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rue

Etymology and origin of the French word rue

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rue1 street

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 1050, Vie de saint Alexis
Inherited from
Latin ruga via Old French
Ultimate origin
Latin (rūga)

Pronunciation

Forms

rue f (plural rues)[1]

Etymology

The street is inherited from Old French rue, inherited from Latin rūga (“wrinkle”), which in Late and popular Latin took by metaphor the sense “path, road lined with houses”.[2][3][4][5][1] The sense “wrinkle” survives in Italian ruga, Spanish arruga and Old Occitan “ruga”, and in rugueux.[3][4] The Latin word has no clear etymology, Rey mentions Lithuanian raũkas (“wrinkle”).[3]

Bloch and Wartburg note that the sense “street” is rare outside French; Spanish rúa and Portuguese rua were borrowed from French.[4][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

About 1050 the Vie de saint Alexis uses it for a way lined with houses in a town; the Chanson de Roland has Toutes les rues ù li bourgeis estunt “all the streets where the burghers live”.[2][7]

Semantic evolution

Courir les rues meant “to be mad” (1549), then “to be known to everyone” (1660), and vieux comme les rues “very old” dates from 1640.[3] In 1675 Madame de Sévigné used la rue for the residents of a street; it also came to mean the common people as a political force (descendre dans la rue).[2][3] Enfant des rues is in Hugo (1834).[3]

Technical senses include a gallery left in a quarry (1701), a division of a stage (1772) and, in printing, a “river” of white space (1904).[2][3] The diminutive ruelle (about 1138) also named the space between a bed and the wall, and in the 17th century the bedrooms where ladies received visitors.[3][4]

Timeline

  • c. 1050 – Rue in the Vie de saint Alexis.[2]
  • c. 1138 – Ruelle.[3][4]
  • 1549 – Courir les rues.[3]
  • 1640 – Vieux comme les rues.[3]
  • 1675 – The residents of a street, in Madame de Sévigné.[2]
  • 1834 – Enfant des rues in Hugo.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A street: habiter rue du Bac, traverser la rue.[8][9]
  2. The people living in a street: toute la rue est au courant.[9]
  3. La rue: the outdoors of a town; the common people: la pression de la rue, être à la rue, to be homeless.[9][3]
  4. (theatre) The space between two sets of wings.[9][2]

Word family

  • ruelle

rue2 the plant

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
late 11th century, Gloses de Raschi (rude)
Inherited from
Latin ruta via Old French
Ultimate origin
Latin (rūta)

Pronunciation

Forms

rue f (plural rues)[1] Old French rude (late 11th century), rue (12th century).[3][10]

Etymology

The plant is inherited from Old French rude, inherited from Latin rūta (“rue”).[3][10][4][11][1] Rey thinks the Latin word may come from Ancient Greek ῥυτή (rhutḗ), unless both were borrowed from the same substrate.[3][1]

Cognate with Italian ruta, Occitan ruda, Spanish ruda and Portuguese arruda.[4][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found as rude at the end of the 11th century in Rashi's glosses.[3][12]

Semantic evolution

The word has kept its sense, a Mediterranean plant once prized for its antiseptic and stimulating leaves.[3] The learned derivative rutacées (1803) names the plant family, which includes the citrus fruits.[3]

Timeline

  • Late 11th century – Rude in Rashi's glosses.[3][12]
  • 12th century – The form rue.[3][10]
  • 1803 – Rutacées.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. rue: a strong-smelling perennial herb with yellow flowers (Ruta).[12][9]
  • rugueux

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g 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 g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 10, 543b
  6. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  7. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ a b c d e Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  10. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  11. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 10, 597a
  12. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Rue.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/rue. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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