rough English · revision 4881

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=a. 1000|origins=gmw-pro *rūh}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /rʌf/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|rough]], ruhe, [[inh|ang|rūh|t=not smooth, coarse; hairy, shaggy]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[gmw-pro|*rūh|alt=*rūχ(w)az]],^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline) the source also of Dutch ruig and German rauh.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) It is perhaps related to Sanskrit rūkṣá- “rough”, Lithuanian raukas “wrinkle”^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) and Latin ruga “wrinkle”.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) The -gh was once sounded as in Scottish loch, and the form row lingered in dialects.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Having a surface with small points or bristles, not smooth, and of cloth coarse: before 1000 in the OED.^(OED 1989) In Old English it also described undressed hides and uncultivated ground.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Of actions, harsh, is from about 1300,^(Etymonline) of stormy weather from the mid-14th century,^(Etymonline) and by the late 14th century of turbulent seas, rude language and harsh sounds.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) Crudely made is from the mid-14th century, and of land, hard to cross, from the late 15th century.^(Etymonline) Approximate is from about 1600, and a ''rough draft'' from the 1690s.^(Etymonline) The noun was rough ground from about 1200 in Etymonline,^(Etymonline) and in golf from 1901.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) A rowdy person is by 1837.^(Etymonline) ''In the rough'' (1620s) gave ''diamond in the rough'', used of people by 1874.^(Etymonline) ''Rough it'', to put up with hardship, is from 1768, a sailors' phrase,^(Etymonline) and ''rough up'', to beat, from 1868.^(Etymonline) ''Sleep rough'' is from 1697.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * a. 1000 – not smooth; coarse.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1300 – harsh in action.^(Etymonline)

+ * mid-14th century – stormy.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1600 – approximate.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1768 – ''rough it''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1837 – a rowdy.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1868 – ''rough up''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1901 – the rough of a golf course.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Having a surface that is not smooth or even.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Using force or violence; not gentle.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Of weather or the sea, stormy.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Not exact; [[approximate]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Not finished or polished: ''a rough draft''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Difficult or unpleasant: ''a rough time''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(golf)'' The long grass at the edge of the [[fairway]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A first [[sketch]] or draft.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''rough up'': to treat someone violently.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''rough it'': to live without the usual comforts.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[rougher]]

+ * [[roughly]]

+ * [[roughness]]

+ * [[roughish]]

+ * [[overrough]]

+ * [[roughdry]]

+ * [[roughleg]]

+ * [[roughneck]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[ruffian]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}