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

And there is a reason Britain’s staid Economist magazine refers to Trump’s “look of a roué gone to seed.”

From Washington Post • Jun. 22, 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

But even after the success of “A Night to Remember” Rank decided not to support his pet project, an adaptation of “Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, ”Alan Sillitoe’s harsh novel about a working-class roué.

From New York Times • Oct. 8, 2010

Mr. Clarkson, a wealthy American man of business, a Californian, has just received a note from the Duke of Septmonts, a blasé young roué of high family, requesting him to call at once.

From Library of the World's Best literature, Ancient and Modern, Vol. 12 by Various