rusure 
insure (ro'zhur). . [Irreg.. < r,s-pl + -lor.] 
The sliding down of a hedge, mound of earth, 
bank, or building. [Prov. Eng.] 
ruswut, n. See rusot. 
rut 1 (rut), n. [Formerly also rutt; with short- 
ened vowel, < ME. rate, route, < OF. route, way, 
path, street, trace, track, etc., < ML. rupta, a 
way, path: see route 1 , the same word, partly 
adapted to the mod. F. form route.] 1. A nar- 
row track worn or cut in the ground ; especial- 
ly, the hollow track made by a wheel in pass- 
. ing over the ground. 
And as from nils mine waters headlong fall, 
That all waieB eate huge ruts. 
Chapman, Iliad, iv. 480. 
A sleepy land where under the same wheel 
The same old rut would deepen year by year. 
Tennyson, Aylmer's Field. 
2f. A wrinkle. 
To behold thee not painted inclines somewhat neere 
A miracle ; these in thy face here were deep ruttn. 
Webster, Duchess of Malfl, ii. 1. 
These many ruts and furrows in thy cheeks 
Proves thy old face to be but champion-ground, 
Till'd with the plough of age. 
Randolph, Hey for Honesty, iv. 3. 
3. Any beaten path or mode of procedure ; an 
established habit or course. 
War? the worst that follows 
Things that seem jerk'd out of the common rut 
Of Nature is the hot religious fool, 
Who, seeing war in heaven, for heaven's credit 
Makes it on earth. Tennyson, Harold, i. 1. 
The rut* of human lite are full of healing for sick souls. 
We cannot be always taking the initiative and beginning 
life anew. J. F. Clarice, Self-Culture, Lect. ivii., p. 375. 
The disciples of a great master take the husk for the 
grain ; they harden into the ruts of scholarship. 
The Century, XL. 250. 
rut 1 (rut), v. t.; pret. and pp. rutted, ppr. rut- 
ting. [< rut 1 , .] To mark with or as witli 
ruts ; trace furrows in ; also, to wrinkle : as. to 
rut the earth with a spade, or with cart-wheels. 
The two in high glee started behind old Dobbin, and 
jogged along the deep-rutted plashy roads. 
T. Hughes, Tom Brown at Rugby, i. 3. 
His face . . . deeply nttted here and there with ex- 
pressive valleys and riverine lines of wrinkle. 
E. Jenkins, Week of Passion, xiii. 
rut- (rut), . [Formerly also rutt; < ME. "rut, 
ruit, < OF. ruit, rut, a roaring, the noise of 
deer, etc., atthe time of sexual excitement, rut, 
F. rut, rut, = Sp. ruido = Pg. rugido = It. rug- 
flito, a roaring, bellowing, < L. rugitiis, a roar- 
ing as of lions, a rumbling, < rugire (> It. rug- 
dire = Pr. Sp. Pg. rugir = OF. ruir, F. rugir), 
roar, < / ru, make a noise, Skt. / ru, hum, 
bray : see rumor. In the lit. sense ('a roaring') 
the word appears to have merged in rouft, 
rote 4 .] If. A roaring noise ; uproar. 
Theues that loueden ryot and ruit. 
Holy Jtood (ed. Morris), p. 13-2. 
And there arose such rut, th' unruly rout among, 
That soon the noise thereof through all the ocean rong. 
Drayton, Polyolbion, ii. 446. 
2. The noise made by deer at the time of sex- 
ual excitement; hence, the periodical sexual 
excitement or heat of animals ; the period of 
heat. 
rut 2 (rut), .; pret. and pp. rutted, ppr. rutting. 
[< ME. rutien, rutyen; < rut 2 , .] I. iiitrans. 
To be in heat; desire copulation. 
II. traits. To copulate with. [Rare.] 
What piety forbids the lusty ram, 
Or more salacious goat, to rut their dam? 
Dryden, tr. of Ovid's Metamorph., x. 
rut 3 (rut), c. t. An obsolete or dialectal form of 
rouft. 
