rue
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rue¹
- /ɹuː/ UK
- /ɹʉw/ British, Southern, Standard
- /ɹu/ US
- /ɹʉw/ Australia, New Zealand
- /ɾɪʊ/ Wales
- /ɾʉ/ Scotland
- /ɻʉ/ Northern Ireland
Sounds like roo, roux (both yod-dropping) · Rhymes with -uː
Where it comes from
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.
noun rewe
-
Sorrow; repentance; regret.
When I was one-and-twenty I heard him say again, / "The heart out of the bosom was never given in vain; / 'Tis paid with sighs aplenty and sold for endless rue." / And I am two-and-twenty, and oh, 'tis true, 'tis true.
Similar: contrition, misery, unhappiness, blueness, tristesse, mirthlessness, blues, crestfallenness, dejection, depression, despondency, distress
-
Pity; compassion.
Similar: ruth, sympathy, bowels, commiseration, compassion, empathy, fellow feeling, mercy, pity, remorse, rue, tenderheartedness
rue²
- /ɹuː/ UK
- /ɹʉw/ British, Southern, Standard
- /ɹu/ US
- /ɹʉw/ Australia, New Zealand
- /ɾɪʊ/ Wales
- /ɾʉ/ Scotland
- /ɻʉ/ Northern Ireland
Sounds like roo, roux (both yod-dropping) · Rhymes with -uː
Where it comes from
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”).
verb rues · ruing · rueing · rued · rewe
-
To repent of or regret (some past action or event); to wish that a past action or event had not taken place.
to rue the day
Similar: afterthink, deprecate, regret, repent
-
To cause to repent of sin or regret some past action.
Similar: forthink, put the fear of God into, think over
-
To cause to feel sorrow or pity.
Similar: deject, depress, aggrieve, attrist, begloom, begrieve, besorrow, grieve, pain, bring down, come down on, contristate
-
To feel compassion or pity; to take pity (on), to have compassion (on).
[…] till our Lord's clouds rue upon the earth, and send down a watring of rain: Truly , I think Christ's misty dew a welcome message from heaven, till my Lord's rain fall : […]
Similar: commiserate, compassionate, feel sorry for, mercify, compassion, condole, feel someone's pain, pity, rue, take pity
-
To feel sorrow or regret.
Old year, we'll dearly rue for you.
Similar: grieve, mourn, aggrieve, besorrow, condole, darken, engrieve, erme, gloom, grieven, bleed, lament
rue³
- /ɹuː/ UK
- /ɹʉw/ British, Southern, Standard
- /ɹu/ US
- /ɹʉw/ Australia, New Zealand
- /ɾɪʊ/ Wales
- /ɾʉ/ Scotland
- /ɻʉ/ Northern Ireland
Sounds like roo, roux (both yod-dropping) · Rhymes with -uː
Where it comes from
From Middle English rue, from Anglo-Norman ruwe, Old French rue, from Latin rūta, from Ancient Greek ῥυτή (rhutḗ).
noun rues · rewe
- Any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta, especially the herb Ruta graveolens (common rue), formerly used in medicines. But th'aged Nourse, her calling to her bowre, / Had gathered Rew, and Savine, and the flowre / Of Camphora, and Calamint, and Dill [...].
Rue⁴
proper noun Rues
- A surname.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: repent, regret, ruta graveolens, ure, haute, neighborhood, suite, homeless, corner, lorette, turn-off, lament, thoroughfare, alley, street, avenue
Translations
Every language
noun repentance, regret
| Português | arrependimento |
|---|---|
| Română | regret |
| Русский | сожале́ние sožalénije |
noun pity, compassion
| Português | compaixão |
|---|---|
| Română | compasiune |
| Русский | сострада́ние sostradánije |
Talk about this word "rue." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/rue. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. rue. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/rue "rue." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/rue.Cite this
@misc{rue_2026,
title = {rue},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/rue},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
