rouge

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rouge¹

  • /ˈɹuːʒ/
  • [ˈɹʷʊu̯ʒ]

Rhymes with -uːʒ

Where it comes from

Borrowed from French rouge, from Latin rubeus. Compare rare Middle English rouge, rouȝ (“red”); later borrowed again, as it is not attested until c. 1750. The game senses are of unknown origin according to the Oxford English Dictionary.

adjective more rouge · most rouge · rogue

  1. Of a reddish pink colour.

noun rouges · rogue

  1. countable, uncountable Red or pink makeup to add colour to the cheeks; blusher. Before we could embark on the details of his mother's health we were joined by a fair, plump woman of indefinite age, who had once been—and at moments still was—very pretty. She wore a simple black silk dress, perhaps in deference to Tilly's death, though the note of mourning was jarred by flamboyan

    Similar: blush

  2. countable, uncountable Any reddish pink colour.
  3. Canadian, countable, uncountable A single point awarded when a team kicks the ball out of its opponent's end zone, or when a kicked ball becomes dead within the non-kicking team's end zone. Etymology uncertain; it is thought that in the early years of the sport, a red flag indicated that a single had been scored.

    Similar: single

  4. countable, obsolete, uncountable In the Eton wall game, a scrummage, melée. [A] wall [...] against which all those formidable "rouges" (as they are most underivably called) take place; in which above twenty players contend, kicking each others' shins nearly as often as the ball
  5. countable, uncountable In the Eton College field game, a scoring move accomplished by touching the ball down behind the opponents' goal-line (somewhat similar to the try in rugby). Originally, the player who scored the rouge had a chance to kick a goal, and the rouge was used as a tie-breaker if an equal number of goals was scored by each side. In the contemporary Eton College field game, a five-point score is awarded for kicking the ball so that it deflects off one of the opposing players and goes beyond the opposition's end of the pitch, and then touching the ball. The 7 got 1 "gaol" and 1 "ruge"; the 11 got 1 "gaol" and 4 "ruges"
  6. countable, obsolete, uncountable From 1862 to 1868, a similar scoring move in Sheffield rules football. From 1862 to 1867, accomplished by touching the ball down after it had been kicked between two "rouge flags" either side of the goal. From 1867-1868, awarded for kicking the ball between the rouge flags and under the crossbar. A rouge is obtained by the player who first touches the ball after it has been kicked between the rouge flags
  7. archaic, countable, uncountable A red amorphous powder consisting of ferric oxide, used in polishing and as a cosmetic; crocus; jeweller's rouge.

verb rouges · rouging · rouged · rogue

  1. ambitransitive To apply rouge (makeup). She rouged her face before setting out for the party.

Rouge²

Where it comes from

Borrowed from French Rouge.

proper noun

  1. A neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
  2. A surname from French.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: blusher, paint, red, redness, flushed, lipstick, cosmetic, sockeye, bluefin, carp, baton, morne, foul, noir, disguise, commie

Translations

Every language

noun color

DeutschRouge, Rosarot
Русскийрумя́на rumjána

verb apply rouge

Românăfarda
Русскийрумя́нить rumjánitʹ, нарумя́нить pf transitive narumjánitʹ, румя́ниться rumjánitʹsja, нарумя́ниться pf intransitive narumjánitʹsja

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MLA

"rouge." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/rouge. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

rouge. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/rouge

Chicago

"rouge." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/rouge.

BibTeX
@misc{rouge_2026,
  title = {rouge},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/rouge},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}