Ruta (ro'ta), H. [NL. (Tournefort, 1700), < L. 
ruta, < Or. PVTI/, rue : see rwe 2 .] A genus of 
polypetalous plants, type of the order Rutacese 
and tribe Rutex. it is characterized by a sessile four- 
or five-celled ovary, and eight or ten stamens alternately 
shorter, their filaments dilated at the base, and by four or 
five arched and toothed petals growing from a thick urn- 
shaped receptacle. There are about 50 species, widely 
scattered through the Mediterranean region and western 
and central Asia. They are herbs with perennial or some- 
what shrubby base, dotted with glands and emitting a 
heavy odor. They bear alternate leaves, either simple, 
divided, trifoliate, or decompound, and many-flowered 
terminal corymbs or panicles of yellow or greenish flow- 
ers. The general name of the species is rue (which see). 
See cut under Octandria. 
rutabaga (ro-ta-ba'ga), 11. [= F. rutabaga; of 
Sw. or Lapp, origin (?).] The Swedish turnip, 
a probable derivative, with the rape and com- 
mon turnip, of Brassica campestris. The leaves are 
smooth and covered with a bloom, and the roots are longer 
than broad. The rutabaga is more nutritious than the 
common turnip. There are numerous varieties. 
Rutaceae (rij-ta'se-e), H. pi. [NL. (A. P. df 
Candolle, 1824), fern. pi. of L. rutaceus, of or 
5282 
belonging to rue: see rutaceonx.~] An order 
of polypetalous plants of the cohort Gcranialcs 
and series Disciflorse. It is characterized by flowers 
with four or five sepals and as many broadly imbricated 
petals, by an ovary of four or five carpels, either wholly 
connate or united only by their basilar or ventral styles 
or their stigmas, or rarely entirely free, the ovules com- 
monly two in each cell, and usually by an annular or bowl- 
shaped disk withiu the circle of stamens. The seeds are 
oblong or reniform, most often sessile and solitary in the 
cell, often with a shining crust, with or without fleshy albu- 
men. The order includes about 780 species, of 101 gen- 
era and 7 tribes, scattered through the warm and temper- 
ate parts of the globe, most abundant in South Africa and 
Australia, least frequent in tropical Africa. They are 
shrubs or trees, rarely herbs, dotted with glands and of- 
ten exhaling a heavy odor. They bear leaves without stip- 
ules, which are usually opposite, sometimes simple, but 
more often compound, and of one, three, or live leaflets, 
or variously pinnate. The flowers are most often in axil- 
lary cymes ; the fruit is very various. There are two well- 
marked series, of which the larger and typical, having the 
ovary deeply lobed and the fruit capsular, contains the 
tribes Cuspariete, Rutex, Diosmeee, Boroniex, and Xan- 
thoxyleee; and the smaller, having the ovary little if at all 
lobed, and the fruit coriaceous, drupaceous, or a berry, 
contains the tribes Toddalteie and Aurantiea. The last 
includes, in the genus Citrus, the orange and the lemon, 
which depart from the type in their numerous carpels, 
ovules, and stamens. For some of the important genera, 
see Ruta (the type), Ptelea, Xanthoxylum, Citrus, Murraya, 
Peganum, and Dictamnug. 
rutaceous (rij-ta'shius), a. [< L. rutaceus, < 
ruta, rue : see re 2 .] Of, belonging to, or char- 
acterizing the plant-order Rutacese; resembling 
rue. 
rute 1 , v. and n. An obsolete or dialectal form 
of rouft. 
rute 2 t, . and r. A Middle English form of 
rooft. 
rute 3 (rot), n. [Cf. W. rhiotws, broken parts, 
dregs, rhwtion, rhytion, particles rubbed off.] 
In mining, very small threads of ore. 
Rutese (ro'te-e), n. pi. [NL. (Adrien de Jus- 
sieu, 1829), ( Ruta + -ese.] A tribe of plants of 
the order Rutacese, characterized by free and 
spreading petals and stamens, a free and thick- 
ened disk, three or more ovules in a cell, 
fleshy albumen, and a curved embryo, it in- 
cludes 6 genera, of which Ruta is the type. The species 
are herbs, often with a shrubby base, with perfect, mostly 
regular flowers, their parts commonly in fours, and often 
with pinnately divided leaves. They are widely scat- 
tered through most northern temperate regions. 
