Etymograph

English

rubrous

Rubrous comes from Latin ruber ‘of the Mare Rubrum: of the Red Sea’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₁rewdʰ-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁rewdʰ-1‘red’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁rudʰrós2‘red’reconstructedderived within Proto-Indo-European
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*ruðros2‘red’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEruber3as rubra‘of the Mare Rubrum: of the Red Sea’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1823rubrous3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *h₁rudʰrós
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin ruber
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English rubrous
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1823, James Johnson: “A quick pulse certainly commands caution, but who has…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁rewdʰ-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *h₁rudʰrós‘red’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁rudʰrósWiktionary, Latin ruber‘red’reconstructedderived within Proto-Indo-European
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*ruðrosWiktionary, Latin ruber‘red’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEruberWiktionary, English rubrousas rubra‘of the Mare Rubrum: of the Red Sea’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1823rubrousWiktionary, English rubrous. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1823, James Johnson: “A quick pulse certainly commands caution, but who has…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₁rewdʰ- ‘red’

red, ruby, reddish, rust, rowan, redness, ruddy, corroborate, russel, roux, roan, rouse, erythema, russet, rud, ruddock, robusta, rufous, 32 more

through Proto-Indo-European *h₁rudʰrós ‘red’

erythematosus, 10 more

through Latin ruber ‘of the Mare Rubrum: of the Red Sea’

rubella, rubric, 6 more

Today it means

adj Red.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “rubrous”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *h₁rudʰrós, Latin ruber. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₁rewdʰ- / rubrous

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