▪ I. rush, n.1
(rʌʃ)
Forms: α. 1 risc (hrisc), risce, 3 riges (?), 4–5 rische (5 rissche), 4–6 risshe, 4–7 rishe (5 riche), 4–7 (9 dial.) rish; 4–5 rysche (5 rysch, ryche), 5–6 rys(s)he, rysse (5 ryse), 6 ryessh, rysh; also 1 (8– 9 dial.) rix, 1 rixe. β. 1 (h)rysc-, 2 rysse-, russe-, 4 rusche, ruysshe, 4–6 russhe (5 russh), 6 rushe, 5– rush; 5 roysche, rossh, 6 roche. γ. 1 resce, 4 ress(e, resshe, reisshe, reysshe, 5 resch(e, ressch, 5–6 (9 dial.) resh (6 reshe), 9 dial. reish; also 8–9 dial. rex (rexen). δ. 6 north. and Sc. rasch, rashe, raiche, 8– rash.
[The remarkable variations in the vowel of this word make its precise history far from clear. The OE. risc (rix) and risce (rixe) correspond to MDu. risch, MLG. risch(e, rysse, and risk, rysk, LG. risch(e, risk(e, WFris. risk, and it is no doubt these forms, rather than rysc, which are represented by ME. risch(e. The evidence for OE. rysc is very slight, but is strengthened by the existence of continental forms with u, as Du. rusch (16th cent.), MLG. rusch, MHG. rusch(e, G. rusch, LG. and WFris. rusk (LG. also rüsschen, rüsken, etc.); whether ME. rusch(e is merely a dialectal representative of OE. rysc, or is due to foreign influence, is not clear. The continental forms, however, are prob. the source of OF. rusche, rousche, rouche (mod.F. dial. rouche, rouce), rush, reed, or sedge, which may have had some effect in ME. The OE. resce (found only once) appears to have no parallel in the cognate languages; the northern and Scottish rash is probably a variant of this, as in the case of nash for nesh a.
All the forms might have arisen as natural variants from an ablaut series *resc-, rasc-, rusc-, but the disturbing effect of both r and sh on adjacent vowels makes it uncertain how far this is really the case. The German adj. rasch has an almost parallel series of variants, and some ultimate connexion between this and the n. is not impossible. The suggestion that the Teutonic word is an early adoption, with complete change of meaning, of L. ruscum, butcher's broom, is in the highest degree improbable.]
1. a. A plant of the order Juncaceæ, having straight naked stems or stalks (properly leaves) and growing in marshy ground, or on the borders of rivers or ponds; a single stem or stalk of this, either as growing, or as cut and used for some purpose.
Down to the 17th century green rushes were commonly employed for strewing on the floors of apartments.
| α c 725 Corpus Gloss. I. 530 Juncus, risc. c 900 tr. Baeda's Hist. iii. xxiii, In þæm cleofum..wære upyrnende grownes hreodes & rixa. c 1000 ælfric Hom. II. 402 Spyrte bið..of rixum ᵹebroden. Ibid., Rixe weaxst ᵹewunelice on wæteriᵹum stowum. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 2595 In an fetles, of rigesses wrogt,..ðis child wunden ghe wulde don. 13.. Coer de L. 6038 Kyng Richard garte al the Ynglys Schere rysches in the marys. ? a 1366 Chaucer Rom. Rose 1701 The stalke was as risshe right, And theron stood the knoppe upright. c 1400 S. Eng. Leg. (MS. Bodl. 779) in Herrig Archiv LXXXII. 335 Vppon a bed of risschen..his body he gan reste. 1483 Act 1 Rich. III, c. viii. §4 The seid Diers..upon the lystes of the same Clothes festen and sowe great Risshes called Bull Risshes. 1529 More Dyaloge iv. Wks. 286/1, I haue laid you the places ready with ryshes betwene the leaues. 1562 Turner Herbal ii. (1568) 104 It hath leues lyke succory and stalkes lyke rysshes. 1601 Holland Pliny xix. ii, The Greekes in old time emploied their rishes in drawing of ropes. 1778 Exmoor Scolding Gloss. (E.D.S.), Rex or rather Rix, a Rush; Rixen, Rushes. 1828 Carr Craven Gloss., Rish, rush. 1831 S. Lover Leg. 182, I..was peepin' out iv a turf o' rishes. |
