rouse

See also: Rouse and rouše

English

WOTD – 11 August 2026

Etymology 1

The verb is derived from Late Middle English rousen (“of a hawk: to shake its feathers”);^[1] further etymology unknown. Because many terms of French origin are used in falconry, it has been assumed that the Middle English word is derived from Anglo-Norman or French; however, no satisfactory etymon has been found. The following words have been suggested, but are thought by the Oxford English Dictionary to be unlikely due to the differences in meaning:^[2]

Anglo-Norman rëuser, roser, ruser, russer,^[3] Middle French ruser, and Old French rëuser (“to drive back, repulse”) (modern French ruser).
An Old Norse word from which Danish ruse (“to hurry, rush”) and Swedish rusa (“to hurry, rush”) are derived.

Compare row (“quarrel”), possibly related to or derived from this word.

The noun is derived from the verb.^[4]

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /ɹaʊz/
Audio (General American): (file)
Audio (Australia): (file)
Homophone: rows (noisy arguments)
Rhymes: -aʊz

Verb

rouse (third-person singular simple present rouses, present participle rousing, simple past and past participle roused)

(transitive)
1. To cause (something) to be (more) active or to move; to agitate, to stir up.
  - 1582, “The Second Booke of Virgil His Æneis”, in Richard Stanyhurst, transl., The First Foure Bookes of Virgils Æneis, […], London: […] Henrie Bynneman […], published 1583, →OCLC, page 27:
    Thee water is rowſed, they [two serpents] do friſke with floũce [flounce] to yͤ ſhoare ward, / Thee land with ſtaring eyes bluddy and firie beholding: […]
  - 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto I”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 62, page 408:
    And the vvhole family, therevvith adredd, / Raſhly out of their rouzed couches ſprong, / And to the troubled chamber all in armes did throng.
    An adjective use.
  - 1667, John Milton, “Book II”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC, signature E2, verso, lines 284–287:
    He ſcarce had finiſht, vvhen ſuch murmur filld / Th' Aſſembly, as vvhen hollovv Rocks retain / The ſound of bluſtring vvinds, vvhich all night long / Had rous'd the Sea, […]
  - 1785 September 17 (date written), Robert Burns, “To the Rev. John M‘Math, Enclosing a Copy of Holy Willie’s Prayer, which He had Requested”, in Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect, volume III (Posthumous Poems), Kilmarnock, Scotland: […] James M‘Kie, →OCLC, stanza 2, page 191:
    Leſt they ſhou'd blame her, / An' rouſe their holy thunder on it / And anathem her.
  1. To stir (a liquid, especially (brewing) beer in the brewing process).
3. To provoke (someone) to react (for example, in anger or annoyance); to spur; also, to annoy, to tease.
  Synonyms: inflame, set off; see also Thesaurus:enrage, Thesaurus:incite
  - 1599 (date written), [William Shakespeare], The Cronicle History of Henry the Fift, […] (First Quarto), London: […] Thomas Creede, for Tho[mas] Millington, and Iohn Busby […], published 1600, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii], signature E2, recto:
    This day is called the day of Cryſpin, / He that outliues this day, and ſees old age, / Shall ſtand a tiptoe vvhen this day is named, / And rovvſe him at the name of Cryſpin.
  - 1709 April 25 (Gregorian calendar), Isaac Bickerstaff [et al., pseudonyms; Richard Steele], “Thursday, April 14, 1709”, in The Tatler, number 2; republished in [Richard Steele], editor, The Tatler, […], London stereotype edition, volume I, London: I. Walker and Co.; […], 1822, →OCLC, page 11:
    The emperor is roused by this alarm, and the frontiers of all the French dominions are in danger of being insulted [in] the ensuing campaign.
    Spelled rouzed in the 1st edition.
  - 1715, Homer, “Book II”, in Alexander Pope, transl., The Iliad of Homer, volume I, London: […] W[illiam] Bowyer, for Bernard Lintott […], →OCLC, page 5, lines 93–94:
    Novv, valiant Chiefs! ſince Heav'n itſelf alarms, / Unite, and rouze the Sons of Greece to Arms.
  - 1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], “The Humours and Dispositions of the Laputians Described. […]”, in Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], volume II, London: […] Benj[amin] Motte, […], →OCLC, part III (A Voyage to Laputa, Balnibarbi, Glubbdubdribb, Luggnagg, and Japan), pages 16–17:
    It ſeems, the Minds of theſe People are ſo taken up vvith intenſe Speculations, that they neither can ſpeak, nor attend to the Diſcourſes of others, vvithout being rouzed by ſome external Taction upon the Organs of Speech and Hearing; […]
  - 1817 (date written), [Jane Austen], chapter XII, in Persuasion; published in Northanger Abbey: And Persuasion. […], volume III, London: John Murray, […], 20 December 1817 (indicated as 1818), →OCLC, pages 262–263:
    "A surgeon!" said Anne. / He caught the word; it seemed to rouse him at once, and saying only—"True, true, a surgeon this instant," was darting away, when Anne eagerly suggested, / "Captain Benwick, would not it be better for Captain Benwick? He knows where a surgeon is to be found."
  - 1926 January, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, “Casa de la Cuentas”, in The Plumed Serpent (Quetzalcoatl), London: Martin Secker […], →OCLC, page 155:
    She [Juana] saw hardly anything of them, and was often completely unaware of what Ezequiel was doing, where he was working, or at what. […] [I]f she thought he were ill, a black sort of fatalistic fear came over her. But Kate had to rouse her into getting some simple medicine.
  - 1930, Winston S[pencer] Churchill, “I Leave the Army”, in My Early Life: A Roving Commission, London: Thornton Butterworth […], published October 1930, →OCLC, page 216:
    Indeed although I seemed to start with all the advantages, I soon felt like going out into St. James's Street or Piccadilly and setting up without more ado a barricade and rousing a mob to defend freedom, justice and democracy.
  - 1980 October 27, J[ohn] M[axwell] Coetzee, chapter IV, in Waiting for the Barbarians, Harmondsworth, Middlesex [London]: Penguin Books, published 1986, →ISBN, page 108:
    The words they stopped me from uttering may have been very paltry indeed, hardly words to rouse the rabble.
4. Originally chiefly followed by up: to cause (an emotional reaction, a feeling, etc.); to excite, to incite, to stir up.
  Synonyms: galvanize, inflame, stoke; see also Thesaurus:thrill
  
