ru

Forms

ru m (plural rus)^[1] Old French riu, rui, ru.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French ru, inherited from Latin rīvus (“brook, small stream”).^[2][3][5][6] Wiktionary gives the intermediate *rius and traces the Latin word to Proto-Indo-European *h₃rih₂wós, from *h₃reyh₂- (“to flow, set in motion”).^[1] Rey links it to an Indo-European root *rei-, also seen in Sanskrit and Old Church Slavonic verbs for running and flowing.^[3]

Cognate with Italian rio, Spanish río and Old Occitan riu.^[3][5][7] Rive and rivière are from another source.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded as riu about 1165 in Chrétien de Troyes's Guillaume d'Angleterre, and as ru in Alexandre de Paris's Roman d'Alexandre (1180–1190), meaning a small stream.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Joinville wrote of the two ruz that join to form the Jordan.^[7] A figurative use, rius d'umilité, is recorded in the 13th century.^[2] Ru was supplanted by ruisseau and ruisselet, and has been missing from the literary language since the 16th century, though it lives on in many northern dialects and in place names.^[3][5][2] Writers such as Claudel and Dorgelès took it up again in the 20th century.^[2] Littré notes its use for a spring-fed stream in Lower Burgundy.^[7]

Timeline

• c. 1165 – Riu in Chrétien de Troyes's Guillaume d'Angleterre.^[2]
• 1180–1190 – Ru in Alexandre de Paris's Roman d'Alexandre.^[2]
• 13th century – Figurative rius d'umilité.^[2]
• 16th century – The word leaves the literary language.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. (dated or regional) A small stream, a brook; ruisselet: un ru coule au bout du pré.^[2][8][9]
2. A channel fed by a small stream.^[7]

Related words

• ruisseau
• rio
• Latin rīvus

Usage notes

Littré has a separate ru from ruer: in 16th-century branles, ru de vache was a sideways kick of the leg, like a cow's.^[7] The word is pronounced like rue¹.^[8]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 10, 422a
7. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)