rural English · revision 4304

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1412–20|origins=la rus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈrʊə.rəl/, US /ˈrʊr.əl/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|frm|rural]], Old French rural (14th century),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[la|rūrālis|t=of the countryside]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021) from rūs (genitive rūris) “open land, country”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[ine-pro|*rewh₁-|alt=*reue-|t=to open; space]],^(Etymonline) the root of [[room]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Of persons, “living in the country”: 1412–20 in the OED,^(OED 1989) the early 15th century in Etymonline.^(Etymonline) Barnhart's first example, rual “common, lowly, unlearned”, is before 1420 in Lydgate's Troy Book, and “of farm work” probably before 1425.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A ''rural dean'' is from about 1450.^(OED 1989) Other 15th-century senses were “lowly, unlearned, uncouth, unpolished”,^(Etymonline) and the noun, a country person, is from the mid-15th century.^(Etymonline) Of poetry or music suited to the country it is from about 1470,^(OED 1989) and “characteristic of country folk” from 1513.^(OED 1989) The general sense “of the country as opposed to the town” is from the 1580s.^(Etymonline) The OED notes that rural and rustic at first meant much the same, but rural came to be used for locality and country scenes, rustic for the primitive manners of country life.^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) ''Rural free delivery'' of mail is from 1892 in American English.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1412–20 – living in the country.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1450 – ''rural dean''.^(OED 1989)

+ * mid-15th century – noun, a country person.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1513 – rustic.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1580s – of the countryside generally.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1892 – ''rural free delivery''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of, relating to or typical of the [[countryside]] rather than the town.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Of or relating to people who live in the country.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Of or relating to farming; [[agricultural]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[rurally]]

+ * [[rurality]]

+ * [[ruralism]]

+ * [[ruralist]]

+ * [[ruralize]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[rustic]]

+ * [[room]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The American Heritage distinguishes rural, for thinly settled or farming country, from bucolic, often facetious about country people, rustic, which suggests a lack of sophistication or artless simplicity, and pastoral, which calls up the charm and serenity of shepherds' country.^(AHD)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}