| β ? c 1000, a 1200 [see 5 a]. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. x. 81 To rubbe and to rely, russhes to pilie. 1426 Lydg. De Guil. Pilgr. 14673 And placys ful off old ordure, I kan strowhe with Rosshys grene, That ther ys no Felthe sene. c 1475 in Wr.-Wülcker 786 Hic cirpus, a roysche. 1513 T. More in Grafton Chron. (1568) II. 765 The Queene..sate alone alowe on the rushes all desolate. 1561 in Record of Caernarvon (1838) 298 Permitting the rushes..and the roots of the same to stand and growe. 1635–56 Cowley Davideis i. 696 The Scholars far below upon the Ground, On fresh-strew'd Rushes place themselves around. 1697 Dryden Virg. Past. i. 66 Tho' Rushes over⁓spread the Neighb'ring Plains. 1756–7 tr. Keysler's Trav. (1760) I. 379 A wretched country, all overgrown with heath and rushes. 1796 H. Hunter tr. St.-Pierre's Stud. Nat. (1799) III. 416 It was lighted by a window shut by a texture of rushes. 1839 Ure Dict. Arts 836 The miner requires a powder-horn, rushes to be filled with gunpowder. 1848 Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. IX. ii. 556 The rush should at all times be tied only in a slip knot. 1869 Ruskin Q. of Air §79 The rushes differ wholly from the sedge and grass in their blossom structure. |
| γ a 1100 in Wr.-Wülcker 324 Juncus, uel scyrpus, resce. a 1300 [see 2 a]. 1340 Ayenb. 253 Þet byeþ ylich þan þet zekþ þe crammeles ine þe russoles..oþer þane knotte ine þe resse. 1382 Wyclif Job viii. 11 Whether a resshe may liuen withoute humour? a 1400–50 Alexander 4126 Þare fand þai bernys & bridis..resild as a resch & roghe as a bere. 1489 Accs. Ld. High Treas. Scotl. I. 118 For resschis to the Haw off Lythqow the tyme of the Imbassatouris. 1570 Levins Manip. 91 A Resh, iuncus. 1778 [see α]. 1855 [Robinson] Whitby Gloss., Reshes, the wire rush, the seaves of the moors and wastes. 1886 Elworthy W. Somerset Wd.-Bk., Rexen, rushes. One of the very few words which retain the en plural. |
| δ ? 15.. Song in Compl. Scot. (1872) vi. 64 Cou thou me the raschis grene. 1548 Turner Names Herbes (E.D.S.) 71 Scirpus..is called..in english a rishe or a rashe. 1554 Extr. Burgh Rec. Edinb. (1871) 283 For beireing of burds and trestis to the Queenis luging..and for flouris and raichis. ? a 1700 Bessy Bell & Mary Gray i. in Child Ballads IV. 76/2 They bigget a bower..And theekit it oer wi rashes. 1795 Macneill Scotland's Skaith i. viii, Light he bare her,..Plac'd her on the new-mawn rashes. 1827 Peril & Captivity (Constable's Misc.) 133 See these hurdles of reeds.., this bed of rashes. |
b. Used for burning; also
ellipt., a rush-light.
| 14.. in Wr.-Wülcker 722 Hic lichinus, a weke... Hec secula, a rysch. 1499 Promp. Parv. 456/2 Synke, of a lampe (P. holdinge the risshe), mergulus. 1572 Baret Alv., The rushe, weeke, or match, that mainteyneth the light in the lampe. 1775 G. White Selborne lxviii, A good rush, which measured in length two feet four inches and a half, being minuted, burnt only three minutes short of an hour. 1840 Hood Up Rhine 206 Without the glimmer of a farthing rush! 1884 Leisure Hour Feb. 79/2 A long tallowed rush, which preserved an economical flame. |
† c. Used for making a finger-ring:
cf. rush-ring.
