rubi

R1U1B3I1

A form of ruby — A clear, deep, red variety of corundum, valued as a precious stone.

UncommonScrabble 6

Meanings

noun
  1. alternativeAlternative form of ruby (“pronunciation guide for Chinese or Japanese characters”).

    Bespoke combinations of kanji can also be created, because the intended phonetic and semantic readings can be supplied by the rubi glosses.

    2012, Nana Sato-Rossberg, Judy Wakabayashi, Translation and Translation Studies in the Japanese Context, page 158
    1 more example

    "Shinjuku Sketch" demonstrates another of Ryutanji's trademark techniques, which was established in The Age of Wandering: writing English loan words as kanji Chinese character compounds cribbed with rubi to convey a visual sense of international modernism and global culture.

    2010, Alisa Freedman, Tokyo in Transit: Japanese Culture on the Rails and Road, page 170

Origin

  1. Englishruby
  2. Japaneseルビ
  3. Englishrubi

From Japanese ルビ (rubi), from English ruby.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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