name
Meaning 1
A surname.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
rue
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
-
Received-Pronunciation: /ɹuː/
-
British, Southern, Standard: /ɹʉw/
-
Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
-
General-American: /ɹu/
-
Australia, New-Zealand: /ɹʉw/
-
Wales: /ɾɪʊ/
-
Scotland: /ɾʉ/
-
Northern-Ireland: /ɻʉ/
-
rhymes with -uː
-
homophone: roo
-
homophone: roux (both yod-dropping)
-
CMU ARPABET: R UW1 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
noun
Meaning 2
Sorrow; repentance; regret.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: archaic, dialectal, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: contrition, misery, unhappiness, blueness, tristesse, mirthless, blues, crestfallenness, dejection, depression, despondency, distress, dolefulness, downheartedness, drearihead, forlornness, grief, heartsore, ill-being, infelicity, melancholia, melancholy, mishappiness, mourn, prosternation, regret, rue, ruth, sadness, sorrow, sorrowfulness, tristfulness, undelight, woe, woefare, wretchedness, agenbite, remorse, compunction, guilt, penitence, repentance, self-reproach, sorriness
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 3
Pity; compassion.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: archaic, dialectal, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: ruth, sympathy, bowels, commiseration, compassion, empathy, fellow feeling, mercy, pity, remorse, rue, tenderheartedness, loving-kindness
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 4
Any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta, especially the herb Ruta graveolens (common rue), formerly used in medicines.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 5
To repent of or regret (some past action or event); to wish that a past action or event had not taken place.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
Examples
- to rue the day
- I rued the day I crossed paths with her.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: afterthink, deprecate, regret, repent
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 6
To cause to repent of sin or regret some past action.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: obsolete, transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: forthink, put the fear of God into, think over
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 7
To cause to feel sorrow or pity.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: obsolete, transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: deject, depress, aggrieve, attrist, begloom, begrieve, besorrow, grieve, pain, bring down, come down on, contristate, darken, dash, desolate, dispirit, engrieve, forset, get down, grieven, moan, oppress, repent, rue, sadden, sadden up, tristitiate, ungladden, unhappy, upset
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 8
To feel compassion or pity; to take pity (on), to have compassion (on).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: archaic, intransitive, obsolete
Qualifier: often with on or upon
Examples
- 1842, Nicholas Ridley, The Life of Nicholas Ridley which stirred men's hearts to rue upon them
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: commiserate, compassionate, feel sorry for, mercify, compassion, condole, feel someone's pain, pity, rue, take pity
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 9
To feel sorrow or regret.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: archaic, intransitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: grieve, mourn, aggrieve, besorrow, condole, darken, engrieve, erme, gloom, grieven, bleed, lament, moan, remorse, repent, regret, rue, sigh, sorrow, wayment, yearn
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 10
(French) a street or road in France
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: street
noun
Meaning 11
sadness associated with some wrong done or some disappointment
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- he drank to drown his sorrows
- he wrote a note expressing his regret
- to his rue, the error cost him the game
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: sorrow, regret, ruefulness
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: sadness, unhappiness
Narrower terms: attrition, contrition, contriteness, compunction, remorse, self-reproach
noun
Meaning 12
leaves sometimes used for flavoring fruit or claret cup but should be used with great caution: can cause irritation like poison ivy
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: herb
noun
Meaning 13
European strong-scented perennial herb with grey-green bitter-tasting leaves; an irritant similar to poison ivy
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: herb of grace, Ruta graveolens
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: herb, herbaceous plant
verb
Meaning 14
feel remorse for; feel sorry for; be contrite about
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: repent, regret
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: feel, experience
History
Etymology
From Middle English rewe, reowe, from Old English hrēow (“sorrow, regret, penitence, repentance, penance”), from Proto-West Germanic *hreuwu (“pain, sadness, regret, repentance”). Cognates include German reuen (“to regret, to repent”) and Dutch rouwen (“to mourn, to grieve”). Probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *krows-. If so, note the same sense evolution with in this case cognate Russian круши́ть (krušítʹ, “to destroy, to shatter”), Russian сокруша́ться (sokrušátʹsja, “to be distressed, to grieve (for, over)”). Also compare Czech truchlit from Proto-Slavic *truxlъ.
From Middle English rue, from Anglo-Norman ruwe, Old French rue, from Latin rūta, from Ancient Greek ῥυτή (rhutḗ).
