ruble

or rou·ble

[roo-buh l]

noun

a silver or copper-alloy coin and monetary unit of Russia, the Soviet Union, and its successor states, equal to 100 kopecks.

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for ruble

Contemporary Examples of ruble

For days, the ruble has been falling and salaries shrinking; shoppers have rushed to snap up TV sets and washing machines.
After His Disastrous Annual Press Conference, Putin Needs A Hug
Anna Nemtsova
December 18, 2014
In a humiliating turn of events, the ruble has lost about half its value against the dollar so far this year.
Putin Can’t Bully or Bomb a Recession
Daniel Gross
December 16, 2014
His oft-neglected wife Zinaida outlived him by six years, but she “never saw a ruble” of the money generated by his success.
Why the CIA Loved ‘Doctor Zhivago’
Kevin Canfield
June 26, 2014
When money leaves, turning rubles into dollars, Euros, and everything else, that puts pressure on the ruble.
Flex Muscle Spending Has Left Putin’s Russia in an Economic Freeze Frame
Daniel Gross
April 11, 2014
Since Putin began flexing his muscles in the Crimea last fall, the ruble has lost 10 percent of its value against the dollar.
Flex Muscle Spending Has Left Putin’s Russia in an Economic Freeze Frame
Daniel Gross
April 11, 2014

Historical Examples of ruble

What his shield is to the soldier in battle, that was the ruble to the Jew in the Pale.
The Promised Land
Mary Antin
He walked swiftly away, but he dropped a ruble into Anna's hand as he passed her by.
Americans All
Various
You pay one ruble (fifty cents) for blankets, sheets and towels.
Through Scandinavia to Moscow
William Seymour Edwards
Take the tree you have felled to the manor-house and pay up a fine of one ruble.
A Family of Noblemen
Mikhal Saltykov
I would have given them half a ruble each, it's not the money I mind, but fancy bargaining with me!
Yiddish Tales
Various

British Dictionary definitions for ruble

ruble

noun

a variant spelling of rouble

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

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.)).