rufus

See also: Rufus

Latin

Etymology

From Proto-Italic *rouðos. The medial -f- indicates a borrowing from a Sabellic language such as Oscan 𐌓𐌖𐌚𐌓𐌉𐌉𐌔 (rufriis), Umbrian 𐌓𐌖𐌚𐌓𐌖 (rufru), or from a sister variety such as Faliscan, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rewdʰ- (“red”). It might have penetrated urban Latin by virtue of the fact that it was used as an attribute for oxen sold in the markets in Rome.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈruː.fʊs]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈruː.fus]

Adjective

rūfus (feminine rūfa, neuter rūfum); first/second-declension adjective

1. red (in the most general sense, of all shades including orange and yellow)

   Synonyms: ruber, russus

   • 77 CE – 79 CE, Plinius Maior, Naturalis Historia 19.53.169:

     tertium genus [papāveris] rh<oe>ān vocant Graecī, id nostrī errāticum; sponte quidem, sed in arvīs cum hordeō maximē nāscitur, ērūcae simile, cubitālī altitūdine, flōre rūfō et prōtinus dēciduō, unde et nōmen ā Graecīs accēpit.

     The third kind [of poppy] the Greeks call rhoea, and we call it "wild" (erraticum); it grows on its own, though on cultivated fields, especially together with barley, similar to rocket, being an elbow in height, with a red flower that is always falling off, from whence it has received that name from the Greeks.

2. (of a person) red-haired

Usage notes

• Contrary to recent intuitions Classical Latin rūfus could and did denote a simple bright red. Its coordinate terms were rubor and rubēre.
• In the hair color sense it is traditionally coordinated with rutilus which denotes blond, golden hair. However, the terms have some overlap.

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

	singular				plural
	masculine	feminine	neuter		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	rūfus	rūfa	rūfum		rūfī	rūfae	rūfa
genitive	rūfī	rūfae	rūfī		rūfōrum	rūfārum	rūfōrum
dative	rūfō	rūfae	rūfō		rūfīs
accusative	rūfum	rūfam	rūfum		rūfōs	rūfās	rūfa
ablative	rūfō	rūfā	rūfō		rūfīs
vocative	rūfe	rūfa	rūfum		rūfī	rūfae	rūfa

Derived terms

• rūfēscō
• Rūfius
• rūfulus
• Rūfus

Related terms

• rōbus
• ruber

Descendants

• >? Catalan: rúfol
• English: → rufous, → rufo-
• Italian: rufo
• Spanish: rufo

See also

Colors in Latin · colōrēs (layout · text)

albus, candidus, cānus, marmoreus (poetic), eburneus (poetic), niveus (poetic), argenteus (poetic), lacteus (poetic)	rāvus, pullus, mūrīnus (of livestock)	niger, āter, furvus, fuscus ("swarthy"), piceus (poetic)
ruber, russus, rūbidus (dark), flammeus (poetic); rutilus, pūniceus, spādīx (poetic), sanguineus (poetic)	rūfus, rutilus, rōbus (of oxen), croceus (poetic), aureus (poetic); fulvus (poetic), niger (of eyes), badius (of horses)	lūteus, flāvus ("blond"), lūridus, gilvus (of horses), helvus (of cattle); cēreus (poetic)
viridis, flāvus (poetic)	viridis, herbeus (of eyes), fulvus (poetic)	viridis, glaucus (poetic), caeruleus (poetic, only dark)
	glaucus (poetic), caeruleus, caesius (of eyes)	caeruleus, līvidus, ferrūgineus (poetic), glaucus (poetic)
violāceus	purpureus (underlying shade)	roseus

References

• “rufus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “rufus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• "rufus", in Charles du Fresne du Cange, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• “rufus”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• De Vaan, Michiel (2008), “rūfus”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 528
• Sihler, Andrew L. (1995), New Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin, Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 140