Etymograph

English

rue

Rue comes from Middle English rewen ‘to experience shame, remorse or regret’, from Old English hrēowan ‘to rue’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *krew(H)-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*krew(H)-1uncertain
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hrewwaną2‘to cause regret, to rue’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hreuwan3‘to cause pain, regret’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150hrēowan4‘to rue’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500rewen4‘to experience shame, remorse or regret’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1614–1615rue4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *hrewwaną
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *hreuwan
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Old English hreowan
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English rue
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1614–1615, Homer, (please specify the book number): “I wept to see, and rued it from my…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*krew(H)-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *hrewwanąuncertain
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hrewwanąWiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *hreuwan‘to cause regret, to rue’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hreuwanWiktionary, Old English hreowan‘to cause pain, regret’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150hrēowanWiktionary, English rue‘to rue’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500rewenWiktionary, English rue‘to experience shame, remorse or regret’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1614–1615rueWiktionary, English rue. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1614–1615, Homer, (please specify the book number): “I wept to see, and rued it from my…”

The story

From Middle English rewen, ruwen, ruen, reowen, from Old English hrēowan (‘to rue; make sorry; grieve’), perhaps influenced by Old Norse hryggja (‘to distress, grieve’), from Proto-Germanic *hrewwaną (‘to sadden; repent’).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Germanic *hrewwaną ‘to cause regret, to rue’

ruthlessly, 4 more

through Proto-West Germanic *hreuwan ‘to cause pain, regret’

ruthless, ruefully, 5 more

Another origin of rue

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEῥυτήrhutḗ
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErūta
  3. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400ruwe
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500rue
  5. Englishtodayrue

Today it means

verb To repent of or regret (some past action or event); to wish that a past action or event had not taken place.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “rue”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Germanic *hrewwaną, Proto-West Germanic *hreuwan, Old English hreowan. 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 *krew(H)- / rue

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