rouge

R1O1U1G2E1
/ˈɹuːʒ/[ˈɹʷʊu̯ʒ]

adjective

Of a reddish pink colour.

CommonScrabble 6

Meanings

rouge1

adjectiverouge (comparative more rouge, superlative most rouge)

comparative more rouge · superlative most rouge · alternative misspelling rogue

  1. Of a reddish pink colour.
nounrouge (countable and uncountable, plural rouges)

plural rouges · alternative misspelling rogue

  1. countableuncountableRed or pink makeup to add colour to the cheeks; blusher.
    1 more example

    Before we could embark on the details of his mother's health we were joined by a fair, plump woman of indefinite age, who had once been—and at moments still was—very pretty. She wore a simple black silk dress, perhaps in deference to Tilly's death, though the note of mourning was jarred by flamboyant aquamarine ear-rings and too much rouge.

    1956, Delano Ames, chapter 4, in Crime out of Mind

    Synonyms: blush

  2. countableuncountableAny reddish pink colour.
  3. Canadiancountableuncountableball gamesA single point awarded when a team kicks the ball out of its opponent's end zone, or when a kicked ball becomes dead within the non-kicking team's end zone. Etymology uncertain; it is thought that in the early years of the sport, a red flag indicated that a single had been scored.

    Synonyms: single

  4. countableobsoleteuncountableIn the Eton wall game, a scrummage, melée.

    [A] wall [...] against which all those formidable "rouges" (as they are most underivably called) take place; in which above twenty players contend, kicking each others' shins nearly as often as the ball

    1832 November 19, “On Eton Games, Continued”, in Eton College Magazine, number viii, page 284
  5. countableuncountableIn the Eton College field game, a scoring move accomplished by touching the ball down behind the opponents' goal-line (somewhat similar to the try in rugby). Originally, the player who scored the rouge had a chance to kick a goal, and the rouge was used as a tie-breaker if an equal number of goals was scored by each side. In the contemporary Eton College field game, a five-point score is awarded for kicking the ball so that it deflects off one of the opposing players and goes beyond the opposition's end of the pitch, and then touching the ball.

    The 7 got 1 "gaol" and 1 "ruge"; the 11 got 1 "gaol" and 4 "ruges"

    1840 November 29, C. Pepys, “[Letter to the editor]”, in Bell's Life in London^(https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Football_(Bells_Life_in_London)_1840-11-29.png), page 4
    1 more example

    A rouge is obtained by touching the ball first, after it has been kicked behind

    1847, H.H. Tremayne, A.R. Thompson, Field Game Rules^(https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Laws_of_the_Eton_Field_Game_(1847))
  6. countableobsoleteuncountableFrom 1862 to 1868, a similar scoring move in Sheffield rules football. From 1862 to 1867, accomplished by touching the ball down after it had been kicked between two "rouge flags" either side of the goal. From 1867-1868, awarded for kicking the ball between the rouge flags and under the crossbar.

    A rouge is obtained by the player who first touches the ball after it has been kicked between the rouge flags

    1862, Laws of the Sheffield Foot-Ball Club^(https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Sheffield_Rules_(1862))
  7. archaiccountableuncountablechemistryA red amorphous powder consisting of ferric oxide, used in polishing and as a cosmetic; crocus; jeweller's rouge.
verbrouge (third-person singular simple present rouges, present participle rouging, simple past and past participle rouged)

present singular third person rouges · participle present rouging · participle past rouged · past rouged · alternative misspelling rogue

  1. ambitransitiveTo apply rouge (makeup).

    She rouged her face before setting out for the party.

    1 more example

    She was a lady of about fifty, I should think, youthfully dressed, and of a very fine complexion. If I add to the little list of her accomplishments that she rouged a little, I do not mean that there was any harm in it.

    1852 March – 1853 September, Charles Dickens, chapter 13, in Bleak House, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1853, →OCLC

Rouge2

proper noun
  1. A surname from French.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounRed or pink makeup to add colour to the cheeks; blusher.

Similar

nounA single point awarded when a team kicks the ball out of its opponent's end zone, or when a kicked ball becomes dead within the non-kicking team's end zone. Etymology uncertain; it is thought that in the early years of the sport, a red flag indicated that a single had been scored.

Similar

More synonyms by meaning

nounmakeup consisting of a pink or red powder applied to the cheeks

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

rouge · adjective, noun, verb

  1. Latinrubeus
  2. Frenchrouge
  3. Englishrouge

Borrowed from French rouge, from Latin rubeus. Compare rare Middle English rouge, rouȝ (“red”); later borrowed again, as it is not attested until c. 1750. The game senses are of unknown origin according to the Oxford English Dictionary.

Full word history & related roots →

Rouge · proper noun

  1. FrenchRouge
  2. FrenchRouge
  3. EnglishRouge

Borrowed from French Rouge.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian начервявам се
  • начервявам се (načervjavam se)apply rouge
Finnish laittaa poskipunaa
  • laittaa poskipunaaapply rouge
German Rouge, Rosarot
  • Rougecolor
  • Rosarotcolor
Hungarian rúzsoz
  • rúzsozapply rouge
Romanian farda
  • fardaapply rouge
Russian румя́на, румя́нить
  • румя́на (rumjána)color
  • румя́нить (rumjánitʹ)apply rouge
  • нарумя́нить pf transitive (narumjánitʹ)apply rouge
  • румя́ниться (rumjánitʹsja)apply rouge
  • нарумя́ниться pf intransitive (narumjánitʹsja)apply rouge
Turkish allık sürmek
  • allık sürmekapply rouge

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with rouge

All rhymes →

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

rouge. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rouge

MLA

“rouge.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rouge. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rouge,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rouge.

Source: rouge on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.