▪ I. ruddy, a. (n.) and adv.
(ˈrʌdɪ)
Forms: α. 1, 3 rudi, 3 rudie, 5 rudy; 4–5 rodi, rody, 5 rodye, roddy, roody, 6 roudy, β. 6 ruddye, 6–7 ruddie, 5– ruddy.
[OE. rudiᵹ, f. the same stem as rud n.1 and v.1]
A. adj.
1. a. Of the face, complexion, etc.: Naturally suffused with a fresh or healthy redness.
| a 1100 in Napier O.E. Glosses i. 2932 Uultus purpureus, i. rubicundus, nebb rudi. a 1225 Juliana 20 As he biheold..hire leofliche leor lilies iliche & rudi as þe rose. c 1230 Hali Meid. 35 Þi rudie neb schal leanen, & as gres grenen. 13.. K. Alis. 7821 (Laud MS.), Þe leuedyes shene als þe glas And þise maidens wiþ rody faas. 1390 Gower Conf. III. 339 The descoloured pale hewe Is now become a rody cheke. c 1425 Lydg. Assembly of Gods 806 Roody as a roose ay he kept hys chere. 1490 Caxton Eneydos xxix. 112 [Dido had] a lytell mouthe with roddy lyppes. 1535 Coverdale Gen. xlix. 12 His eyes are roudier then wyne, and his teth whyter then mylck. 1594 T. B. La Primaud. Fr. Acad. ii. 251 The cheekes become ruddy, and the lippes gather in themselues. 1700 Dryden Pal. & Arc. iii. 75 Ruddy his lips, and fresh and fair his hue. 1712 Budgell Spect. No. 425 ¶3 His Complexion was sanguine and ruddy. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) II. 241, I found..the visage white and ruddy and the lips of a proper redness. 1848 Lytton Harold i. i, His complexion was extremely fair and his cheeks ruddy. 1876 Besant & Rice Gold. Butterfly Prol. i, He was a youth of a ruddy and a cheerful countenance. |
b. Of persons: Having a fresh red complexion.
| c 1250 Hymn in Trin. Coll. Hom. 255 Nis non maide of þine heowe, swo fair, so sschene, so rudi, swo bricht. c 1369 Chaucer Dethe Blaunche 905 Thus moche I dare sayn, that she Was..rody, fresshe, and lyefely hewed. 1390 Gower Conf. II. 14 Sche was rody on the cheke And red on bothe hire lippes eke. c 1450 St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 7360 Þe tothir stode on his ryght syde, Rudy bathe of hewe and hyde. 1483 Caxton G. de la Tour C ij b, I was wonte to be whyte, Rody, fatte, and the world preysed my beaute. 1577–87 Holinshed Chron. I. 195/2 He was of person comelie,..of face ruddie. 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage v. xvii. (1614) 539 The Inhabitants comely and tall, rather ruddie then blacke. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 123 ¶1 We were met by a fresh-coloured ruddy young Man. 1764 Goldsm. Trav. 18 Where all the ruddy family around Laugh at the jests. 1859 Geo. Eliot A. Bede xxxvi, The driver..now came forward—a large ruddy man, with a sack over his shoulders. |
c. Red with blushing.
rare—1.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 330 Þet we moten þuruh rudi scheome passen to þe heouene. |
d. Characterized by, or associated with, healthy redness of feature.
| 1820 Keats Lamia i. 40 Love, and pleasure, and the ruddy strife Of hearts and lips! 1833 H. Martineau Briery Creek v. 98 The ruddy health attendant on a country life. 1860 Motley Netherl. ii. I. 45 A figure..instinct with ruddy vigorous life. |
2. a. In general use: Red or reddish.
