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definitions

rue

1
[roo]
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verb (used with object), rued, ru·ing.

to feel sorrow over; repent of; regret bitterly: to rue the loss of opportunities.
to wish that (something) had never been done, taken place, etc.: I rue the day he was born.

verb (used without object), rued, ru·ing.

to feel sorrow, repentance, or regret.

noun

sorrow; repentance; regret.
pity or compassion.

Origin of rue

1
before 900; (v.) Middle English ruen, rewen, Old English hrēowan; cognate with Dutch rouwen, German reuen; (noun) Middle English rewe, reowe, Old English hrēow; cognate with Dutch rouw, German Reue; cf. ruth
Related formsru·er, nounun·rued, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for ruing

mourn, deplore, grieve, lament, apologize

Examples from the Web for ruing

Historical Examples of ruing

  • All she there told him, ruing death for friend so young, algate sore unwilling God's rightwiseness to withsay.

    Ulysses

    James Joyce

  • And who was this inhuman being calling God's property his own, and ruing it as he would not have dared to use a beast?

    The Anti-Slavery Examiner, Part 3 of 4

    American Anti-Slavery Society

British Dictionary definitions for ruing

rue

1

verb rues, ruing or rued

to feel sorrow, remorse, or regret for (one's own wrongdoing, past events with unpleasant consequences, etc)

noun

archaic sorrow, pity, or regret
Derived Formsruer, noun

Word Origin for rue

Old English hrēowan; related to Old Saxon hreuwan, Old High German hriuwan

rue

2

noun

any rutaceous plant of the genus Ruta, esp R. graveolens, an aromatic Eurasian shrub with small yellow flowers and evergreen leaves which yield an acrid volatile oil, formerly used medicinally as a narcotic and stimulantArchaic name: herb of grace Compare goat's-rue, meadow rue, wall rue

Word Origin for rue

C14: from Old French, from Latin rūta, from Greek rhutē
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 ruing

rue

v.

"feel regret," Old English hreowan "make sorry, distress, grieve" (class II strong verb; past tense hreaw, past participle hrowen), from Proto-Germanic *khrewanan (cf. Old Frisian riowa, Middle Dutch rouwen, Old Dutch hrewan, German reuen "to sadden, cause repentance"); in part, blended with Old English weak verb hreowian "feel pain or sorrow," and perhaps influenced by Old Norse hryggja "make sad," both from Proto-Germanic *khruwjanan, all from PIE root *kreue- (2) "to push, strike" (see anacrusis). Related: Rued; ruing.

rue

n.1

perennial evergreen shrub, late 14c., from Old French rue (13c.), earlier rude, from Latin ruta "rue," probably from Greek rhyte, of uncertain etymology, originally a Peloponnesian word. The bitter taste of its leaves led to many punning allusions to rue (n.2.).

rue

n.2

"sorrow, repentance," Old English hreow "grief, repentance, sorrow, regret, penitence," common Germanic (cf. Frisian rou, Middle Dutch rou, Dutch rouw, Old High German (h)riuwa, German reue), related to the root of rue (v.).

rue

n.3

French for "street," from Vulgar Latin *ruga (cf. Old Italian ruga), properly "a furrow," then in Medieval Latin "a path, street" (see rough (adj.)).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper