65 As regards the grammar schoolmaster acting as a precentor or ruler of the choir, we must remember that every grammar scholar had also to learn singing.
1989 C. M. Wright Music & Ceremony at Notre Dame iii. 100 The rulers of the choir were not seated with the other clerics but instead were assigned to stools on the floor of the chancel.
2.
a. Something which exerts a controlling or dominating influence.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > power > influence > [noun] > one who or that which influences > controlling or prevailing
rulera1398
regenta1450
hegemonicon1583
gianta1631
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. v. ii. 169 Þe heed..is gouernour and reulere [L. regimen..et gubenaculum] of alle þe body.
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. v. viii. 186 The yȝeliddes ben reulers [L. regmia] of þe yȝen.
c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 79 (MED) Holi Scripture is not..reuler of thilk moral lawe and seruice to God..but..the seid doom of resoun.
?1498 J. Alcock In die Innocencium Sermo (de Worde) sig. avi Somtyme ryghtwysnesse was the chyef ruler. now falshede is quarter mayster.
1562 W. Turner Bk. Natures Bathes Eng. f. 13, in 2nd Pt. Herball Savonarola..telleth that the chefe ruler is alume.
c1598 King James VI & I Basilicon Doron (1944) I. 138 Euen in youre maist uertuouse actions make euer moderation to be the cheife reulaire.
1606 A. Craig Amorose Songes sig. Liii Let Reason hencefoorth guyd and ruler bee.
a1640 M. Wroth Poems (1983) 213 This agreed, they pleasd did part Reason ruling Cupids dart Soe as sure love can nott miss Since that reason ruler is.
1770 E. Thompson Court of Cupid II. 90 Beauty, fair ruler of the night and day.
1785 W. Cowper Task iv. 120 Winter, ruler of th' inverted year.
1840 E. E. Napier Scenes & Sports Foreign Lands I. 241 Let your fare be simple and wholesome, and, above all, let moderation be the ruler of every appetite.
1871 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues III. 147 Men of old, who affirmed mind to be the ruler of the universe.
1906 Railway Conductor Dec. 928/1 Sisters, it is coming election time again and do come out and vote for your officers and let your good judgment be the ruler of your mind.
1988 L. Morris Epist. to Romans (v. 21) 242 It is God's purpose that not sin but grace should be the ruler.
2002 A. Julius Transgressions (2003) 12 Transgressive art is an art of the subversive exception made the rule. It is ruler and revolutionary in one.
b. Astrology. A planet (or other celestial object) which exerts a powerful or predominating influence in a particular sphere, or over a particular planet or person.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > heavenly body > as influence on mankind > [noun] > type of
starOE
birth star1550
ruler?1558
dominator1594
fortunate1615
prorogator1647
the world > the universe > heavenly body > as influence on mankind > [noun] > influence > planet as > dominant
lorda1398
ruler?1558
dispositor1598
?1558 H. Baker tr. O. Fine Rules Vse of Almanackes (new ed.) sig. F.ii The best astrologians, do neuer chuse the sunne nor the mone in this place for Lordes nor rulers [Fr. pour dominateurs].
1579 T. Lupton Thousand Notable Things ix. 236 Marke what Planet is ruler of the twelft house.
1645 W. Lilly tr. Ptolemy in Starry Messenger 29 That Planet which hath most Dignities in the degree or place eclipsed, and angle succeeding, shall be ruler [L. dominabitur] of the Eclipse.
1701 J. Whalley tr. Ptolemy Quadripartite ii. 73 When Mars is Ruler alone, He Generally causeth Destruction, Arising from Dryness.
1793 Astrologer's Mag. Nov. 125/1 The ascendant is afflicted by the opposition of Saturn, and the rulers of heat and moisture besieged by the infortunes.
1821 Ld. Byron Sardanapalus ii. i. 45 'Tis thy natal ruler—thy birth planet.
1886 A. B. Kingsford in ‘Astrol. Theologized’ 7 His programme certainly includes a description and definition of the province of each of the seven astral Rulers in turn.
1939 E. J. Panofsky Stud. Iconol. iii. 76 In the capacity of planetarian ruler, Saturn was held to be a peculiarly sinister character.
