▪ I. † rumˈbullion1 Obs. exc. Hist.
Also rombullion, rumbullian.
[Of obscure origin: cf. rumbustion. In mod. Devon dial. rumbullion is used in the sense of ‘tumult, uproar’, but evidence of connexion is wanting.]
Rum. Also, a glass or drink of rum.
| c 1651 in N. D. Davis Cavaliers & Roundheads Barbados (1887) 112 The chiefe fudling they make in the Island is Rumbullion, alias Kill-Devill, and this is made of suggar canes distilled, a hott, hellish and terrible liquor. 1660 Lefroy Mem. of Bermudas (1879) II. 139 An Irishman haueing..vndertaken to deliuer a caske of Rumbullian to the Gouernors Negroe woman. 1672 Hughes Amer. Physitian 34 They..make a sort of Strong-Water, they call Rum or Rumbullion, stronger than Spirit of Wine. 1972 F. van W. Mason Roads to Liberty 19 Katie! A brace of rumbullions. Fast as you can brew 'em! |
▪ II. rumˈbullion2 Now rare or Obs.
Also 8 rumbillion, rombullion.
[Alteration of F. Rambouillet, the name of a town about midway between Paris and Chartres.]
1. A variety of peach.
| 1725 Fam. Dict. s.v. Peach-tree, The Rumbillion is the noblest and fairest of all the yellow Peaches. 1731 Miller Gard. Dict. s.v. Persica, The Rumbullion is a middle-siz'd Fruit. 1802 Forsyth Fruit Trees 25 The Rambouillet (commonly called the Rumbullion) is pretty large. 1824 Loudon Encycl. Gard. 714 Rambouillet, Rumbullion. |
2. A variety of gooseberry.
| 1786 Abercrombie Arr. in Gard. Assist. 16 Gooseberries:..Rombullion. 1835 Trans. Hortic. Soc. Ser. ii. I. 231 Rumbullion..is a great favourite in the gardens round London, where it has been grown upwards of forty years. 1860 Hogg Fruit Man. 87 Gooseberries. Rumbullion..much grown for bottling. |