Rutela (ro'te-la), n. [NL. (Latreille, 1817), an 
error for Rutila, fern, of L. rutilus, red: see 
rutile.~\ A genus of lamellicorn beetles, giving 
name to the Rutelinse or Rutelidte, having the 
claws entire and the scutellum longer than 
broad. They are beetles of a moderate size and short 
and stout form, and are ornamented with striking and 
variable colors. They are confined to South America 
and the West Indies, but one Cuban species, R. formvsa, 
has been seen in the United States. They are found on 
flowers. 
Rutelidse (ro-tel'i-de), u. pi. [NL. (MacLeay, 
1819), < Rutela + -ides.'] Afamily of lamellieorn 
beetles, usually ranking as a tribe or subfamily 
of Scarabseidte : a little-used term. 
Rutelinse (ro-te-li'ne), n. pi. [NL., < Rutela 
+ -ise.~\ A subfamily of Searabseidas, typified 
by the genus Rutela; the goldsmith-beetles 
or tree-beetles. They are splendid metallic beetles, 
mostly of the warmer parts of America. The body is 
shorter, rounder, and more polished than is usually the 
case with scarabs, and the tarsi are thick, enabling the 
insects to cling closely to trees. One of the commonest 
and most beautiful species is Areoda (Cotalpa) lanigera, 
the goldsmith-beetle, ," inch long, of a yellow color glit- 
tering like gold on the head and thorax. They appear 
in New England about the middle of May. Plusiotii glo- 
riosa is pale-green, with the margins of the body and broad 
stripes on the elytra of pure polished gold-color. Also 
Rutelidffi as a family and Rutelini as a tribe. See cut un- 
der Cotalpa. 
ruth (roth), n. [< ME. ntthe, reutlie, rewth, 
rewthe, routh, reouthe, reowthe, < Icel. hryggtli, 
hri/gth, ruth, sorrow, < hryggr, grieved, sor- 
rowful: see rue 1 , v. The equiv. noun in AS. 
was hretiic: see rue 1 , .] 1. Sorrow; misery; 
grief. 
Of the quenes profer the puple hadde reuthe, 
For sche fel to-fore the best flat to the grounde ; 
Ther was weping & wo wonderli riue. 
William of Palerne (E. E. T. S.), 1. 4413. 
Reign thou above the storms of sorrow and ruth 
That roar beneath ; unshaken peace hath won thee. 
Tennyson, Sonnet, Though Night hath climbed, etc. 
2. That which brings ruth ; cruel or barbarous 
conduct. 
No ruthe were it to rug the and ryue the in ropes. 
York Plays, p. 286. 
The Danes with ruth our realme did ouerrunne, 
Their wrath inwrapte vs all in wretchednesse. 
Mir. for Mags., I. 445. 
I come not here to be your foe ! 
I seek these anchorites, not in ruth, 
To curse and to deny your truth. 
X. Arnold, Stanzas from the Grande Chartreuse. 
ruthless 
3. Sorrow for the misery of another; compas- 
sion; pity; mercy; tenderness. 
For-thi I rede the riche haue reuthe on the pore. 
Piers Plowman (A), i. 149. 
Tho can she weepe, to Btirre up gentle ruth 
Both for her noble blood and for her tender youth. 
Spenser, F. Q., I. i. 50. 
Vouchsafe of ruth 
To tell us who inhabits this fair town. 
Marlowe and Nash, Dido, Queen of Carthage, 11. 1. 41. 
4. Repentance; regret. , 
Of worldly pleasure it is a treasure, to say truth, 
To wed a gentle wyfe ; of his bargayne he needes no ruth. 
Babeet Book (E. E. T. S.), p. 8. 
5. A pitiful sight; a pity. 
I trowe that to a norice in this case 
It had been hard this rewthe for to see ; 
Wei myhte a moder than han cryed alias ! 
Chaucer, Clerk's Tale, 1. 506. 
For the principil of this text hath he contynued in day- 
ly experiens sithe bifore the Parlement of Bury ; but the 
conclusion of this text came neuer zet to experiens, and 
that is gret rewthe. Paston Letters, I. 536. 
[Ruth in all its various senses is obsolete or 
archaic.] 
