English
ruddy
Ruddy comes from Old English rudiġ ‘reddish’, from rudu ‘Red, redness, ruddy complexion’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rewdʰ-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁rewdʰ-1‘red’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150rudu1‘Red, redness, ruddy complexion’
- Old Englishc. 450–1150rudiġ1‘reddish’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500rody1
- Englishearliest quotation 1805ruddy1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English ruddy
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1805, Walter Scott, (please specify the page): “It ruddied all the copse-wood glen”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁rewdʰ-Wiktionary, English ruddy‘red’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150ruduWiktionary, English ruddy‘Red, redness, ruddy complexion’
- Old Englishc. 450–1150rudiġWiktionary, English ruddy‘reddish’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500rodyWiktionary, English ruddy
- Englishearliest quotation 1805ruddyWiktionary, English ruddy. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1805, Walter Scott, (please specify the page): “It ruddied all the copse-wood glen”
Equivalent to rud ‘redness’ + -y
Proto-Indo-European *h₁rewdʰ- ‘red’
Proto-Indo-European *h₁rudʰéh₁ti ‘to be red’
Proto-Germanic *rudāną ‘to redden’
Old English rudian ‘to be ruddy’
Middle English rudden
English rud
The story
The British slang sense expressing irritation is presumably a euphemism for bloody.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₁rewdʰ- ‘red’
red, ruby, rust, rowan, reddish, rouse, roux, redness, corroborate, russel, roan, rubric, rubella, erythema, robusta, russet, rufous, rud, 34 more
through Old English rudu ‘Red, redness, ruddy complexion’
Today it means
adj Reddish in color, especially of the face, fire, or sky.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “ruddy”. 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- / ruddy