ruth
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also Ruth
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English [edit]
Etymology [edit]
Middle English ruthe, reowthe, corresponding to rue + -th, perhaps after early Scandinavian (compare Old Norse hrygð, hryggð (“ruth, sorrow”)). Compare rue.
Pronunciation [edit]
Noun [edit]
ruth (uncountable)
- (archaic) Sorrow for the misery of another; pity, compassion; mercy. [from 13th c.]
- 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essays, II.11:
- It was my fortune to be at Rome, upon a day that one Catena, a notorious high-way theefe, was executed: at his strangling no man of the companie seemed to be mooved to any ruth [...].
- 1847, Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre, Chapter IV, 1859, New York, Harper & Brothers, page 14:
- under her light eyebrows glimmered an eye devoid of ruth [...].
- 2011, Turisas (Mathias Nygård), "Hunting Pirates"
- Scum they are! —Foe of mankind!
- Clear the sea! —Show no ruth!
- 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essays, II.11:
- (now rare) Repentance; regret; remorse. [from 13th c.]
- 1896, A. E. Housman, A Shropshire Lad, XLIV, 2005, The Works of A. E. Housman [1994, The Collected Poems of A. E. Housman], page 61,
- Now to your grave shall friend and stranger / With ruth and some with envy come [...].
- 1896, A. E. Housman, A Shropshire Lad, XLIV, 2005, The Works of A. E. Housman [1994, The Collected Poems of A. E. Housman], page 61,
- (obsolete) Sorrow; misery; distress. [13th-17th c.]
- (obsolete) Something which causes regret or sorrow; a pitiful sight. [13th-17th c.]
