ruble
or rou·ble
[roo-buh l]
- a silver or copper-alloy coin and monetary unit of Russia, the Soviet Union, and its successor states, equal to 100 kopecks.
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Origin of ruble
1545–55; < Russian rubl'; Old Russian rublĭ literally, stump, plug, derivative of rubiti to chop; probably orig. denoting a piece cut from a silver bar, or a bar notched for division into smaller pieces
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for ruble
Contemporary Examples
For days, the ruble has been falling and salaries shrinking; shoppers have rushed to snap up TV sets and washing machines.
In a humiliating turn of events, the ruble has lost about half its value against the dollar so far this year.
His oft-neglected wife Zinaida outlived him by six years, but she “never saw a ruble” of the money generated by his success.
When money leaves, turning rubles into dollars, Euros, and everything else, that puts pressure on the ruble.
Since Putin began flexing his muscles in the Crimea last fall, the ruble has lost 10 percent of its value against the dollar.
Historical Examples
What his shield is to the soldier in battle, that was the ruble to the Jew in the Pale.
The Promised LandMary Antin
He walked swiftly away, but he dropped a ruble into Anna's hand as he passed her by.
Americans AllVarious
You pay one ruble (fifty cents) for blankets, sheets and towels.
Through Scandinavia to MoscowWilliam Seymour Edwards
Take the tree you have felled to the manor-house and pay up a fine of one ruble.
A Family of NoblemenMikhal Saltykov
I would have given them half a ruble each, it's not the money I mind, but fancy bargaining with me!
Yiddish TalesVarious
ruble
- a variant spelling of rouble
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for ruble
n.
unit of the Russian monetary system, 1550s, via French rouble, from Russian rubl', perhaps from Old Russian rubiti "to chop, cut, hew," so called because the original metallic currency of Russia (14c.) consisted of silver bars, from which the necessary amount was cut off; from Proto-Slavic *rub-, from PIE root *reub-, *reup- "to snatch" (see rip (v.)).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper