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Origin and history of Ruth

Ruth

fem. proper name, biblical ancestor of David, from Hebrew Ruth, probably a contraction of reuth "companion, friend, fellow woman." The Old Testament book tells her story.

ruth(n.)

c. 1200, perhaps late Old English, ruthe, "misery, sorrow, grief;" also "pity, compassion, sorrow for the misery of another" (often in have ruth, take ruth); also "remorse, repentance, regret;" from Old Norse hryggð "ruth, sorrow," from hryggr "sorrowful, grieved" (see rue (v.)) + Proto-Germanic abstract noun suffix *-itho (see -th (2)).

Or else formed in English from reuwen "to rue" on the model of true/truth, etc. The Old English word was rue (n.2).

also from c. 1200

Entries linking to Ruth

rue(v.)

Old English hreowan (class II strong verb; past tense hreaw, past participle hrowen), "make (someone) sorry, cause (someone) to grieve, distress, affect with regret," transitive senses now obsolete, from Proto-Germanic *khrewan (which is source also of Old Frisian riowa, Middle Dutch rouwen, Old Dutch hrewan, German reuen "to sadden, cause repentance").

It is in part blended with the Old English weak verb hreowian "feel pain or sorrow," and perhaps influenced by Old Norse hryggja "make sad." Both are from Proto-Germanic *khruwjan, all from PIE root *kreue- (2) "to push, strike" (see anacrusis).

The meaning "repent of, feel remorse for, feel regret for something or how it happened," is attested by c. 1200; the intransitive sense of "be sorrowful or penitent, experience grief" is recorded from 14c. Related: Rued; ruing.

King John. France, thou shalt rue this hour within this hour. ["King John," Act III, Scene 1]
roofie(n.)

also rufy, rophy, ruffie, "Rohypnol" by 1989, the name is perhaps a variant on Rohypnol (the erroneous spelling Rophynol is recorded in newspapers and magazines by 1992). The meaning "any drug used to incapacitate someone, especially one secreted into food or drink," is attested by 2002.

Earlier it was also a nickname, typically a variant of Ruth.

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commiseration
"sympathetic suffering of grief or sorrow for the afflictions or distress of another," 1580s, from French commisération, from Latin commiserationem (nominative commiseratio) "part of an oration intended to excite compassion," noun of action from past-participle stem of commiserar
pity
mid-13c., pite, "compassion, kindness, generosity of spirit;" c. 1300 "disposition to mercy, quality of being merciful," also "a feeling of sympathy and compassion aroused by the sorrow or suffering of another," from Old French pite, pitet "pity, mercy, compassion, care, tenderne
wet
Do we not know them, those wet blankets who come down on our pleasant little fires and extinguish them, with no more ruth...
sympathy
1580s (1570s in Latin form), "affinity between certain things" (body and soul, persons and their garments), from French sympathie (16c.) and directly from Late Latin sympathia "community of feeling, sympathy," from Greek sympatheia "fellow-feeling, community of feeling," from sym
hurt
c. 1200, "to injure, wound" (the body, feelings, reputation, etc.), also "to stumble (into), bump into; charge against, rush, crash into; knock (things) together," from Old French hurter "to ram, strike, collide with" (Modern French heurter), a word of uncertain origin. Perhaps f
potash
"vegetable alkali; substance obtained originally by leaching wood-ashes and evaporating the solution obtained in a large iron pot or pan; one of the fixed alkalis," 1751, earlier pot-ash (1640s), a loan-translation of older Dutch potaschen, literally "pot ashes" (16c.); see pot (
glitch
by 1953, said to have been in use in radio broadcast jargon since early 1940s, American English, possibly from Yiddish glitsh "a slip," from glitshn "to slip," from German glitschen, and related gleiten "to glide" (see glide (v.)). Perhaps directly from German. Apparently it bega
plague
late 14c., plage, "affliction, calamity, evil, scourge, severe trouble or vexation;" early 15c., "malignant disease," from Old French plage (14c., Modern French plaie), from Late Latin plaga "affliction; slaughter, destruction," used in Vulgate for "pestilence," from Latin plaga
fairy
c. 1300, fairie, "the country or home of supernatural or legendary creatures; fairyland," also "something incredible or fictitious," from Old French faerie "land of fairies, meeting of fairies; enchantment, magic, witchcraft, sorcery" (12c.), from fae "fay," from Latin fata "the
toast
"to brown with heat," late 14c., from Old French toster "to toast, to grill, roast, burn" (12c.), from Vulgar Latin *tostare (source of Italian tostare, Spanish tostar), frequentative of Latin torrere (past participle tostus) "to parch," from PIE root *ters- "to dry." Related: To

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