Ruthenian (rij-the'ni-an), a. and n. [< Rutlie- 
nia, a name of Russia, + -an.] I. a. Of or per- 
taining to the Ruthenians Ruthenian Catho- 
lics. Same as United Ruthenians. Ruthenian stur- 
geon, Acipenser ruthenius. See sterlet. 
II. . 1. A member of that part of the Little 
Russian race dwelling in the eastern part of 
the Austrian empire. Also called Russniak. 
See Little Russian, under Russian. 2. The 
language spoken by the Ruthenians : same as 
Little Russian. See Russian. United Ruthenians, 
those Ruthenians in Russian Poland and Austria-Hungary,' 
belonging to communities formerly of the Orthodox Eastern 
Church, who acknowledge the supremacy of the Pope, but 
still continue to use the Old Slavonic liturgy. They have 
a married secular clergy, and a religions order which fol- 
lows the rule of St. Basil. Also called Ruthenian Catholics. 
ruthenic (rij-then'ik), a. [< ruthen-ium + -c.] 
Pertaining to or derived from ruthenium. 
ruthenious (rij-the'ni-us), a. [< ruthenium + 
-ous. ] Pertaining to or derived from ruthenium : 
noting compounds having a lower valence than 
ruthenic compounds. 
ruthenium (rij-the'ni-um), n. [NL., < Ruthe- 
nia, a name of Russia, whence it was original- 
ly obtained.] Chemical symbol, Ru; atomic 
weight, 103.5 (Claus). A metal of the platinum 
group. The name was given by Osann, in 1828, to one of 
three supposed new metals found in platinum ores from 
the Ural mountains. Most of what is known of it is due 
to Claus, who, in 1845, proved the existence of one of 
Osann's new metals, and retained his name (ruthenium) 
for it, because there was really a new metal in the sub- 
stance called by Osann "ruthenium oxide," although, in 
point of fact, this was made up chiefly of various other 
substances silica, zirconia, etc. Ruthenium is found in 
native platinum as well as in osmiridium, and in laurite, 
which is a sesqui-sulphuret of ruthenium, and occurs in 
Borneo and Oregon. It is a hard, brittle metal, fusing with 
more difficulty than any metal of the platinum group, with 
the exception of osmium. It is very little acted on by 
aqua regia, but combines with chlorin at a red heat. Its 
specific gravity, at 32, is 12.261. 
rutherfordite (ro'ther-fqrd-it), n. [< Ruther- 
ford (see def.) + -te 2 .] A rare and imper- 
fectly known mineral found in the gold-mines 
of Rutherford county, North Carolina: it is 
supposed to contain titanic acid, cerium, etc. 
ruthful (roth'ful), . [< ME. reuthful, reouth- 
ful, reowthful; < ruth + -ful.'] 1. Full of sor- 
row; sorrowful; woful; rueful. 
What sad and ruthful faces ! 
Fletcher, Double Marriage, ill. 2. 
2. Causing ruth or pity; piteous. 
In Aust eke if the vyne yerde be lene, 
And she, thi vyne, a ruthful thing to se. 
Palladium, Husbondrie (E. E. T. 3.), p. 171. 
that my death would stay these ruthful deeds ! 
Shak., 3 Hen. VI., ii. 6. 95. 
Say a ruthful chance broke woof and warp. 
Browning, Sordello. 
3. Full of ruth or pity ; merciful; compassion- 
ate. 
Biholt, thou man with rmtthful herte, 
The sharpe scourge with knottes smerte. 
Political Poems, etc. (ed. Furnivall), p. 226. 
He [God] ruthful is to man. TurteniUe, Eclogues, ill. 
ruthfully (roth'ful-i), adt: [< ME. reowthfnl- 
liche; < ruthful + -Ci/ 2 .] Wofully; sadly; pite- 
ously; mournfully. 
The flower of horse and foot . . . ruthfully perished. 
Knottes, Hist. Turks. 
ruthless (roth'les), a. [< ME. reuthelts, rewthe- 
less, routhelfs; < ruth + -less.] 1. Having no 
ruth or pity; cruel; pitiless; barbarous; in- 
sensible to the miseries of others. 
She loketh bakward to the londe, 
And seyde, "farwel, housbond reu-theless." 
Chaucer, Man of Law's Tale, 1. 765. 
