rushed 
And rushed floors, whereon our children play'd. 
J. Baillie. 
(rush'er), . [< rush 1 + -o-i.] One 
who strews rushes on the floors at dances. 
Their pipers, fiddlers, rushers, puppet-masters, 
Jugglers, and gipsies. B. Jonson, New Inn, v. 1. 
rusher 2 (rush'er), n. [< rush 2 + -er 1 .] 1. One 
who rushes ; one who acts with undue haste 
and violence. 2. Specifically, in foot-ball, a 
player whose special function it is to force the 
ball toward his opponents' goal, prevent it from 
being kicked or brought toward his own, and 
protect the backs while they kick or run with 
the ball. When eleven players are on each side, the 
rushers are known, according to their positions in the 
rush-line, as riijhl end, riijht tackle, rii/M guard, center 
rusher, le.fi i/uard, left tackle, left end. See foot-ball. Also 
called forward. 
3. A go-ahead person ; a rustler. [Colloq.] 
The pretty girl from the East is hardly enough of a rusher 
to please the young Western masculine taste. 
The Century, XXXVIII. 874. 
rush-grass (rush'gras), w. Any one of certain 
grasses formerly classed as T'ilfti, now included 
in Sporobohts. They are wiry grasses, with their pani- 
cles more or less included in the leaf-sheaths, thus having 
a slightly rush-like appearance. 
rush-grown (rush'gron), a. Overgrown with 
rushes. 
As by the brook, that ling'ring laves 
Yon rushgrown moor with sable waves. 
T. Warton, Odes, vi. 
rush-holder (rush'hoFder), it. A clip-candle- 
stick used for rushlights. It is sometimes made 
small to stand upon the table, sometimes arranged to 
hang upon the wall, and sometimes made four feet or 
more high and intended to stand upon the floor. 
rushiness (ruah'i-nes), n. The state of being 
rushy, or abounding with rushes. 
rushing 1 (rush' ing), H. [Compare rs/< 2 , 10.] A 
refreshment. HalliweU. [Prov. Eug.] 
rushing 2 (rush'ing), 11. [Verbal n. of rush?, r.] 
A rush. 
All down the valley that night there was a rushing as of 
a smooth and steady wind descending towards the plain. 
R. L. Stei-enson, Will o' the Mill. 
rushlight (rush'lit), n. A rush-candle. 
He had a great red pipe in his mouth, and was smoking, 
and staring at the rushlight, in a state of enviable placid- 
ity. Dickens, Pickwick, xliv. 
Day had not yet begun to dawn, and a rushlight or two 
burned in the room. Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre, v. 
rush-like (rush'lik), a. Resembling a rush; 
hence, weak. 
Who thought it not true honour's glorious prize. 
By nimblie cap'ring in a daintie dance, . . . 
Ne yet did seeke their glorie to aduance 
By only tilting with a rush-like lance. 
Mir. for Hays., p. 788. 
rush-lily (rush'lil"i), H. A plant of the more 
showy species of blue-eyed grass, Sisyrincltium, 
especially S. grandiflorum, a species with bright- 
yellow flowers, native in northwestern Amer- 
ica, occasionally cultivated. 
rush-line (rush'lin), H. The line or row in which 
the rushers in foot-ball stand when in position ; 
the rushers collectively. 
rush-nut (rush'nut), n. A plant, Cypcrus escu- 
lentus. The tubers, called by the French smichet comes- 
tible or amande de terre, are used as food in the south of 
Europe, and have been proposed as a substitute, when 
roasted, for coffee and cocoa. 
rush-Stand (rush'stand), n. Same as rush- 
holder. 
rush-stick (rush'stik), M. Same as rush-holder. 
rush-toad (rush'tod), n. The natterjack, Bufo 
calamita. 
rushy (rush'i), . [<rtts/|l + -yl.] 1. Abound- 
ing with rushes. 
Met we on hill, in dale, forest, or mead, 
By paved fountain or by rushy brook. 
Shak., M. N. D., ii. 1. 84. 
Beside some water's rushy brink 
With me the Muse shall sit 
Gray, Ode on the Spring. 
2. Made of rushes. 
My rushii couch and frugal fare. 
Goldsmith, The Hermit. 
rushy-fringed (rush'i-frinjd), a. Fringed with 
rushes; rushy. 
By the ruehy -fringed bank, 
Where grows the willow, and the osier dank, 
My sliding chariot stays. 
Milton, Comus, 1. 890. 
rushy-millt (rush'i-mil), n. A toy mill-wheel 
made of rushes and placed in running water. 
The god . . . solemnely then swore 
His spring should flow some other way : . . . 
Nor drive the rushy-mills that in his way 
The shepheards made: but rather for their lot. 
Send them red waters that their sheepe should rot. 
