What is the difference between rueful and rue?
rueful | rue | Related terms |
Causing, feeling, or expressing regret or sorrow.
Inspiring pity or compassion.
(archaic, or, dialectal) Sorrow; repentance; regret.
(archaic, or, dialectal) Pity; compassion.
(obsolete) To cause to repent of sin or regret some past action.
(obsolete) To cause to feel sorrow or pity.
To repent of or regret (some past action or event); to wish that a past action or event had not taken place.
* (rfdate) Chapman
* (rfdate) Milton
(archaic) To feel compassion or pity.
* Late 14th century Geoffrey Chaucer, ‘The Franklin's Tale’, Canterbury Tales
* (rfdate) Ridley
(archaic) To feel sorrow or regret.
* (rfdate) Tennyson
Any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta , especially the herb , formerly used in medicines.
* 1590 , (Edmund Spenser), The Faerie Queene , III.2:
* c. 1600 , (William Shakespeare), , (Ophelia):
Rue is a related term of rueful.
Rueful is a derived term of rue.
As a adjective rueful
is causing, feeling, or expressing regret or sorrow.As a noun rue is
(archaic|or|dialectal) sorrow; repentance; regret or rue can be any of various perennial shrubs of the genus , especially the herb (taxlink), formerly used in medicines.As a verb rue is
(obsolete|transitive) to cause to repent of sin or regret some past action.rueful
English
Adjective
(en adjective)Derived terms
* rue-bargain * ruefully * ruefulnessrue
English
Etymology 1
From (etyl) rewe, reowe, from (etyl) .Noun
(-)Derived terms
* rueful * ruthEtymology 2
(etyl) , from Germanic. Cognate with Dutch rouwen, German reuen.Verb
- I rued the day I crossed paths with her.
- I wept to see, and rued it from my heart.
- Thy will chose freely what it now so justly rues .
- Madame, reweth upon my peynes smerte
- which stirred men's hearts to rue upon them
- Old year, we'll dearly rue for you.
Usage notes
Most frequently used in the collocation “rue the day”.Etymology 3
(wikipedia rue) From (etyl) ruwe, (etyl) rue (> modern French rue), from (etyl) . Compare (rude).Noun
(en noun)- But th'aged Nourse, her calling to her bowre, / Had gathered Rew , and Savine, and the flowre / Of Camphora, and Calamint, and Dill [...].
- There’s fennel for you, and columbines: there’s rue''' for you; and here’s some for me: we may call it herb-grace o' Sundays: O you must wear your ' rue with a difference.