  to rouse the emotions or passions
  - 1637 June 24 (date delivered; Gregorian calendar), Peter Heylyn, “The Conclusion”, in A Briefe and Moderate Answer, to the Seditious and Scandalous Challenges of Henry Burton, […], London: […] Ric[hard] Hodgkinsonne; and are to be sold by Daniel Frere, […], published 1637, →OCLC, page 184:
    [Y]ou call upon the nobles to rovvze vp their noble Chriſtian zeale and magnanimous courage; […]
  - 1667, John Dryden, Annus Mirabilis: The Year of Wonders, 1666. […], London: […] Henry Herringman, […], →OCLC, stanza 190, page 48:
    Rouze conſcious vertue up in every heart, / And ſeeming to be ſtronger makes them ſo.
  - 1702 (first performance), N[icholas] Rowe, The Fair Penitent. A Tragedy. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], published 1703, →OCLC, Act IV, scene i, page 48:
    [W]hen an Injury / Stabs to the Heart, and rouſes my Reſentment, / (Perhaps it is the Fault of my rude Nature) / I ovvn I cannot eaſily forget it.
  - 1719, [Daniel Defoe], The Farther Adventures of Robinson Crusoe; […], London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […], →OCLC, page 127:
    [T]heir first Step in Dangers, after the common Efforts vvere over, vvas alvvays to deſpair, lie dovvn under it, and die, vvithout rouſing their Thoughts up to proper Remedies for Eſcape.
  - 1777, William Robertson, “Book II”, in The History of America, volume I, London: […] W[illiam] Strahan; T[homas] Cadell, […]; Edinburgh: J[ohn] Balfour, →OCLC, page 116:
    Gentle and timid as the people vvere, thoſe unprovoked injuries at length exhauſted their patience, and rouzed their courage.
  - 1848, Acton Bell [pseudonym; Anne Brontë], “A Misdemeanour”, in The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. […], volume II, London: T[homas] C[autley] Newby, […], →OCLC, pages 138–139:
    You may think it all very fine, Mr. Huntingdon, to amuse yourself with rousing my jealousy; but take care you don't rouse my hate instead. And when you have once extinguished my love, you will find it no easy matter to kindle it again.
  - 1862 July – 1863 August, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], “Dawning Hopes”, in Romola. […], volume I, London: Smith, Elder and Co., […], published 1863, →OCLC, book I, page 114:
    His pride was roused to double activity by the fear that he had forgotten his dignity.
  - 1961, V[idiadhar] S[urajprasad] Naipaul, “The Void”, in A House for Mr Biswas, Harmondsworth, Middlesex [London]: Penguin Books, published 1969, →OCLC, part 2, page 494:
    [H]e had grown to look upon houses as things that concerned other people, like churches, butchers’ stalls, cricket matches and football matches. They had ceased to rouse ambition or misery. He had lost the vision of the house.
  - 1934, Zane Grey, chapter 3, in Code of the West, Roslyn, N.Y.: Walter J. Black, published 1962, →OCLC, page 36:
    If Cal had needed any more to rouse his ire, this fact was enough.
5. Sometimes followed by up: to disturb (someone) from a state of apathy, comfort, etc.
  - 1785, a country gentleman [pseudonym], “To the Right Honourable Earl Mansfield”, in William Jones, M[anasseh] Dawes, England’s Alarm! On the Prevailing Doctrine of Libels, as Laid down by the Earl of Mansfield. […], London: […] John Stockdale, […], →OCLC, page 9:
    But it [trial by jury] needs only to be minutely examined, and properly valued, to rouze the nation to preſerve it unimpaired, for the benefit of the preſent generation, and that vve may tranſmit it to poſterity uncontaminated and undiminiſhed.
6. (also reflexive)
  1. Sometimes followed by up: to wake (oneself or someone) from deep thought, or rest or sleep; to awaken.
    Synonyms: bring round, roust, wake up; see also Thesaurus:awaken, Thesaurus:wake
    - 1574, Iohn Caluin [i.e., John Calvin], “The Nineteenth Sermon, which is the Thirde vppon the Fifth Chapter”, in Arthur Golding, transl., Sermons of Master Iohn Caluin, vpon the Booke of Iob. […], London: […] Henrie Binneman, for Lucas Harison and George Bishop, →OCLC, page 84, column 2:
      VVhen vve be brought to this point that vve muſt be fayne to looke vnto God: vve begin after a ſort too rouze vp ourſelues, ſo as vvee be no more ſo careleſſe and drovvzie as vvee vvere: […]
    - 1595 December 9 (first known performance), [William Shakespeare], The Tragedie of King Richard the Second. […] (First Quarto), London: […] Valentine Simmes for Androw Wise, […], published 1597, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii], signature B3, verso:
      [W]e thinke the Egle-vvinged pride / Of skie-aſpiring and ambitious thoughts, / VVith rituall-hating enuy ſet on you / To vvake our peace, vvhich in our Countries cradle / Dravves the ſvveet infant breath of gentle ſleepe / VVhich ſo rouzde vp vvith boiſtrous vntunde drummes, / And grating ſhocke of vvrathfully yron armes, / Might from our quiet confines fright faire Peace, […]
    - a. 1645, John Milton, “L’Allegro”, in Poems of Mr. John Milton, […], London: […] Ruth Raworth for Humphrey Mosely, […], published 1646, →OCLC, page 32:
      Oft liſt'ning hovv the Hounds and horn, / Chearly rouſe the ſlumbring morn, […]
    - 1667, John Milton, “Book I”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC, signature B2, recto, lines 331–334:
      They heard, and vvere abaſht, and up they ſprung / Upon the vving, as vvhen men vvont to vvatch / On duty, ſleeping found by vvhom they dread, / Rouſe and beſtir themſelves ere vvell avvake.
    - 1678, Seneca [the Younger], “Of a Happy Life. Chap[ter] IV. Philosophy is the Guide of Life.”, in Roger L’Estrange, transl., Seneca’s Morals Abstracted: […], London: […] Tho[mas] Newcomb for Henry Brome, […], published 1679, →OCLC, page 42:
      It [philosophy] makes us inſpect, and govern our Manners; it rouzes us vvhere vve are faint, and drouzy; it binds up vvhat is looſe, and humbles in us that vvhich is Contumacious: […]
    - 1711 May 14 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison], “THURSDAY, May 3, 1711”, in The Spectator, number 55; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume I, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC, page 345:
      […] Persius has given us a very humorous account of a young fellow who was roused out of his bed in order to be sent on a long voyage, by Avarice, and afterwards overpersuaded and kept at home by Luxury.
      The spelling has been modernized; spelled rouzed in the 1st edition.
    - 1819, Percy B[ysshe] Shelley, The Cenci: A Tragedy, […], [Livorno], Italy: […] [Percy B. Shelley] for C[harles] and J[ames] Ollier […], →OCLC, Act IV, scene iv, page 71:
      […] I must rouse him from his sleep, / Since none else dare.
    - 1825 June 22, [Walter Scott], chapter I, in Tales of the Crusaders. […], volume II (The Betrothed), Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., →OCLC, page 14:
      "And what ails my apparel, old man?" said Damian, turning sternly on the huntsman, as one who has been hastily and uncivilly roused from a reverie.
    - 1852 January – 1853 April, Charles Kingsley, Jun., “Miriam’s Plot”, in Hypatia: Or, New Foes with an Old Face. […], volume II, London: John W[illiam] Parker and Son, […], published 1853, →OCLC, page 260:
      And so backwards and forwards swayed his hope and purpose, till he was roused from his meditation by the voice of the little porter, summoning him to his evening meal; […]
    - 1862 July – 1863 August, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], “The Peasants’ Fair”, in Romola. […], volume I, London: Smith, Elder and Co., […], published 1863, →OCLC, book I, page 246:
      Her hunger was soon appeased, all the sooner for the new stimulus of happiness that had roused her from her languor, […]
    - 1879, Homer, “Book XXIII. Odysseus Maketh Himself Known to Penelope, Tells His Adventures Briefly, and in the Morning Goes to Laertes and Makes Himself Known to Him.”, in S[amuel] H[enry] Butcher, A[ndrew] Lang, transl., The Odyssey of Homer Done into English Prose, London: Macmillan and Co., →OCLC, page 376:
      Why dost thou mock me, who have a spirit full of sorrow, to speak these wild words, and rousest me out of sweet slumber, that had bound me and overshadowed mine eyelids?
    - 1897, R[obert] S[tephenson] S[myth] Baden-Powell, “Campaign in the Matopos: 19th July to 24th July”, in The Matabele Campaign 1896 […], London: Methuen & Co., […], →OCLC, page 164:
      We did not wait longer than to hear the good news, but started back at once for our own camp, which we reached at three in the morning, and, needless to say, the General was delighted to be roused up to receive the news.
    - 1929 July, J[ohn] B[oynton] Priestley, “Mr. Oakroyd on t’Road”, in The Good Companions, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.; London: Harper & Brothers, published 1929, →OCLC, book 1, section I, page 108:
      He had been dozing a little but was roused by the lorry slowing down, sounding its horn, then swinging round into a road that was different from any they had been on so far.
    - 1950 January, David L. Smith, “A Runaway at Beattock”, in The Railway Magazine, London: Tothill Press, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 53:
      John Hedley was Locomotive Foreman at Beattock. He was in bed, but they roused him, and he gave orders for one of his pilot engines to go up to the summit, get Mitchell's train, and take it to Carlisle.
    - 1979, Bernard Malamud, chapter 8, in Dubin’s Lives, New York, N.Y.: Farrar Straus Giroux, →ISBN, page 284:
      Dubin slept through the ringing alarm, aware of Kitty trying to rouse him and then letting him sleep.
  2. (also figurative) To lift up or raise (someone; or something, especially the head).
    - 1584, Thomas Lodge, “Truths Complaint ouer England”, in An Alarum against Usurers. […], London: […] T[homas] Este, for Sampson Clarke, […], →OCLC, folio 37, verso:
      [S]he caſt her dewed eyes aſ kance, / And ſpying me, gan rovvſe her heauie head, / And praide me pen her ſad and heauie chance, / And ſhe recounted it that preſent ſted, […]
    - c. 1596–1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]. Epilogue.”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i], page 19, column 2:
      […] Henry Bullingbrooke and hee / Being mounted, and both rovvſed in their Seates, / Their neighing Courſers daring of the Spurre, […]
    - 1599 (date written), [William Shakespeare], The Cronicle History of Henry the Fift, […] (First Quarto), London: […] Thomas Creede, for Tho[mas] Millington, and Iohn Busby […], published 1600, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii], signature [A4], verso:
      [W]e vvill keepe our ſtate, / Be like a King, mightie and commaund, / VVhen vve do rovvſe vs in throne of France: […]
7. (reflexive)
  1. Sometimes followed by up: to cause (oneself) to be active or alert; to incite, to stir; also, to cause (oneself) to carry out a task, take action, etc.
    - 1541, Thomas Elyote [i.e., Thomas Elyot], “The Preface. To All the Nobilitee of this Flourishyng Realme of England, Thomas Elyote Knight Desyreth Increase of Vertue and Honour.”, in [Aelius Lampridius], translated by Thomas Elyote, The Image of Gouernaunce Complied of the Actes and Sentences Notable, of the Most Noble Emperour Alexander Seuerus, […], [London]: […] Thomas Berthelett, published 1549, →OCLC:
      [A] puiſſant olyphant being brought to the place, the grehound ſeming to reioice at the greatnes of the beaſt, rouſed him, and after two or three queſtynges, he lept to the great Olyphante, and after a longe fight ouerthrew hym and kylled hym. So I doubt not but that ſome men […] whiche beeyng ones called to aucthoritee, ioygned with libertee, will inforce theim ſelfes to make theyr miniſtracions noble and excellent.
    - 1587, Philip of Mornay [i.e., Philippe de Mornay], “The Preface to the Reader”, in Philip Sidney, Arthur Golding, transl., A Woorke Concerning the Trewnesse of the Christian Religion, […], London: […] [John Charlewood and] George Robinson for Thomas Cadman, […], →OCLC:
      [T]he truth beeing reuealed, enlighteneth reaſon; and that reaſon rovvſeth vp her ſelfe to reſt vpon truth.
    - 1590, T[homas] L[odge], “Rosaders Meditation”, in Rosalynde. Euphues Golden Legacie: […], London: […] Thomas Orwin for T. G[ubbin] and John Busbie, →OCLC, folio 39, recto:
      With that his Brother began to ſtirre, and the Lion to rowſe himſelfe: whereupon Roſader ſodainely charged him with the Boare ſpeare, and wounded the Lion verie ſore at the firſt ſtroake.
    - c. 1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Famous Historie of Troylus and Cresseid. […] (First Quarto), London: […] G[eorge] Eld for R[ichard] Bonian and H[enry] Walley, […], published 1609, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iii], signature G3, recto:
      Svveete rouſe your ſelfe, and the vveake vvanton Cupid, / Shall from your neck vnlooſe his amorous fould, / And like devv drop from the Lions mane, / Be ſhooke to ayre.
    - c. 1606–1607 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii], page 367:
      Me thinkes I heare [Mark] Anthony call: I ſee him rovvſe himſelfe / To praiſe my Noble Act.
    - 1625 August 14 (date delivered; Gregorian calendar), Robert Saunderson [i.e., Robert Sanderson], “[Ad Magistratum.] The Third Sermon. At the Assises at Lincolne. 4. Aug. 1625.”, in Twelve Sermons, […], [new] edition, London: […] Aug[ustine] Math[ews], for Robert Dawlman, and are to be sold by Robert Allet, […], published 1632, →OCLC, §. 18, page 231:
      Only Phinehes, […] rovvzing vp himſelfe, and his ſpirits vvith zeale as hot as fire, he ſtood vp from the place vvhere he vvas, and made haſt to execute judgement.
    - 1635, Fra[ncis] Quarles, “Canto VII. I Pet[er] V. VIII.”, in Emblemes, London: […] G[eorge] M[iller] and sold at at Iohn Marriots shope […], →OCLC, book I, stanza 1, page 29:
      Is this a time to ſteepe / Thy braines in vvaſtfull ſlumbers? up and rouze / Thy leaden ſpirits; Is this a time to ſleepe?
    - 1672, Iohn [i.e., Giovanni] Bona, “Of the Good of Solitude. Evil Society is to be Shunn’d. […]”, in T. V., transl., A Guide to Heaven. […], →OCLC, paragraph 5, page 131:
      If thou valueſt not the ſayings of Tepid perſons, and vvith a full liberty of ſpirit, rouſeſt up thy ſelf to perform thoſe things vvhich diſpleaſe the Imperfect.
    - 1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], “The Author Conducted by a Houyhnhnm to His House. […]”, in Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], volume II, London: […] Benj[amin] Motte, […], →OCLC, part IV (A Voyage to the Houyhnhnms), pages 174–175:
      I rouſed myſelf, and looked about me in the Room vvhere I vvas left alone; […]
    - 1794 May 8, Ann Radcliffe, chapter IV, in The Mysteries of Udolpho, a Romance; […], volume II, London: […] G. G. and J. Robinson, […], →OCLC, page 65:
      He ſeemed by an effort to rouſe himſelf.
    - 1908 September – 1909 September, Jack London, chapter XL, in Martin Eden, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, published September 1909, →OCLC, page 345:
      Martin roused himself and sat up and began to eat, between spoonfuls reassuring Maria that he had not been talking in his sleep and that he did not have any fever.
    - 1932, William Faulkner, chapter 12, in Light in August, [New York, N.Y.]: Harrison Smith & Robert Haas, →OCLC; republished London: Chatto & Windus, 1933, →OCLC, page 254:
      He tried to argue with her. But it was like trying to argue with a tree: she did not even rouse herself to deny, she just listened quietly and then talked again in that level, cold tone as if he had never spoken.
  2. (falconry, also figurative, archaic) Of a hawk: to shake (its own) feathers.
    - 1570, Thomas Tusser, “Comparing Good Husband with Vnthrift His Brother, the Better Descerneth the Tone from the Tother”, in A Hundrethe Good Pointes of Husbandrie, Lately Maried vnto a Hundrethe Good Points of Huswifry Newly Corrected and Amplified […], revised edition, London: […] [Henry Denham? for] Rychard Tottyl, published 1571, →OCLC, stanza 13, folio 22, verso:
      Ill huſbandry drowſeth at fortune ſo awke, / good huſbandry rowſeth him ſelfe like a hawke.
    - probably 1617 January 16 (first performance; Gregorian calendar), Benjamin Jonson [i.e., Ben Jonson], “The Vision of Delight Presented at Covrt in Christmas, 1617”, in The Workes of Benjamin Jonson. The Second Volume. […] (Second Folio), London: […] Richard Meighen, published 1640–1641, →OCLC, page 19:
      [G]rovves / The vvealth of Nature here, or Art? it ſhovves / As if Favonius, father of the Spring, / VVho, in the verdant Meads doth reigne ſole king, / Had rovvſd him here, and ſhooke his feathers, vvet / VVith purple ſvvelling Nectar?
      A figurative use.
    - 1825 June 22, [Walter Scott], chapter VII, in Tales of the Crusaders. […], volume II (The Betrothed), Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., →OCLC, page 139:
      The merchant did not fail to enlarge upon all their [the falcons'] points of excellence; […] the lively spirit and vigour with which they pruned their plumes, and shook, or, as it was technically termed, roused themselves.
  3. (obsolete) Of a person: to stretch (one's own) body.
8. (archaic) Chiefly of a bird: to cause (its crest, feathers, etc.) to become stiff or to stand up.
  - 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto XI”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 8, page 157:
    And ouer, all vvith braſen ſcales vvas armd, / Like plated cote of ſteele, so couched neare, / That nought mote perce, ne might his corſe bee harmd / VVith dint of ſvverd, nor puſh of pointed ſpeare, / VVhich as an Eagle, ſeeing pray appeare, / His aery plumes doth rouze, full rudely dight, / So ſhaked he, that horror vvas to heare, / For as the claſhing of an Armor bright, / Such noyſe his rouzed ſcales did ſend vnto the knight.
  - 1715, Alexander Pope, “Observations on the Third Book”, in Homer, translated by Alexander Pope, The Iliad of Homer, volume I, London: […] W[illiam] Bowyer, for Bernard Lintott […], →OCLC, section V, pages 7–8:
    [T]he Circumſtance of the Serpent's rouzing his Creſt, vvhich brightens vvith Anger, finely images the ſhining of their Arms in the Night-time, as they vvere juſt lifted up to deſtroy him.
  - [1619], Michael Drayton, “The Owle”, in Poems: […], London: […] W[illiam] Stansby for Iohn S[m]ethwicke, […], →OCLC, page 415:
    [T]he Eagle doubled ſtrength aſſumes: / As he ſtands proudly rovvzing vp his Plumes, […]
9. (chiefly poetic, archaic) To disturb (someone's sleep).
  - 1667, John Milton, “Book III”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC, signature [I4], recto, lines 326–329:
    [F]orthvvith from all VVindes / The living, and forthvvith the cited dead / Of all paſt Ages to the general Doom / Shall haſt'n ſuch a peal ſhall rouſe thir ſleep.
10. (hunting, chiefly historical, also figurative) To cause (game) to emerge from cover.
  to rouse a deer or other animal of the chase
  - 1531, Thomas Elyot, “The Auncient Huntyng of Greekes and Romanes”, in The Boke Named the Governour […], London: […] Tho[mas] Bertheleti, →OCLC, 1st boke, folio 72, recto:
    [I]f they wold vſe but a fewe nombre of boundes⸝ onely to harborowe or rouſe the game: and by their yoinyng to gyue knowlege, which way it fleeth: […]
  - 1575, Jacques du Fouilloux, “How a Huntsman should Rowze an Hart, and Cast off His Hounds to Him”, in George Gascoigne, transl., The Noble Art of Venerie or Hunting. […], London: […] Thomas Purfoot, published 1611, →OCLC, page 107:
    [I]f the Harte ſhould rowze for feare a farre of [off], his hound (hunting vpon the winde) might carie him amiſſe, ſo that he ſhould not finde the layre. Whereby (⁊ by yͤ foyles about it) he might haue certain iudgement: and if he rowze or vnharbor the Deare ⁊ find the layre, let him not blow ouer haſtely for yͤ hoűds [hounds], but onely cry, Looke ware, looke ware, ware, ware and let him draw on with his hound vntil yͤ Deare be diſcried, ⁊ rightly marked before he hallow.
  - 1576, Iohannes [i.e., John] Caius, “The Preamble or Entraunce, into this Treatise”, in Abraham Fleming, transl., Of Englishe Dogges, the Diuersities, the Names, the Natures, and the Properties. […], London: […] Rychard Iohnes, […], →OCLC, 1st section, page 2:
    Two kindes of Dogges. One which rouſeth the beaſt and continueth the chaſe. Another which ſpringeth the byrde and bewrayeth the flight by purſuite, […]
  - 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto XI”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 10, page 350:
    Deformed creatures, in ſtraunge difference, / Some hauing heads like Harts, ſome like to Snakes, / Some like vvilde Bores late rouzd out of the brakes, […]
  - 1595 December 9 (first known performance), [William Shakespeare], The Tragedie of King Richard the Second. […] (First Quarto), London: […] Valentine Simmes for Androw Wise, […], published 1597, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iii], signature E3, recto:
    He ſhould haue found his vncle Gaunt a father, / To rovvze his vvrongs and chaſe them to the baie.
    A figurative use.
  - 1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iii], page 382, column 1:
    Hearke, the Game is rovvſ'd, […]
    A figurative use.
  - 1709, Mat[thew] Prior, “Henry and Emma, […]”, in Poems on Several Occasions, London: […] Jacob Tonson […], →OCLC, page 252:
    VVhen from the Cave thou riſeſt vvith the Day, / To beat the VVoods, and rouſe the bounding Prey; / The Cave vvith Moſs and Branches I'll adorn, / And chearful ſit, and vvait my Lord's Return.
  - 1713, [Alexander] Pope, Windsor-Forest. […], London: […] Bernard Lintott […], →OCLC, page 7:
    The Youth ruſh eager to the Sylvan VVar; / Svvarm o'er the Lavvns, the Foreſt VValks ſurround, / Rovvze the fleet Hart, and chear the opening Hound.
  - 1831 June–November (date written), Jedadiah Cleishbotham [pseudonym; Walter Scott], chapter VI, in Tales of My Landlord, Fourth and Last Series. […], volume III (Castle Dangerous), Edinburgh: […] [Ballantyne and Company] for Robert Cadell; London: Whittaker and Co., published 1 December 1831 (indicated as 1832), →OCLC, page 336:
    [H]e proposes to go to rouse the wild cattle with an air of gravity, as if he were undertaking a pilgrimage to the tomb of a martyr.
  - 1858, Charles Kingsley, “[Early Poems.] The Red King”, in Andromeda and Other Poems, London: John W[illiam] Parker and Son, […], →OCLC, page 160:
    They roused a hart, that grimly brace, / A hart of ten, a hart of grease, / Fled over against the kingés place.
11. (nautical, archaic) To pull (a cable, rope, etc.) in a specified direction, especially to tighten it; to haul.
  - 1832, [Frederick Marryat], chapter V, in Newton Forster; or, The Merchant Service. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: James Cochrane and Co., […], →OCLC, page 71:
    Tom, you and the boy rouse the cable up—get about ten fathoms on deck, and bend it.
(intransitive)
1. Sometimes followed by up: to carry out a task, take action, etc.
  - 1611, Iohn Speed [i.e., John Speed], “Elfred the Twentie Third King of the West Saxons, and Twentie Fovrth Monarch of the Englishmen, […]”, in The History of Great Britaine under the Conquests of yͤ Romans, Saxons, Danes and Normans. […], London: […] William Hall and John Beale, for John Sudbury and George Humble, […], →OCLC, book VII ([The Saxons] […]), paragraph 14, page 357, column 2:
    Hubba [Ubba], that had harried the Engliſh, and now rovvzed vpon the nevves of King Elfreds victory and life; vvith thirty three ſhips ſailed from VVales, […]
  - 1624, Francis Quarles, “Sect[ion] 19”, in Iob Militant: With Meditations Divine and Morall, London: […] Felix Kyngston for George Winder, […], →OCLC, signature O2, verso:
    Collect thy ſcattred ſenſes, and aduiſe, / Rouze vp (fond man) and anſvvere my replies.
  - 1634, Jos: Exon. [i.e., Joseph Hall], “[The Residve of the Contemplations […].] The Resurrection.”, in The Contemplations upon the History of the New Testament, Now Complete: […], 2nd tome, London: […] M[iles] Flesher for Nath[aniel] Butter […], →OCLC, page 279:
    VVhen thou our true Sampſon avvakeſt, and foundſt thy ſelfe tyed vvith theſe Philiſtian coards, and rouſedſt up, and brakeſt thoſe hard and ſtrong tvviſts vvith a ſuddaine povver, no marvell if the roome ſhooke under thee.
  - 1791, Homer, “[The Iliad.] Book IV.”, in W[illiam] Cowper, transl., The Iliad and Odyssey of Homer, Translated into Blank Verse, […], volume I, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […], →OCLC, page 1021, lines 498–499:
    Come, therefore; be it ours to rouſe at once / To action all the fury of our might.
  - 1831 June–November (date written), Jedadiah Cleishbotham [pseudonym; Walter Scott], chapter VII, in Tales of My Landlord, Fourth and Last Series. […], volume IV (Castle Dangerous), Edinburgh: […] [Ballantyne and Company] for Robert Cadell; London: Whittaker and Co., published 1 December 1831 (indicated as 1832), →OCLC, page 180:
    In God's name, rouse up, sir; let it not be said, that an apprehended frown of a fair lady hath damped to such a degree the courage of the boldest knight in England; […]
  - 1907, O. Henry [pseudonym; William Sydney Porter], “Telemachus, Friend”, in Heart of the West, New York, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company for Review of Reviews Co., →OCLC, page 41:
    'Well, well!' says I, kind of rousing up. 'Durn me if I wasn't waiting for old Paisley to—'
3. Sometimes followed by up: to wake from deep thought, or rest or sleep; to awaken.
  Synonyms: arise, get up, wake up; see also Thesaurus:wake
  - c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii], page 141, column 1:
    Good things of Day begin to droope, and drovvſe; / VVhiles Nights black Agents to their Prey's doe rovvſe.
  - 1642 April, An Apology against a Pamphlet Call’d A Modest Confutation of the Animadversions upon the Remonstrant against Smectymnuus, London: […] E[dward] G[riffin] for Iohn Rothwell, […], →OCLC, page 13:
    Thoſe morning haunts are vvhere they ſhould be, at home, not ſleeping, […] but up, and ſtirring, […] in Summer as oft vvith the Bird that firſt rouſes, or not much tardier, to reade good Authors, or cauſe them to be read, till the attention bee vveary, or memory have his full fraught.
  - 1687, Francis Atterbury, An Answer to Some Considerations on the Spirit of Martin Luther and the Original of the Reformation; […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] [Sheldonian] Theater, →OCLC, pages 41–42:
    As for the heat, vvith vvhich he [Luther] treated his other adverſaries, 'tvvas ſometimes ſtrain'd a little too far, but in the general vvas extremely vvell fitted by the Providence of God to rovvſe up a people, the moſt phlegmatic of any in Chriſtendome.
  - 1712 May, [Alexander] Pope, “Ode for Musick, on St. Cecilia’s Day”, in Miscellaneous Poems and Translations. […], London: […] Bernard Lintott […], →OCLC, stanza II, pages 346–347:
    At Muſick, Melancholy lifts her Head; / Dull Morpheus rovvzes from his Bed; / Sloath from its Lethargy avvakes, / And liſt'ning Envy drops her Snakes; […]
  - 1719, [Daniel Defoe], The Farther Adventures of Robinson Crusoe; […], London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […], →OCLC, page 222:
    All this vvhile, I knevv not vvhat vvas the matter; but rouzing immediately from Sleep vvith the Noiſe, I cauſed the Boat to be thruſt in.
4. (archaic) Sometimes followed by up: of a characteristic or emotion: to be stirred up or to become stronger.
  - 1671, John Milton, “Samson Agonistes, […].”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC, page 97, lines 688–692:
    But he though blind of ſight, / Deſpis'd and thought extinguiſh't quite, / VVith invvard eyes illuminated / His fierie vertue rouz'd / From under aſhes into ſudden flame, […]
  - 1759, Adam Smith, “Of the Utility of this Constitution of Nature”, in The Theory of Moral Sentiments, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, […]; Edinburgh: A[lexander] Kincaid and J. Bell, →OCLC, part II (Of Merit and Demerit; or of the Objects of Reward and Punishment), section II (Of Justice and Beneficence), page 196:
    Our indignation rouſes, and vve are eager to refute and expoſe ſuch deteſtable principles.
  - 1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, “Fiat Justicia”, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume II, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1850, →OCLC, page 317:
    Arthur, as he traversed the passages of the hotel, felt his anger rousing up within him.
5. (falconry) Of a hawk, or (generally) some other bird: to shake its feathers.
  - 1575, George Turberuile [i.e.. George Turberville], “To Enseame a Falcon and to Make Hir”, in The Booke of Faulconrie or Hauking, for the Onely Delight and Pleasure of All Noblemen and Gentlemen: […], London: […] [Henry Bynneman] for Christopher Barker, […], →OCLC, page 120:
    And in the euening when daylight beginneth to faile, take off hir hood amongſt company of people by the candlelight vntill ſhe rowze and mewte, […]
6. (England, dialectal; Newfoundland; Scotland) To move quickly; to rush.
  - 1582, “The Firste Booke of Virgil His Æneis”, in Richard Stanyhurst, transl., The First Foure Bookes of Virgils Æneis, […], London: […] Henrie Bynneman […], published 1583, →OCLC, page 2:
    [A] king he placed, through whose Maieſtical Empyre / Theeſe blaſts rouze forward, or back by his regal apointment.
7. (obsolete)
  1. Of hair: to stand on end; to bristle.
    - c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene v], page 150, column 1:
      [M]y Fell of haire / VVould at a diſmall Treatiſe rovvze, and ſtirre / As life vvere in't.
    - 1810, Walter Scott, “Canto IV. The Prophecy.”, in The Lady of the Lake; […], Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for John Ballantyne and Co.; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, and William Miller, →OCLC, stanza VI, page 149:
      Whose eye can stare in stony trance, / Whose hair can rouse like warrior's lance,— […]
  2. (hunting) Sometimes followed by up: of game: to emerge from cover.