Obs.| c 1449 Pecock Repr. ii. v. 166 It is weel allowid..that he make a ring of a rische and putte it on his fynger. 1589 Greene Menaphon (Arb.) 88 Twas a good world..when a ring of a rush woulde tye as much Loue together as a Gimmon of golde. 1601 Shakes. All's Well ii. ii. 24 As fit..as Tibs rush for Toms fore-finger. |
† d. In reference or with allusion to the practice of strewing fresh rushes for visitors.
Obs.| 1562 J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 48 Greene rushes for this straunger, strawe here. 1589 Greene Menaphon (Arb.) 85 When you come you shall haue greene rushes, you are such a straunger. 1602 Breton Wonders worth Hearing Wks. (Grosart) II. 5 Greene rushes, M. Francisco, it is a wonder to see you heere in this Country. 1617 Fletcher Valentinian ii. iv, Rushes, Ladys, rushes, Rushes as green as Summer for this stranger. 1731–8 Swift Pol. Conv. 7 If we had known of your Coming, we would have strown Rushes for you. |
e. Without article, as a material or species of plant.
| 1728 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Shuttle, A little Tube of Paper, Rush, or other Matter. 1847 C. Brontë J. Eyre xxviii, It showed no variation but of tint: green, where rush and moss overgrew the marshes. 1879 Tennyson Lover's T. iv. 141 A flat malarian world of reed and rush! 1907 Athenæum 14 Dec. 772/2 The body should be wrapped in rush, or bast, or grass, or hemp, and placed in a cage. |
2. a. Used as a type of something of no value or importance,
esp. in negative phrases as
not to care a rush,
not worth a rush.
| (a) a 1300 Cursor M. 21441 O ranscun namar þan a ress Wald he of her [= hear] bot of his flesche. c 1374 Chaucer Troylus iii. 1161 He seide,..Not I not what, al dere ynow a rische. 1390 Gower Conf. II. 284 Only the value of a reysshe Of good in helpinge of an other. a 1450 St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 6077 Noȝt harmed þe valu of a resch. a 1568 R. Ascham Scholem. (Arb.) 54 To be able to raise taulke, and make discourse of euerie rishe. 1581 J. Bell Haddon's Answ. Osor. 423 It forceth not of a rush what you do there. 1841 Miall in Nonconformist I. 17 It matters not a rush. 1884 Western Daily Press 11 July 8/1 It does not signify a rush whether they can find..a precedent for what they ask. |
| (b) 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. iii. 137 Heo þat ben curset in constorie counteþ hit not at a russche. 1390 Gower Conf. II. 97 For til I se the daies spring, I sette slep noght at a risshe. c 1440 Generydes 1680 Of all his payne he wold not sett a rissh. 1543 Grafton Contn. Harding 533 He should then bee hable to matche with theim well ynough, and not to care a rushe for theim. 1584 R. Scot Discov. Witchcr. vi. iii. (1886) 93 Night-walking sprites..Esteeme them not twoo rushes. 1622 Massinger & Dekker Virg. Martyr ii. iii, I weigh thee not a rush. 1658 Bramhall Consecr. Bps. viii. 194 Whose unjust Iudgement we doe not value a rush. 1712–3 Swift Jrnl. to Stella 9 Mar., People will grumble; but Lord Treasurer cares not a rush. 1759 Sterne Tr. Shandy i. xvi, He did not mind it a rush. 1848 J. Grant Aide-de-C. xxiv, He would not value his ducats..a rush. 1883 F. M. Crawford Dr. Claudius vii, Claudius did not care a rush whether the night were beautiful or otherwise. |
| (c) c 1422 Hoccleve Min. Poems xxiv. 193 They can nat keepe conseil worth a risshe. 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. i. (1586) 14 Without whiche, he is not woorth a rushe. 1627 Hakewill Apol. (1630) 296 They esteem not worth a rush any of our actions or manners. 1674 W. Pope in Flatman's Poems 2 Friends Applauses are not worth a Rush. 1768 Goldsm. Good-n. Man iv, My master's bill upon the city is not worth a rush. 1858 Lincoln in Herndon Life (1892) II. 116 Not one of them is worth a rush if you deny it. |
| (d) 1563 Foxe A. & M. 1367/2 Tush! a rushe for holy bread! c 1610 Rowlands Terrible Battell (Hunterian Cl.) 38 A figge for the whole world. A rush for thee. 1632 Vicars Virgil xi. 335 Brave sirs, our main work done,..A rush for what remains. |
b. In various
fig. or allusive phrases.