| c 1386 Chaucer Doctor's T. 33 Right as sche can peynte a lili white And rody a rose. c 1400 Rom. Rose 3629, I saw the rose,..Fresh, rody, and fair of hewe. c 1440 Pallad. on Husb. vii. 25 Yf hit be ripe, is forto se If al the lond attonys rody grete, Enclyne, and thonke. 1477 Norton Ord. Alch. iii. in Ashm. (1652) 41 A subtill Earth, browne, roddy, and not bright. a 1529 Skelton Knoledge, Aquayntance, etc. 16 Your ruddys wyth ruddy rubys may compare. 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. i. (1586) 32 b, The leaues thereof ruddy, the seede white. 1601 Shakes. Jul. C. ii. i. 289 You are..As deere to me, as are the ruddy droppes That visit my sad heart. 1697 Dryden Virg. Past. iii. 107 Ten ruddy Wildings in the Wood I found. 1725 Pope Odyss. ii. 382 Here ruddy brass and gold refulgent blaz'd. 1784 Cowper Task iii. 573 The ruddier orange, and the paler lime. 1841 Penny Cycl. XXI. 85/2 All the feathers surrounded by a ruddy border. 1873 Black Pr. Thule 37 The snow peaks that rose above certain ruddy châlets. 1889 Buchanan Heir of Linne xii, Large earrings of ruddy gold hung in his ears. |
| transf. 1871 Palgrave Lyr. Poems 75 Now in the ruddy autumn Together already we stand. |
b. As an epithet of light or fire, of the heavenly bodies, the sky or clouds, etc.
| c 1386 Chaucer Sqr.'s T. 394 The vapour..Maketh the sonne seme rody and brood. 1388 Wyclif Matt. xvi. 2 Ȝe seien, It schal be clere, for heuene is rodi. 1412–20 Lydg. Chron. Troy i. 3081 Atwen þe tweyliȝt and þe rody morwe Þei toke her leue. 1423 Jas. I. Kingis Q. 1 The rody sterres twynklyng as the fyre. c 1449 Pecock Repr. i. v. 24 Whanne heuen is rody in the euentid, a cleer dai schal be the morewe. 1554 F. van Brunswike tr. Montulmo's Facies Cæli B j, Faire and whitish ruddie cloudes sparkeling aboute the skie. 1589 Greene Menaphon (Arb.) 51 As bright as siluer Phœbe mounted on the high top of the ruddie element. 1613 Chapman Maske Inns Court, Ouer this..the ruddy Sunne was seen ready to be set. 1667 Milton P.L. ii. 889 So wide they stood, and like a Furnace mouth Cast forth redounding smoak and ruddy flame. 1761 Gray Fatal Sisters 21 Ere the ruddy sun be set. 1791 Mrs. Radcliffe Rom. Forest ii, Till a ruddy glow, which fired all that part of the heavens, announced the rising sun. 1840 Dickens Barn. Rudge i, Shading his eyes that his sight might not be affected by the ruddy glow of the fire. 1858 G. Macdonald Phantastes vi. (1878) 88 The rays of the setting sun overflowed with a ruddy splendour the open place. |
| transf. 1646 Buck Rich. III, i. 11 By this provident truce, that ruddy storme..was diverted. |
c. Qualifying other names of colours.
| 1565 Cooper Thesaurus s.v. Candico, Beyng a ruddy white. 1611 Cotgr., Roux,..a ruddie or sad yellow. |
† d. Causing redness in vegetation.
Obs.| 1693 Evelyn De La Quint. Compl. Gard. II. 157 If the Ruddy or Dry Winds Reign, as they generally do this Month, we must..water every thing in our Kitchen-Garden. 1719 London & Wise Compl. Gard. 270 'Tis the Moon of this Month that is vulgarly call'd, the Ruddy-Moon, it being very subject to be windy, cold and dry. |
3. spec. In names of birds and animals, as
ruddy bunting,
ruddy duck,
ruddy goose,
ruddy plover,
ruddy sheldrake,
ruddy shelduck,
ruddy shoveler,
ruddy squirrel,
ruddy turnstone (see
quots. and the
ns.).