Conjugation

Conjugation of *rouse*
	present tense	past tense
infinitive	(to) rouse

1st-person singular	rouse	roused
2nd-person singular	rouse, rousest^†	roused, rousedst^†
3rd-person singular	rouses, rouseth^†	roused
plural	rouse	roused

subjunctive	rouse	roused

imperative	rouse	—

participles	rousing	roused

^† Archaic or obsolete.

Alternative forms

rouze, rowse (obsolete)

Derived terms

arouse
rabble-rouse
rabble rouser
rousable
rousant (heraldry, archaic)
rouseabout
rouse and bitt (nautical, historical)
roused (adjective)
rousement (US, informal, chiefly African-American Vernacular English)
rouse-out (originally and chiefly nautical, archaic)
rouser
rousing (adjective, adverb, noun)
rousingly
roust
rouze (obsolete)
unrousable
unroused
uprouse

Translations

(transitive) to cause (something) to be (more) active or to move — see agitate,‎ stir up

(transitive) to stir (a liquid) — see stir

(transitive) to provoke (someone) to react — see provoke,‎ spur

(transitive) to annoy, to tease — see annoy,‎ tease

(transitive) to cause (an emotional reaction, a feeling, etc.) — see excite,‎ incite,‎ stir up

(transitive) to disturb (someone) from a state of apathy, comfort, etc.

Finnish: häiritä (fi), järkyttää (fi)
French: please add this translation if you can

(transitive, also reflexive) to wake (oneself or someone) from deep thought, or rest or sleep; (intransitive) to wake from deep thought, or rest or sleep — see also awaken,‎ wake

Bulgarian: събуждам (bg) (săbuždam)
Czech: probrat pf, probudit (cs) pf
Dutch: opwekken (nl)
Finnish: herättää (fi), vavahduttaa (fi)
French: éveiller (fr)
German: aufwachen (de), aufwecken (de), erwachen (de), erwecken (de)
Ido: vekar (io)
Irish: múscail
Māori: whakaoho
Occitan: despertar, espertar, esvelhar
Portuguese: acordar (pt)
Russian: пробужда́ться (ru) (probuždátʹsja)
Scottish Gaelic: tog
Spanish: despertar (es)
Turkish:
Ottoman Turkish: ایقاظ ایتمك (ikâz etmek)

(transitive) to lift up or raise (someone or something) — see lift up,‎ raise

(transitive) to cause (oneself) to be active or alert — see incite,‎ stir

(transitive) to cause (oneself) to carry out a task, take action, etc.

Finnish: ryhdistää (fi)
French: please add this translation if you can

(transitive) of a hawk: to shake (its own) feathers; (intransitive) of a hawk or other bird: to shake its feathers

Finnish: ravistaa (fi)
French: please add this translation if you can

(transitive) chiefly of a bird: to cause (its crest, feathers, etc.) to become stiff or to stand up

Finnish: nostaa pystyyn
French: please add this translation if you can

(transitive) to disturb (someone’s sleep)

Finnish: häiritä (fi)
French: please add this translation if you can

(transitive) to cause (game) to emerge from cover

Finnish: hätistää esiin
French: please add this translation if you can

(transitive) to pull (a cable, rope, etc.) in a specified direction — see haul

(intransitive) to carry out a task, take action, etc.

Finnish: suorittaa (fi), tehdä (fi)
French: please add this translation if you can

(intransitive) of a characteristic or emotion: to be stirred up or to become stronger

Finnish: herätä (fi)
French: please add this translation if you can

(intransitive) to move quickly — see rush

Noun

rouse (plural rouses)

An act of causing something to be (more) active or to move; a shakeup, a stir; also (chiefly US), a commotion, a disturbance.
Synonyms: arousal, rouse-up, upheaval
- 1824, Geoffrey Crayon [pseudonym; Washington Irving], “The Bold Dragoon, or The Adventure of My Grandfather”, in Tales of a Traveller, part 1 (Strange Stories. […]), Philadelphia, Pa.: H[enry] C[harles] Carey & I[saac] Lea, […], →OCLC, page 63:
  At supper my grandfather took command of the table d'hôte as though he had been at home; […] In fact, he revolutionized the whole establishment, and gave it such a rouse, that the very house reeled with it.
- 1916 April, Carl Sandburg, “Mask”, in Chicago Poems, New York, N.Y.: Henry Holt and Company, →OCLC, stanza 1, page 125:
  Fling your red scarf faster and faster, dancer. / […] / The silk and flare of it is a great soprano leading a chorus / Carried along in a rouse of voices reaching for the heart of the world.
(falconry) Chiefly of a hawk: an act of shaking the feathers.
- 1589, attributed to George Puttenham, “What It is that Generally Makes Our Speach Well Pleasing & Commendable, and of that which the Latines Call Decorum”, in The Arte of English Poesie. […], London: […] Richard Field, […], →OCLC, 3rd booke (Of Ornament), page 222:
  [K]ing Antiochus, vvho likened Hermogenes the famous Orator of Greece, vnto theſe fovvles in their moulting time, vvhen their feathers be ſick, and be ſo loaſe in the fleſh that at any little rovvſe they can eaſilie ſhake them off: ſo ſaith he, can Hermogenes of all the men that euer I knevv, as eaſilie deliuer from him his vaine and impertinent ſpeeches and vvords.
(Canada, UK, military) Often in the form Rouse and preceded by the: the sounding of a call, usually on the bugle in the morning after reveille, to signal that soldiers are to rise from bed; also, the reveille.
- 1821, Joanna Baillie, “A Metrical Legend of William Wallace”, in Metrical Legends of Exalted Characters, London: […] Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […], →OCLC, stanza XXXVII, page 31:
  Thus many a high-plumed gallant rear'd his head, / And proudly smote the ground with firmer tread, / Who did, ere close of ev'ning, lye / With ghastly face turn'd to the sky, / No more again the rouse of war to hear.
- 1897, Lord Roberts of Kandahar [i.e., Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts], chapter LXI, in Forty-one Years in India from Subaltern to Commander-in-Chief […], volume II, London: Richard Bentley and Son […], →OCLC, page 348:
  The ‘rouse’ sounded at 2.45 a.m., and by four o’clock tents had been struck, baggage loaded up, and everything was ready for a start.

Translations

act of causing something to be (more) active or to move — see shakeup,‎ stir

commotion, disturbance — see commotion,‎ disturbance

chiefly of a hawk: an act of shaking the feathers

Finnish: ravistus
French: please add this translation if you can

sounding of a call, usually on the bugle in the morning after reveille, to signal that soldiers are to rise from bed

Finnish: herätys (fi)
French: please add this translation if you can

reveille — see reveille

Etymology 2

Probably from carouse (“(obsolete) of drinking a cup of an alcoholic beverage: to the bottom”, adverb), from a rebracketing of the phrase drink carouse as drink a rouse.^[5] Carouse is derived from German gar aus (“all out”), as in gar-aus trinken (“to drink all out; to drink to the bottom”).^[6]