With
quot. 1649
cf. the phrase
to seek a knot in a rush,
s.v. knot n.1 14 b.
| 1525 Ld. Berners Froiss. II. lviii. 198 They..were redy for waggyng of a rysshe to make debate and stryfe. 1579 Fulke Heskins' Parl. 289 It hangeth on a rush that M. Hes. concludeth. 1611 Bible Isaiah ix. 14 The Lord will cut off from Israel head and taile, branch and rush in one day. 1629 H. Burton Babel no Bethel 103 They are all head and taile, branch and rush, one intire Papall faction. 1649 Jer. Taylor Gt. Exemp. iii. §14 The Lawyer being captious made a scruple in a smooth rush, asking what is meant by Neighbour. 1844 H. Stephens Bk. Farm I. 191 The larch..shoots up, as straight as a rush, to a great height. 1889 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Robbery under Arms xiii, She was always as straight as a rush. |
3. † a. One of the branchlets springing from the stem of Equisetum.
Obs.| 1578 Lyte Dodoens 100 The stemmes..do bringe forth rounde about every knot or joynt divers little, small, slender, and knottie rushes. |
b. U.S. The horsetail. (
Cf. Dutch a. 3 c.)
| 1817 J. Bradbury Trav. 15 On the islands which we passed there is abundance of Equisetum hyemale, called by the settlers rushes. |
4. With specific epithets:
a. Denoting various species of
Juncus.
See also
moss- (
moss n.1 6 b),
sea-,
toad-, and
wood-rush.
| 1753 Chambers' Cycl. Suppl. s.v. Juncus, The species of rush, enumerated by Mr. Tournefort, are these: The sharp or pointed Rush... The smooth or soft Rush [etc.]. 1796 Withering Brit. Pl. (ed. 3) II. 345 Trifid Rush... Round-headed Rush... Soft Rush. Common Rush [etc.]. 1855 Miss Pratt Flower. Pl. V. 295 Lesser Bog Rush, or Little Bulbous Rush. Ibid. 296 Clustered Alpine Rush, or Black-spiked Rush. |
b. flowering rush: (see
quots.).
| 1731 Miller Gard. Dict., Butomus,..the Flowering Rush or Water Gladiole. 1760 J. Lee Introd. Bot. App. 325 Rush, Lesser flowering, Scheuchzeria. 1858 Baird Cycl. Nat. Sci., Butomus umbellatus, the flowering rush, is considered the handsomest herbaceous plant of the British flora. |
c. Applied to many plants of different genera more or less resembling the rush, as
bog-rush,
club-rush,
Dutch rush,
hare's-tail-rush,
nut-rush,
paper-rush,
scouring rush,
shave-rush,
sweet rush,
twig-rush,
wood-rush (see these words).
5. attrib. a. Denoting the growth or prevalence of rushes, as
rush-bed,
rush-bottom,
rush-drain,
rush-land,
rush-plat,
rush-tuft.
The second element in
rush-aisle and
-hylle appears to be the
Lanc. dial. hile a cluster.
