rush

rush · noun, verb, adjective¹

1. Germanic · derived from
2. Old French · derived fromre(h)usser
3. Middle English · derived fromrusshen“to force back”
4. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*(o)rewə-“to drive, move, agitate”
5. Proto-Germanic · derived from*rūsōną“to be cruel, storm, rush”
6. Proto-Germanic · derived from*rūskōną“to rush, storm, be fierce, be cruel”
7. Middle English · derived fromruschen“to rush”
8. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*ḱers-“to run, hurry”
9. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*hurskijaną“to startle, drive”
10. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*hurskijan
11. Old English · inherited fromhrysċan“to jolt, startle”
12. Middle English · inherited fromruschen
13. English todayrush

Perhaps from Middle English ruschen, russchen (“to rush, startle, make a loud rushing noise”), from Old English hrysċan (“to jolt, startle”), from Proto-West Germanic *hurskijan, from Proto-Germanic *hurskijaną (“to startle, drive”), from *hurskaz (“fast, rapid, quick”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱers- (“to run, hurry”). Cognate with Old High German hursken (“to hurry, speed, incite, accelerate”), Old English horsċ (“quick, quick-witted, clever”), Old Frisian rosk, rosch (“quick, rapid, sudden”). etymology note An alternative etymology traces rush via Middle English ruschen (“to rush”) from Old English *rūscian (“to rush”) from Proto-Germanic *rūskōną (“to rush, storm, be fierce, be cruel”), a variant (with formative k) of Proto-Germanic *rūsōną (“to be cruel, storm, rush”) from Proto-Indo-European *(o)rewə- (“to drive, move, agitate”), making it akin to Old High German rosc, rosci (“quick”), Middle Low German rûschen (“to rush”), Middle High German rūschen, riuschen (“to rush”) (German rauschen (“to rush”)), North Frisian ruse (“to rush”), Middle Dutch ruuscen (“to make haste”), Middle Dutch rūsen (“to rush”) (Dutch ruisen (“to rush”)), Danish ruse (“to rush”), Swedish rusa (“to rush”). Compare Middle High German rūsch (“a charge, rush”). Influenced by Middle English russhen (“to force back”) from Anglo-Norman russher, russer from Old French ruser, rëuser. Alternatively, according to the OED, perhaps an adaptation of Anglo-Norman russher, russer (“to force back, down, out of place, by violent impact", "to pull out or drag off violently or hastily”), from Old French re(h)usser, ruser (although the connection of the forms with single -s- and double -ss- is dubious; also adopted in English ruse; French ruser (“to retreat, drive back”)), from an assumed Vulgar Latin *refūsāre and Latin refundō (“I cause to flow back”), although connection to the same Germanic root is also possible. More at rouse.

rush · noun²

1. Latin · derived fromrūscum“butcher's broom”
2. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*ruskijā
3. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*(H)resg-“to weave”
4. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*riskijā
5. Old English · inherited fromrysċ
6. Middle English · inherited fromrisshe
7. English todayrush

From Middle English risshe, rusch, risch, from Old English rysċ, rysċe, risċ, risċe, from a merger of Proto-West Germanic *riskijā, from Proto-Indo-European *(H)resg- (“to weave”) and Proto-West Germanic *ruskijā, possibly borrowed from Latin rūscum (“butcher's broom”), of unknown origin + *-jā (animal and plant suffix). Cognates include West Frisian risk, Dutch rus (“bulrush”), Norwegian Bokmål rusk, dialectal Norwegian ryskje (“hair-grass”). Further cognates include Russian ро́зга (rózga).

Rush · proper noun³

1. French · derived fromruche
2. English todayRush

* As an English surname, from the noun rush (“waterside plant, plant in marshes”). * Also as an English surname, from the archaic noun rush (“beehive”), from French ruche. * As an Irish surname, from Ó Ruis (literally “descendant of Ros”), a name from ros (“wood”). Sometimes also translated from Ó Luachra due to confusion with luachair (“rushes”), see Loughrey. * Also as an Irish surname, translated/Anglicized from Ó Fuada (literally “descendant of Fuada”), compare Foody, from the noun fuad (“haste”). * As a German surname, Americanized from Rüsch, Ruesch, Rusch.

Words from the same roots