"R" Word Origins

Roxton

Origin

Recorded as Rochesdone in the Domesday Book, the English village is named with the Old English personal name Hrōc, a byname from hrōc (“rook”), + -s- + dūn (“hill”).

Roxy

Origin

Formed as a diminutive of Roxana/Roxane/Roxanne with the -y ending.

Roy

Latin

From several unrelated sources: Anglo-Norman roy ("king," from Latin rex); Scottish Gaelic ruadh ("red-haired"); and an anglicization of the Bengali surname রায় (ray).

royal

Latin

From Old French roial, itself from Latin rēgālis, "of a king" — the same Latin root that gives us "regal" and "real" (as in the old Spanish coin).

royalist

Origin

From royal + -ist.

royally

Origin

Simply "royal" plus the adverb ending "-ly."

royalty

Latin

From Old French roialté, going back to Latin rēgālis, "royal" — the payment sense developed because royalty payments were originally rights granted by a king or the Crown.

Royce

Origin

Derived from the Middle English given name Rose. See English Rose.

roynish

Origin

French rogneux, from rogne (“scab, mange, itch”).

Royston

Origin

From a place name in Hertfordshire, from the medieval given name Royce + Old English tūn (“settlement”).

RPG

Russian

An abbreviation — "role-playing game" in the gaming sense, and (via Russian military terminology) "rocket-propelled grenade" in the weapons sense.

rpm

English

An initialism of revolutions per minute.

Rs

English

By initialism from English or other languages.

RSVP

French

Borrowed directly from French répondez s'il vous plaît, "please reply."

rta

Origin

Unadapted learned borrowing from Sanskrit ऋत (ṛtá, “order; rule; truth”). Doublet of asha.

RTF

English

An initialism of Rich Text Format.

ruan

Origin

Borrowed from Mandarin 阮 (ruǎn), itself short for 阮咸 (ruǎnxián), named after a musician associated with the instrument.

ruana

Origin

From French ruana and its etymon, Spanish ruana (“woolen fabric or garment”), of disputed origin. Suggestions include Latin rūga (“wrinkle”), Quechua ruana (“textile”), and Chibcha ruana (“land of blankets”); see Wikipedia.

rub

Middle English

From Middle English rubben, of uncertain origin, likely from a Germanic root related to scraping or rubbing.

rubadub

Origin

(drum sound): Imitative.

rubber

Origin

From "rub" plus "-er" — originally named because the material was used to rub out pencil marks, before its other uses became more common.

rubbered

Origin

From rubber + -ed.

rubbery

Origin

From "rubber" plus the adjective ending "-y."

rubbing

Middle English

From Middle English rubbinge, rubbynge, equivalent to rub + -ing.

rubbish

Middle English

From Middle English robous, meaning building waste or broken stone — its exact origin before that is uncertain.

rubble

Middle English

From Middle English rouble, likely related to "rubbish" and ultimately to an Old Norse word for scraping or piling up debris.

rubdown

Origin

Deverbal from rub down.

rube

Origin

From the personal name Rube (a nickname for Reuben), which became a generic term for a simple country person.

Ruben

Hebrew

From Hebrew רְאוּבֵן (r'uvén).

rubenesque

Origin

From Rubens + -esque, from the women depicted in the paintings of Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640).

Rubicon

Origin

From the Rubicon, a small river in northern Italy that Julius Caesar crossed with his army in 49 BCE, an act that made civil war against Rome inevitable — giving us the phrase "crossing the Rubicon."

ruble

Russian

Borrowed from Russian рубль (rublʹ).

rubric

Latin

From Latin rubrica "red ochre, red-lettered heading in a law book", from ruber "red", because headings were once written in red ink.

ruby

Medieval Latin

From Old French rubi, going back to Medieval Latin rubīnus, related to Latin ruber, "red."

ruck

Origin

From Middle English ruke, from or related to Old Norse hraukr, which is from Proto-Germanic *hraukaz (“haystack, heap”). Compare Icelandic hrúka, Swedish ruka.

ruckle

Origin

Probably cognate with Dutch rochelen (“to hawk”).

rucksack

German

Borrowed from German Rucksack, literally "back sack."

ruckus

Origin · 1890

First recorded around 1890, probably blending "ruction" and "rumpus," both meaning a disturbance.

ruction

Origin

1825, of unknown origin, possibly from eruption or insurrection. Possibly related to the Irish insurrection of 1798.

Ruda

Origin

From Ukrainian Руда́ (Rudá).

rudd

Origin

Related to "ruddy" and "red" — the fish is named for its reddish fins.

rudder

Old English

From Old English rōþor, "oar, rudder," ultimately from a root meaning "to row" — a rudder was originally just a steering oar.

ruddy

Old English

From Old English rudiġ, related to "rud" (redness) — the mild-swear sense developed later as a polite substitute for "bloody."

rude

Latin

From Old French rude, going back to Latin rudis, "rough, untrained, raw."

rudely

Middle English

From Middle English rudely, rudeliche, equivalent to rude + -ly.

rudeness

Middle English

From Middle English rudenesse, equivalent to rude + -ness.

Rudi

German

Borrowed from German Rudi.

rudiment

Origin

From Old French rudiment, from Latin rudimentum (“a first attempt, a beginning”), plural rudimenta (“the elements”), from rudis (“rude”); see rude. By surface analysis, rude + -i- + -ment.