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

None of this has prepared him to play a pre-revolutionary roué, he said.

From New York Times • Sep. 20, 2016

Dire moves to curtail Pyros’s activity may be unnecessary, some specialists say, because there are signs the shaggy roué has lost a step.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2016

A libertine history and the look of a roué gone to seed would not in themselves preclude the support of evangelical Christians, who are, after all, keen on repentance.

From Economist • Mar. 3, 2016

In 1985, Mr. Jourdan toured nationally in a popular but critically drubbed stage version of “Gigi,” this time as the aging roué portrayed onscreen by Chevalier.

From Washington Post • Feb. 16, 2015

The word roué was stamped on his every feature.

From Jolly Sally Pendleton Or, the Wife Who Was Not a Wife by Libbey, Laura Jean