| 1816 Stephens in Shaw's Gen. Zool. IX. ii. 381 The *Ruddy Bunting is found among willows on the borders of the Onon in Siberia. |
| 1814 A. Wilson Amer. Ornith. VIII. 128 The *Ruddy Duck is fifteen inches and a half in length, and twenty two inches in extent. 1872 Coues N. Amer. Birds 295 Ruddy Duck..with the neck all round and the upper parts brownish-red. |
| 1785 Latham Gen. Synop. Birds III. ii. 456 *Ruddy Goose... This is larger than a Mallard. 1843 Yarrell Brit. Birds III. 140 It [ruddy sheldrake] has also been called the Ruddy Goose. |
| 1785 Pennant Arct. Zool. II. 486 *Ruddy Plover. 1813 A. Wilson Amer. Ornith. VII. 129 The Ruddy Plover is eight inches long, and fifteen in extent. 1872 Coues N. Amer. Birds 257 Ruddy Plover..; head, neck and upper parts varied with black, ashy and bright reddish. |
| 1824 Stephens in Shaw's Gen. Zool. XII. ii. 71 *Ruddy shieldrake (Tadorna rutila). 1862 C. A. Johns Brit. Birds 490 The Ruddy Sheldrake... Only a few specimens of this bird have been obtained in Great Britain. |
| 1852 *Ruddy shelduck [see shelduck]. 1954 J. Delacour Waterfowl of World I. 250 The Ruddy Shelduck is a strong and successful species which..occupies a very large range. |
| 1824 Stephens in Shaw's Gen. Zool. XII. ii. 120 *Ruddy Shoveler (Rhynchaspis rubida). |
| 1781 Pennant Hist. Quadrup. II. 409 *Ruddy Squirrel. 1801 Shaw Gen. Zool. II. i. 132 Ruddy squirrel, Sciurus Erythræus... It is said to be a native of India. |
| 1909 J. & M. Macoun Catal. Canad. Birds (ed. 2) 212 *Ruddy Turnstone... This species is a common migrant in Newfoundland. 1938 P. A. Taverner Birds of Canada 185 The turnstone is represented in America by the Ruddy Turnstone.., rather smaller than the European form. 1972 S. Burnford One Woman's Arctic iv. 92 Only about fifty yards away, were the..nests of two pairs of ruddy turnstones. |
4. Orig. a euphemistic substitution for
bloody a. 10; now
freq. used as an intensive in its own right: damnable, blasted, confounded.
colloq.| 1916 ‘Taffrail’ Pincher Martin ii. 28 Go on, Ginger!..Slosh 'im one on the ruddy boko! 1924 Galsworthy White Monkey ii. i. 121 Only why didn't Mr. Elderson say: ‘You ruddy liar!’? 1945 [see Euston Road]. 1968 [see give v. 16 c]. 1969 I. Kemp Brit. G.I. in Vietnam ii. 31 ‘Oh no!’ I thought. ‘The ruddy thing won't have time to open before I hit.’ 1977 Radio Times 12–18 Nov. 69/4, I carted my ruddy topee all over India and finally abandoned it under a bed in Fort William in Calcutta. |
5. absol. or as n. Ruddy colour.
| 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) II. 15 Margery perles of alle manere colour and hewe, of rody and rede, of purpur and of blew. 1633 G. Herbert Temple, Church-rents & Schismes i, Calamities Turned your ruddie into pale and bleak. 1758 Borlase Nat. Hist. Cornw. 67 Steatites..veined with green, ruddy, and purple. 1823 Galt R. Gilhaize xii, The ruddy of youth had fled his cheek. |
6. Comb. a. Parasynthetic, as
ruddy-bodied,
ruddy-cheeked,
ruddy-clustered,
ruddy-coloured,
ruddy-complexioned,
ruddy-faced,
ruddy-finned,
ruddy-haired,
ruddy-muzzled, etc.