1979 Jet 8 Mar. 48 There is a very hidden and mysterious side to the Piscean nature and that is brought out by Uranus, ruler of your solar 12th house.
2002 N. Drury Dict. Esoteric 75/2 In astrology, when a planet is located in a certain house, the ruler of the sign on the cusp is known as the dispositor of that planet.
II. Senses relating to line or measurement.
3.
a. A straight-edged rectangle, square, or (formerly) cylinder of metal, wood, plastic, or some other material, typically marked at regular intervals and used to draw straight lines or measure distances. Cf. rule n.1 13a.gauging-, parallel, pica ruler, etc.: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > writing > writing materials > other writing equipment > [noun] > straight-edged strip guiding formation of lines
rulera1382
society > communication > representation > a plastic or graphic representation > graphic representation > drawing lines > [noun] > with ruler > ruler
reghel-stickOE
rule1340
rulera1382
the world > relative properties > measurement > measuring instrument > [noun] > for measuring length > graduated strip of wood, etc.
rule1340
ruler1530
measure1555
scale1607
foot-rule1662
two-foot rule1664
joint-rule1680
inch-rule1850
inch-measure1851
stationer's rule1866
contraction-rule1874
measure-strip1887
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1965) Wisd. xiii. 14 He graueth diligently..bi þe kunnyng of his craft..licne it to an ymage of man, or to sum of beestis; it he comparisowne þurȝdrawinge with a rewler [L. rubrica], & make þe colour of it with red & broun.
?c1400 in J. O. Halliwell Rara Mathematica (1839) 68 Biholde þe ende of þat oþer side þe ryver by a reulure vpon þe table And drawe a lyne by þe reulure on þe table.
a1500 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 682/35 Hoc regulare, a rewler.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 264/2 Ruler for a carpentar, niueau.
1551 R. Record Pathway to Knowl. i. 24 More easyly..may you fynde and make any suche line with a true ruler, layinge the edge of the ruler to the edge of the circle.
1635 G. Wither Coll. Emblemes 164 A Ruler or a square Or such like instruments, as usefull are In forming other things.
1656 H. Phillippes Purchasers Pattern (ed. 3) 138 Divide your Ruler first into Inches, and then each inch into 10 or 1000 parts.
1709 G. Berkeley Ess. New Theory of Vision §61. 67 Take an Inch mark'd upon a Ruler.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Glass To form the Thickness of a Glass, there are two iron Rulers, or Rims, placed a-round the Edge of the Table.
?1790 J. Imison Curious & Misc. Articles (new ed.) 17 in School of Arts (ed. 2) Their use is first to measure (by help of a scale of equal parts upon the edge of your ruler) your proportions.
1845 Encycl. Metrop. VIII. 663/1 Hammering out a bar of the best iron into the form of a flat ruler.
1893 H. Vizetelly Glances Back I. ii. 33 Pounding away at their knuckles with an ebony ruler.
1912 ‘C. F. Benton’ Fairs & Fetes 118 School-supplies also may find a place here—slates and pencils..pencil-boxes and rulers.
1941 P. Larkin Let. 31 Dec. in Sel. Lett. (1992) 30 The sound of an iron ruler twanging in a desk-lid.
2003 D. Levithan Boy meets Boy 64 She can draw a straight line without a ruler and fold a napkin in perfect symmetry.
b. Computing. A straight line in the graphical interface of a word processor, desktop publishing program, etc., typically used for marking out particular elements of a page layout or for measuring. More fully ruler line.
ΚΠ
1980 Seybold Rep. Word Processing June 10/2 By tapping code format format, a format scale or ruler ‘pops’ onto the screen... By moving along the scale and pressing certain keys, you can set both margins and..tab stops.
1981 W. A. Ettlin Wordstar made Easy ii. 12 You change margins by adjusting the length of the ruler line.
1992 Personal Computer World June 268/2 The opening screen is taken up mostly by a blank page, edged by rulers and scroll bars.
2001 Times (Nexis) 23 May The ruler under the toolbars in Microsoft Word can be handy now and then for things such as checking the positions of any tabs you have set.
