Meaning and Origin
What does the name Rue mean? Keep reading to find the user submitted meanings, dictionary definitions, and more.
User Submitted Origins
User Submitted Meanings
- 2 submissions from Virginia, U.S. agree the name Rue means "Bird songs and flowers" and is of African origin.
- According to a user from South Carolina, U.S., the name Rue means "Bird songs and flowers' and is of African origin".
- According to a user from Australia, the name Rue means "Song & flowers".
- [Bot] A perennial suffrutescent plant (Ruta graveolens), having a strong, heavy odor and a bitter taste; herb of grace. It is used in medicine."Then purged with euphrasy and rue The visual nerve, for he had much to see." [Milton.]"They [the exorcists] are to try the devil by holy water, incense, sulphur, rue, which from thence, as we suppose, came to be called herb of grace." [Jer. Taylor.]
- Fig.: Bitterness; disappointment; grief; regret.
Etymology: F. rue, L. ruta, akin to Gr. �; cf. AS. r�de
- To lament; to regret extremely; to grieve for or over."I wept to see, and rued it from my heart." [Chapmen.]"Thy will Chose freely what it now so justly rues." [Milton.]
- To cause to grieve; to afflict.(Obs)"God wot, it ruethme." [Chaucer.]
- To repent of, and withdraw from, as a bargain; to get released from.(Prov. Eng)
Etymology: OE. rewen reouwen, to grive, make sorry, AS. hreówan; akin to OS. hrewan, D. rouwen, OHG. hriuwan, G. reun, Icel. hruggr grieved, hrugð sorrow. √ 18. Cf. Ruth
- To have compassion.(Obs)"God so wisly [i. e., truly] on my soul rue." [Chaucer.]"Which stirred men's hearts to rue upon them." [Ridley.]
- To feel sorrow and regret; to repent."Work by counsel and thou shalt not rue." [Chaucer.]"Old year, we'll dearly rue for you." [Tennyson.]
Etymology: AS. hreów. See Rue (v. t.)
- (French) a street or road in France
- Sadness associated with some wrong done or some disappointment ("to his rue, the error cost him the game")
- Leaves sometimes used for flavoring fruit or claret cup but should be used with great caution: can cause irritation like poison ivy
- European strong-scented perennial herb with grey-green bitter-tasting leaves; an irritant similar to poison ivy
- Feel remorse for; feel sorry for; be contrite about
From Middle English rewe, reowe, from Old English hrēow (“sorrow, regret, penitence, repentance, penance”), from Proto-Germanic *hrewwō (“pain, sadness, regret, repentance”), from Proto-Indo-European *krew-, *krow-, *krows- (“to push, fall, beat, break”). Cognate with Scots rew (“rue”), West Frisian rouw (“sadness”), Dutch rouw (“mourning, sadness”), German Reue (“repentance, regret, remorse, contrition”), Lithuanian krùšti (“to smash, crash, bruise”), Russian крушить (krušitʹ, “crush”).
- (archaic or dialectal) Sorrow; repentance; regret.
- (archaic or dialectal) Pity; compassion.
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”). Cognate with Dutch rouwen, German reuen.
- Any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta, especially the herb Ruta graveolens (common rue), formerly used in medicines.
From Middle English rue, from Anglo-Norman ruwe, Old French rue (> modern French rue), from Latin rūta, from Ancient Greek ῥυτή (rhutḗ). Compare rude.
- Any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta, especially the herb Ruta graveolens (common rue), formerly used in medicines.
rue was also found in the following language(s): Chuukese, French, Kabuverdianu, Latin, Middle English, Norman, Norwegian Nynorsk, Old French, and Venetian