| 1542 Udall Erasm. Apoph. 270, I feare not these ruddie coloured & fatte bealyed feloes. 1576 Fleming Panopl. Epist. 376 He was ruddie coloured, much like the damaske rose. 1622 Mabbe tr. Aleman's Guzman d'Alf. i. 31, I was a yong Lad, ruddy-cheek't, full-fac't, and plumpe withall. 1758 Borlase Nat. Hist. Cornw. 276 The white ruddy-spotted snail with a circular mouth. 1816 in Cent. Mag. (1900) LIX. 629/1, I said she looked like a German, being fair and ruddy complexioned. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair liii, The ruddy headed youth brought him..a fine silver dressing-case. 1888 H. Morten Sk. Hospital Life 17 An elderly woman, grey-haired, stout, and ruddy-cheeked. 1916 D. H. Lawrence Twilight in Italy 89 The many ruddy-clustered oranges beside the path remind me of the lights of a village. 1916 Blunden Harbingers 34 Ruddy-finned roach and bronze carp swam. 1922 Joyce Ulysses 291 The figure seated on a large boulder at the foot of a round tower was that of a broadshouldered..ruddyfaced sinewyarmed hero. 1923 D. H. Lawrence Birds, Beasts & Flowers 62 Cyclamens, ruddy-muzzled cyclamens. 1960 S. Plath Colossus 79 Bronze dead dominate the floor, Resistive, ruddy-bodied. |
b. With
adjs., as
ruddy-bright,
ruddy-brown,
ruddy-dark,
ruddy-golden,
ruddy-orange, etc.
| 1746 Francis tr. Horace, Sat. ii. viii. 39 Apples are more ruddy bright If gather'd by fair Luna's waning light. 1758 Borlase Nat. Hist. Cornw. 109 A stone..of a ruddy-purple ground. 1841 Penny Cycl. XX. 191/2 Wings ruddy-brown; bill lead-colour. 1897 Sarah Grand Beth Bk. xxi, The wonderful ruddy-gold tones that shone on its trunk as the day declined. 1927 D. H. Lawrence Mornings in Mexico 35 Calico pantaloons round his ruddy-dark waist. Ibid. 126 The men are naked to the waist, and ruddy-golden. a 1930 ― Last Poems (1932) 266 Green moonlight And ruddy-orange limbs stirring the limbo Of the unknown air. |
B. adv. Used,
usu. preceding an
adj., as an intensifier (
orig. a euphemistic substitute for
bloody adv. 2:
cf. sense A. 4 above): confoundedly, damnably, damned.
| 1914 C. Beresford Mem. I. xiii. 119 All I've got to say, is to say you've got a ruddy good billet. 1922 Joyce Ulysses 420 Lay you two to one Jenatzy licks him ruddy well hollow. 1933 M. Lincoln Oh! Definitely iii. 23 I'd have ruddy well..locked the door. 1959 M. Gilbert Blood & Judgement xiii. 139 Culver Street's been pulled down and a ruddy great block of flats put up. 1979 Oxford Times 28 Dec. 9/2 Most of the groups I heard there and elsewhere played too ruddy loud. |
▪ II. ruddy, v. (
ˈrʌdɪ)
[f. ruddy a.] 1. trans. To render ruddy in hue; to redden.
| 1689 Hickeringill Ceremony-Monger Wks. 1716 II. 468 Others..whose Vertues and true Learning, must necessarily (if set near him) ruddy his Cheeks, and make him blush for shame. 1805 Scott Last Minstr. vi. xxiii, A wondrous blaze was seen to gleam;..It ruddied all the copse-wood glen. 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. iii. iv. iv, As the coming Sun ruddies the East. 1889 Universal Rev. Nov. 432 A breath Of sundown ruddying the maple seeds. |
2. intr. To turn red; to blush.
rare.
| 1845 Jane Robinson Whitehall xix, Mrs. Chaloner, smiling and ruddying all over. 1938 W. de la Mare Memory 49 See, how the sun Ruddies through his filmy grey, Turns to light the dreaming one. |