2008 L. S. King Photoshop CS4: Missing Man. ii. 66 When you release your mouse button to let go of the ruler, Photoshop displays the measurement between the start and end points of the line.
4. A person employed to rule straight lines on paper. Cf. paper-ruler n. at paper n. and adj. Compounds 2. Now rare.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > tool > [noun]
toolc888
loomc900
ginc1300
instrumentc1392
machinamentc1425
work-loomc1425
oustil1477
mistera1525
appliance1565
device1570
utensil1604
conveniency1660
contrivance1667
ruler1692
machine1707
implements1767
dial1839
dog1859
1692 A. Wood Athenæ Oxonienses II. 692 One..who was originally a Ruler of Paper, and now a Scribler of books.
1699 A. Boyer Royal Dict. Regleur, a ruler of books.
1792 Gentleman's Mag. June 523/1 Richard Bloome, originally a ruler of paper, afterwards a kind of arms-painter.
1831 Q. Jrnl. Educ. 2 169 Its author is very superior to a mere ruler of copy-books, and a maker of delible ink.
1892 Facts Feb. 21/2 K.—is a first-class ruler. Has work in a well-equipped bindery, but work is not steady; served five years in one of the best ruling-shops in this country.
1915 Internat. Bookbinder Oct. 461/1 Leonard Kulow, an apprentice, just out of his time..is a ruler and forwarder.
1946 Oakland (Calif.) Tribune 14 Aug. 14/2 (advt.) Ruler, paper ruler wanted, permanent job.
5. Music. = register n.1 9a. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > keyboard instrument > organ > [noun] > register > types of
ruler1813
block-flute1852
1813 J. M. Good et al. Pantologia at Organ They are narrow rulers of mahogany, sliding in passages which they exactly fill, and through which all the vertical passages to the pipes are conducted.
1842 W. T. Brande Dict. Sci., Lit. & Art 856/1 The holes of each row [of organ pipes] are opened and shut by a register or ruler pierced with holes equal in number to the keys.
1904 Proc. Musical Assoc. 30th Sess. 45 Each ruler had bored through it a vertical perforation corresponding with the wind-passage for its pipe.
6. A prisoner, esp. a debtor, allowed to live within prison rules (rule n.1 6a). Also: a prisoner who has been granted a day rule (day rule n.). Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > prisoner > [noun] > privileged or having responsibilities
free-warder1595
ruler1733
wardsman1789
runner1830
trusty1849
tea man1877
red band1923
trustee1933
passman1965
1733 S. Wood Remarks on Fleet Prison 10 Being avaritious and inclin'd to promote his own Interest, by forcing as many as possible to become Tenants, or Rulers.
1820 F. MacDonogh Hermit in London IV. 122 Another class of men is what we call ‘rulers’. These are men who bear a dollar's worth of liberty in their pocket, namely a four and sixpenny day rule, under pretence of settling with their creditors, or of attending to their affairs.
1827 Guards III. ii. 36 Horace Villeroi was a Ruler, i. e. an out-door inhabitant of the Bench.
1851 Knight's Cycl. London xxix. 687 The old practice was for the ‘rulers’ to pay ten guineas for the first £100, and five guineas for each succeeding £100, for which they were in custody.
Phrases
ruler of the roast: see roast n. Phrases 2b.
Compounds
ruler cult n. historical the practice of worshipping a hereditary ruler as if divine; an instance of this; also in extended use.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > worship > kinds of worship > [noun] > of ruler
ruler cult1919
1919 L. M. Sweet Rom. Emperor Worship x. 123 The ruler was the embodiment and revelation on earth of the sun-god. This was the last and greatest victory of the ruler-cult.
1958 Times 15 Nov. 9/7 Revolutionary and critical times may produce the phenomenon we call ruler-cult.
1972 Classical Rev. 22 427/2 Habicht will always remain the definitive work on early Hellenistic ruler cults in the Greek cities.
2004 Classical Jrnl. 100 100 The Ptolemies depended on the availability of these equivalences in their less subtly Egyptianizing programs, such as ruler cult, royal sibling marriage, and the promotion of Serapis.
ruler joint n. now rare = rule joint n.
ΚΠ
1686 W. Molyneux Sciothericum Telescopicum iv. 12 The several parts of the Ruler-joynt..are represented all apart in Figures by themselves.
1832 United Service Jrnl. ii. 52 They [sc. the lances] are to have a joint, which is called a ruler joint.
1954 H. M. Cruickshank & K. Davis Cases in Managem. i. 2 The idea was to use carbide-tipped hammers in the machines used for riveting ruler joints together.
ruler-straight adj. and adv. (a) adj. as straight as a ruler; very straight; (b) adv. in a very straight manner.
ΚΠ
1906 W. T. Hornaday Camp-fires in Canad. Rockies iv. 42 In bad down timber, like that of lower Avalanche Creek, a trail takes a course..beside which chain lightning is ruler-straight.
1918 R. B. Ross Fifty-first in France v. 108 Those marvellous national highways, that take no account of contours, but run ruler-straight for miles.
1963 A. Lubbock Austral. Roundabout 14 The horizon meets the sky in a ruler-straight line.
2001 Guardian 26 May (Saturday section) 2/1 Close cropped, ruler-straight hedgerows.
2004 New Yorker 16 Feb. 116/1 Glittering buildings cropped ruler-straight at the bottom by the Hudson's dark waterline.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2011; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
† ruleradj.n.2
Christian Church. Obsolete.
A. adj.
1. Of scripture: canonical.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > aspects of faith > Bible, Scripture > text > canon > [adjective]
priestlyOE
canonialc1230
rulera1382
canonized1382
canonical?1555
canonic1634
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Prov. Prol. 2 Judith, and Tobie..redeth hem forsothe the chirche, but among the reuleer scripturis resceyueth not.
2. As postmodifier: = regular adj. 1a.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > church government > member of the clergy > [adjective]
rulerc1390
reverent1398
ruly?c1450
ecclesiasticala1538
ministerial1561
clerical1592
ecclesiastic1603
cleric1623
reverend1625
clergical1632
clergya1635
hieratical1656
churchmanlike1786
shovel-hatted1832
churchmanly1833
hieratic1866
c1390 (?c1350) St. Bernard l. 466 in C. Horstmann Sammlung Altengl. Legenden (1878) 49 (MED) A chanoun ruleer to him com And made to him a gret preyer, A monk þat he wolde him scher.
a1402 J. Trevisa tr. R. Fitzralph Defensio Curatorum (Harl.) (1925) 62 (MED) Monkes oþer chanons reulere..schulde bynyme hem þe priuyleges þat þei now haueþ.
B. n.2
= regular n. 1a.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > church government > monasticism > [noun]
cloisterer1340
religious1340
closterera1400
ruler1399
regular1443
professorc1500
votary1543
conventual1611
religionary1622
conventer1671
conversant1671
conventualist1762
religioner1808
1399 Rolls of Parl.: Henry IV (Electronic ed.) Parl. Oct. 1399 1st Roll §59. m. 17 For to say the wordes..the abbot of Glastenbury for abbotes and priours, and alle other men of holy chirche seculers and rewelers.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2011; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
rulerv.
/ˈruːlə/, U.S. /ˈrulər/ transitive. To beat or rap with a ruler, esp. as a punishment. Cf. cane v.1 1.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > corporal punishment > administer corporal punishment [verb (transitive)] > with ruler
ruler1849
1849 C. Dickens David Copperfield (1850) vii. 66 I think he was caned every day that half-year, except one holiday Monday when he was only ruler'd on both hands.
1894 N. Brooks Tales Maine Coast 22 Girls were not ‘rulered’ in that school.
1921 E. M. Robinson Enter Jerry xi. 147 He turned down the bedclothes and rulered that unfortunate youth on his flimsily covered behind.
1935 E. A. Robinson Coll. Poems (1937) 1412 ‘You might,’ said the prince, ‘Be rulered on both hands until they bled, And come again next day for more of it.’
2001 S. Black Stella does Hollywood ii. 35 That bloody governess should have pushed her over the desk and rulered her bottom for her.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2011; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1a1382
adj.n.2a1382
v.1849