roué

American  

[roo-ey, roo-ey] / ruˈeɪ, ˈru eɪ /

noun

1. a dissolute and licentious man; rake.

   Synonyms:

   rakehell, bounder, cad, lecher, libertine, profligate

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roué British  

/ ˈruːeɪ /

noun

1. a debauched or lecherous man; rake

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Etymology

Origin of roué

1790–1800; < French, noun use of past participle of rouer to break on the wheel (derivative of roue wheel ≪ Latin rota ); name first applied to the profligate companions of the Duc d'Orléans (c1720)

Explanation

You can describe a smooth-talking, no-good man as a roue. You could also call him a lady's man, a rake, or a Lothario. This one deserves a full etymology: it's French, a participle of rouer, "to break on the wheel," and it's also the name first applied to the profligate companions of the Duc d'Orléans. So in other words, a roue is a really bad dude. Roue is not common in conversation but that didn't stop Oscar Hammerstein from lyricizing it in "The Sound of Music:" "Eager young lads and roues and cads / Will offer you food and wine."

Example Sentences

Marseille, France, for its beautiful beaches and the Grande Roue de Marseille.

From New York Times • Jul. 7, 2021

A French physician at the hospital in N'Djamena, Dr. Jancovi Roue, said that only the wounded who appeared to have a good chance of surviving had been brought in.

From Time Magazine Archive

His name has even been spelled out on the tiles of the hit game show La Roue de la Fortune.

From Time Magazine Archive

The tradition of the late, famed schooner Bluenose* is perpetuated in a class of pleasure craft designed by William J. Roue and now being built in four Nova Scotia yards.

From Time Magazine Archive

There was, indeed, at that time a French captain named La Roue, who played high stakes, up to six thousand crowns, which was then deemed exorbitant.

From The Gaming Table: Its Votaries and Victims Volume I (of II) by Steinmetz, Andrew

Related Words

• seducer