23 July 2013

Rue the day

The OED defines this as "bitterly regret".

It relates to the German "die Reue", which gives the verb "reuen", which means to "cause remorse". Someone who is "reuemütig" is remorseful or, if a sinner, repentant.
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1 comment:

Michael Dever said...

This is also where we get the word "ruthless" (ruth = feeling of pity, distress or grief in Middle English).

Not a lot of people know that...

14 August 2013 at 13:48

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