From Middle English rewen, ruwen, ruen, reowen, from Old English hrēowan (“to rue; make sorry; grieve”), perhaps influenced by Old Norse hryggja (“to distress, grieve”), from Proto-Germanic *hrewwaną (“to sadden; repent”).
Across languages
Translations
96 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Bulgarian: разкаяние (razkajanie) — repentance, regret
- Bulgarian: съжаление (sǎžalenie) — repentance, regret
- Catalan: penediment — repentance, regret
- Czech: lítost — repentance, regret
- Danish: anger — repentance, regret
- Dutch: spijt — repentance, regret
- Finnish: katumus — repentance, regret
- Portuguese: arrependimento — repentance, regret
- Romanian: regret — repentance, regret
- Russian: сожале́ние (sožalénije) — repentance, regret
- Swedish: ruelse — repentance, regret
- Ukrainian: жаль (žal') — repentance, regret
- Bulgarian: състрадание (sǎstradanie) — pity, compassion
- Bulgarian: жалост (žalost) — pity, compassion
- Catalan: compassió — pity, compassion
- Catalan: pietat — pity, compassion
- Danish: medlidenhed — pity, compassion
- Finnish: sääli — pity, compassion
- Portuguese: compaixão — pity, compassion
- Romanian: compasiune — pity, compassion
- Russian: сострада́ние (sostradánije) — pity, compassion
- Arabic: سُذَاب (suḏāb) — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Arabic: فَيْجَن (fayjan) — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Arabic: حَزَاء (ḥazāʔ) — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Aramaic: ܦܝܓܢܐ (peygānā) — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Aramaic: ܣܕܒ (/*səḏāḇ/) — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Aramaic: פיגנא (peygānā) — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Armenian: փեգենա (pʻegena) — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Armenian: սատապ (satap) — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Armenian: սպանդ (spand) — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Belarusian: ру́та (rúta) — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Bulgarian: седефче (sedefče) — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Catalan: ruda — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Czech: routa — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Dalmatian: roita — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Danish: rude — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Dutch: ruit — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Esperanto: ruto — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Estonian: ruud — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Finnish: ruuta — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- French: rue — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Friulian: rude — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Galician: ruda — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Galician: ruda cabreira — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Old Georgian: ტეგანი (ṭegani) — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- German: Raute — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Greek: απήγανος (apíganos) — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Ancient Greek: πήγανον (pḗganon) — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Ancient Greek: ῥυτή (rhutḗ) — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Hebrew: פְּיגָם — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Hungarian: ruta — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Icelandic: rúturunni — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Italian: ruta — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Japanese: ヘンルーダ (henrūda) — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Japanese: 芸香 (unkō) — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Latin: ruta — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Lithuanian: rūta — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Norwegian: vinrute — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Persian: سداب (sodâb) — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Polish: ruta — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Portuguese: arruda — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Romanian: virnanț — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Romanian: rută — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Russian: ру́та (rúta) — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Serbo-Croatian: рутвица — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Serbo-Croatian: rutvica — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Spanish: ruda — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Swedish: ruta — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Tagalog: ruda — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Tagalog: dora — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Turkish: sedef otu — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Ottoman Turkish: سدف اوتی (sedef otu) — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Ottoman Turkish: اوزرلك (üzerlik) — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Ukrainian: ру́та (rúta) — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Venetan: ruda — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Venetan: rua — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Vietnamese: cây vân hương — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Volapük: rutadaplan — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Welsh: rhuw — any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta
- Bulgarian: разкайвам се (razkajvam se) — to repent or regret a past action or event
- Bulgarian: съжалявам (sǎžaljavam) — to repent or regret a past action or event
- Chinese Mandarin: 懊悔 (àohuǐ) — to repent or regret a past action or event
- Czech: litovat — to repent or regret a past action or event
- Czech: želet — to repent or regret a past action or event
- Dutch: berouwen — to repent or regret a past action or event
- Finnish: katua — to repent or regret a past action or event
- French: regretter — to repent or regret a past action or event
- Galician: lamentar — to repent or regret a past action or event
- German: bereuen — to repent or regret a past action or event
- Greek: μετανιώνω (metanióno) — to repent or regret a past action or event
- Korean: 후회(後悔)하다 (huhoehada) — to repent or regret a past action or event
- Māori: kōhau — to repent or regret a past action or event
- Old English: hrēowan — to repent or regret a past action or event
- Portuguese: arrepender — to repent or regret a past action or event
- Russian: сожале́ть (sožalétʹ) — to repent or regret a past action or event
- Ukrainian: жалкувати (žalkuvaty) — to repent or regret a past action or event