W. Broicne, Britannia's Pastorals, i. 1. 
5278 
rusine (ro'sin), a. [< Rusa 1 + -ine 1 ."] Resem- 
bling or related to the rusa, or having its kind 
of antler ; belonging to the group of deer whicli 
Rusa represents. See cut under Rusa 1 . 
rusk (rusk), n. [Prob. < Sp. rosca, a screw, 
anything round and spiral (rosca de pan, or sim- 
ply rosca, a roll or twist of bread; cf. rosca de 
mar, sea-rusk, a kind of biscuit; dim. rosquete, 
a pancake, rosquilla, roll of bread, etc.), = Pg. 
rosca, a screw, the winding or wriggling of 
a serpent; origin unknown.] It. A kind of 
light, hard cake or bread, as for ships' stores. 
[Eng.] 
I ... filled a basket full of white Ruske to carie a shoare 
with me, but before I came to the Banio the Turkish boy us 
had taken away almost all my bread. 
Uakluyt's Voyages, II. 186. 
The lady sent me divers presents of fruit, sugar, and 
rusk. Raleigh. 
2. Bread or cake dried and browned in the 
oven, and reduced to crumbs by pounding, the 
crumbs being usually eaten with milk. [New 
Eng.] 3. A kind of light cake ; a kind of soft, 
sweetened biscuit. 
It is pleasant to linger on the hills and enjoy stakantchal 
and fresh rusks and butter with the natives, till the blue 
shadows have gathered over the glorious distant city. 
A. J. C. Hare, Studies in Russia, vi. 
rusk (rusk), v. t. [< rusk, .] To make rusk of; 
convert, as bread or cake, into rusk. See rusk, 
n., 2. [New Eng.] 
ruskie (rus'ki), n. [Perhaps of Celtic origin (see 
rucJie), or akin to noftl.J Any receptacle or 
utensil made of twigs, straw, or the like, as a 
basket, a hat, or a beehive. 
rusma (ruz'ma), n. See rlntsma. 
rusot, niSWUt (rus'ot, rus'wut), n. In India, 
an extract from the wood or roots of different 
species of Berberis, used with opium and alum 
as an application in conjunctivitis. It is sup- 
posed to be the same as the lycium of the an- 
cients. See Berberis. 
Russ (rus), . and M. [Early mod. E. Russe; < 
F. Russe = Sp. R HSO = Pg. It. Russo = G. Russe 
= D. Bus = Icel. (pi.) Russar = Dan. Russer = 
Sw. Ri/ss (NL. RUSSHS), Buss, Russian, < Russ. 
Ri/si, the Russ, Russia (cf. Rossiya, Russia), = 
Pol. Rus; Hung. Oros:, Russ; Finn. Ruotsi, 
Sweden.] I. a. Of or pertaining to the Russ 
or Russians. 
II. H. 1. The language of the Russ or Rus- 
sians. 2. sing, and pi. A native or the natives 
of Russia. See Russian, which is the custom- 
ary form. 
The Tartar sent the Russe a knife, therewith to stab 
himselfe. Purchas, Pilgrimage, p. 420. 
The Russe of better sort goes not out in Winter but on 
his Sled. Hilton, Hist Moscovia, i. 481. 
Buss. An abbreviation of Russia or Russian. 
russelt (rus'el), n. [< OF. roussel, F. romseau, 
reddish, dim. of roux, reddish, russet,< L. russus, 
red: see red 1 , and cf. russet, russeting. Russel, 
like F. rousseau, has become a name (Russel, 
Russell; cf. Lovel, < OF. lovel, a wolf).] 1. A 
fox : in allusion to its reddish color. 
Dann Itussel, the fox, sterte up at cones, 
And by the garget hente Chauntecleer. 
Chaucer, Nun's Priest's Tale, 1. 514. 
2. pi. A Stuff, (a) In the sixteenth century, a mate- 
rial mentioned as made out of England from English wool. 
(b) In the eighteenth century, a twilled woolen material, 
used for garments. Diet, of Needlework. 
russel-cord (rus'el-kord), 11. A kind of rep 
made of cotton and wool, or sometimes wholly 
of wool. Diet, of Needlework. 
Russell's process. See process. 
russet (rus'et), o. and n. [< ME. russet, < OF. 
rousset (= It. rossetto), russet, brown, ruddy, 
hence also red wheat, etc., fern, rottssctte. a 
russet apple, a coarse brown cloth, russet (ML. 
russetum), dim. of roux, fern, rousse, reddish, 
= Pr. Cat. ros = Pg. rwfo = It. rosso, < L. 
russus, reddish (cf . L. russatus, clothed in red) ; 
put for "rudtus, < -\/ rudh, red: see red 1 .] I. 
ft. 1. Of a reddish-brown color: applied also 
to some light browns not reddish. When said of 
leather, it includes nearly every variety browner than red 
Russia ; but it does not include gray, nor pure buff. When 
applied to armor, a coppery red is generally meant a kind 
of finish common in the sixteenth century. 
But, look, the morn, in russet mantle clad, 
Walks o'er the dew of yon high eastward hill. 
Shak., Hamlet, i. 1. 16. 
His attire was a doublet of russet leather, like those 
worn by the better sort of country folk. 
Scott, Kenilworth, iii. 
The mellow year is hasting to its close ; . . . 
The russet leaves obstruct the straggling way 
Of oozy brooks. U. Coleridge, November. 
russeting 
2. Made of russet ; hence, coarse ; homespun; 
rustic : a use derived from the general color of 
homespun cloth. 
Though we be very poor and have but a russet coat, yet 
we are well. Latimer, Misc. Sel. 
In russet yeas, and honest kersey noes. 
Shak., L. L. L., v. 2. 413. 
His Muse had no objection to a russet attire ; but she 
turned with disgust from the finery of Uuarini. as tawdry 
and as paltry as the rags of a chimney-sweeper on May- 
day. Maeauiay, Milton. 
3. Made of russet leather. ' 
The minstrel's garb was distinctive. It was not always 
the short laced tunic, tight trousers, and russet boots, 
with a well plumed cap which seems to be the modern 
notion of this tuneful itinerant. 
Mayhem, London Labour and London Poor, I. 296. 
Russet gown, a homespun or rustic gown ; hence, one 
who wears such a gown ; a country girl. 
Squires come to Court some fine Town Lady, and Town 
Sparks to pick up a Russet Gown. 
Quoted in Ashton's Social Life in Reign of Queen Anne, 
[II. 112. 
She clad herself in a russet gown, . . . 
With a single rose in her hair. 
Tennyson, Lady Clare. 
Russet leather. See leather. 
II. . 1. A reddish-brown color: a broad 
and vague term, formerly applied to various 
shades of gray and brown or ash-color, some- 
times used restrietively, but in no well-settled 
sense. 
Grigiftto, a fine graie or sheepes russet. 
Florio, Worlde of Wordes (1588). 
Russet was the usual colour of hermits' robes ; Cutts, 
Scenes and Characters of the Middle Ages, p. 97. 
Piers Plowman, (ed. Skeat), II. 132, notes. 
Blacks, russets, and blues obtain in place of the clear 
silvery greys, pure whites, and fine scarlet reds of other 
days. Alhen/ruin, No. 3246, p. 56. 
2. Coarse cloth, country-made and often home- 
spun, used for the garments of peasantry and 
even of country people of some means: a 
term originally derived from the reddish-brown 
color of much cloth of this quality, and retained 
when the color was different, as gray or ash- 
colored. 
Thel vsen russet also somme of this freres, 
That bitokneth trauaile A- trewthe opon erthe. 
Piers Plouman's Crede (E. E. T. 8.), 1. 719. 
Though your clothes are of light Lincolne green, 
And mine gray russet, and tome, 
Yet it doth not you beseme 
To doe an old man scome. 
Robin Hood and the Old Man (Child's Ballads, V. 258). 
Her country russet was turn'd to silk and velvet, 
As to her state agreed. 
Patient Grissel (Child's Ballads, IV. 209). 
3f. pi. Clothes of russet ; especially, the garb 
of a shepherd. 
There was many a frolic swain, 
In fresh russets day by day, 
That kept revels on the plain. 
Drayton, .Shepherd's Hirena. 
He borrowed on the working dales 
His holie russets oft. 
Warner, Albion's England, iv. 27. 
Let me alone to provide russets, crook, and tar-box. 
Shirley, Love Tricks, iv. 5. 
4. In leather-mantif., leather finished, but not. 
polished or colored, except as colored by the 
tanning liquor ; russet leather. 
They [skins] can be kept best in the state of finished 
russet, as it is called, previous to waxing. 
Eneyc. Brit., XIV. 387. 
5. A kind of winter apple having a brownish 
color, rough skin, and characteristic flavor. 
Though no doubt named from its color, this is rather buff 
than russet, with a greenish bronze-like luster, very strik- 
ing in some varieties. 
Folks used to set me down among the simple ones, in 
my younger days. But I suppose I am like a Eoxbury 
russet a great deal the better, the longer I con be kept. 
Hawthorne, Seven Gables, xxi. 
russet (rus'et), v. t. [< russet, a.] To give a 
russet hue to ; change into russet. [Rare.] 
The summer ray 
Russets the plain, inspiring Autumn gleams. 
Thomson, Hymn, 1. 96. 
russetingt (rus'et-ing), n. [Also russetting, and 
in def. 3 russetin; < russet + ing 1 .'] 1. Russet 
cloth. 
He must chaunge his russeting 
For satin and silke, 
And he must weare no linnen shirt 
That is not white ns milke, 
To come of a well borne familie. 
Tarlton, Horse-loade of Fooles. (Hallimll.) 
2. A person clothed in russet; a rustic; usual- 
ly, an ignorant, clownish person. [Rare.] 
Let me heare it, my sweet noseting. 
Heywood, Fair Maid of the Exchange (Works, II. 57). 
3. A russet apple. 