| 956 in Earle Land Charters 192 Of ðam broce..on þæt riscbed; of ðam riscbedde on ðone weᵹ. ? c 1000 in Birch Cartul. Sax. I. 183 Of þam streame on ryschealas midde⁓wearde. a 1200 Ibid. III. 189 Fram gryndeles sylle to russemere, fram ryssemere to bælᵹenham. 1483 Cath. Angl. 309/2 A Rysche hylle, cirpetum. 1736 Ainsworth Eng.-Lat. Dict., A rush bed, juncetum. 1800 T. Bewick Hist. Quad. 354 A Hound bitch..pupped four whelps during a hard chase, which she carefully covered in a rush aisle. 1821 Clare Vill. Minstr. I. 58 The rush-tuft gone that hid the skylark's nest. Ibid. 105 Swamps of wild rush-beds. 1831 J. M. Peck Guide for Emigrants ii. 105 In all the rush bottoms they [sc. cattle] fatten during the severe weather on rushes. 1855 Singleton Virgil i. 15 You skulked Behind the rush-plats. 1878 H. M. Stanley Dark Cont. I. xvi. 425 River⁓like marshes or broad rush-drains, choked with spear-grass. 1886 All Year Round 14 Aug. 36 Rush-land letting at four pounds an acre. |
b. In sense ‘made of rushes’, as
rush-bag,
rush-basket,
rush-boat,
rush-bottom (also as
adj.),
rush-cap,
rush-house,
rush-mat,
rush-matting,
rush-mill,
rush-rope,
rush-seat (also as
adj.),
rush-work, etc.
| 1896 A. Morrison Child Jago 185 Dicky, zealous at rush-bag-making. |
| 1681 Grew Musæum iv. §iii. 372 A Rush Basket..very prettily woven together. |
| 1605 Sylvester Du Bartas ii. iii. iii. Lawe 166 At length she layes it forth; in Rush-boat weaves it. |
| 1792 A. Young Trav. France I. 24 Oak chairs with rush bottoms. 1809 ‘D. Knickerbocker’ Hist. N.Y. I. iii. iii. 258 The young ladies seated themselves demurely in their rush-bottom chairs. 1866 D. G. Rossetti Let. 20 May (1965) II. 598 If there is anything besides rush-bottoms and ascetic glasses on which I should be glad to offer a fundamental remark..it is this. 1923 W. Deeping Secret Sanctuary xiii. 138 He made a move to sit down, and she saw him take one of the straight-backed rush-bottoms. 1960 J. Stroud Shorn Lamb iii. 27 Facing the magistrates..was a single rush-bottom chair. |
| 1842 Dumfries Herald Oct., The rush-cap on his head nodding like a mandarin's. |
| 1835 Rush-house [see raupo]. |
| 1797 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) XI. 638/1 A parcel of miserable rush huts. |
| 1726 Swift Gulliver iv. x, The Sides and Floors..I..covered with Rush-matts of my own contriving. 1869 H. F. Tozer Highl. Turkey I. 337 Rooms..furnished..with the usual rush mats. |
| 1926–7 Army & Navy Stores Catal. 1103/4 Rush matting, 36 in. wide — per yard. 4/9. 1942 E. Waugh Put out More Flags ii. 108 The floor was covered in coarse rush matting and in places by bright Balkan rugs. 1964 New Statesman 14 Feb. 271/4 (Advt.), Rush-matting made-to-measure 2s. sq. ft. Rush-seated Italian chairs 9 gns a pair. |
| 1804 W. Tarras Poems 1 We see..Him near the burn..Dammin the gush, to gar his rash-mill rin. |
| 1395 in East Anglian (1871) IV. 86 For ij bunches of Russherope, iijd. 1922 Joyce Ulysses 508 Woman undoing with sweet pudor her belt of rushrope, offers her allmoist yoni to man's lingam. |
| 1896 Heal & Son Catal. 156 Ebonised Rush-Seat Chair—{pstlg}0 4 9 Ebonised Chair, Rush Seat {pstlg}0 6 3. 1918 Ibid. 25 Dark Oak Rush-seat Arm chair, 35/-. 1949 R. Harvey Curtain Time i. 6 And soon the audience would begin to gather, first for the rush seats in the gallery, then for the balcony and the main floor. 1971 Country Life 18 Feb. 366/3 The square drop-in rush seat was originally upholstered. |
| 1687 Norris Coll. Misc. (1699) 38 If Tears in Rush-work may decipher'd be. 1934 E. Bowen Cat Jumps & Other Stories 190 She had discovered that Miss Weekes morris-danced, that she did rush-work. 1959 Observer 15 Mar. 14/5, I have just had a rustic chair reseated... Very neat rushwork. 1977 Vogue Feb. 115/2 A Connemara Craft Centre with ceramics, rushwork, tweeds. |
c. In sense ‘made of, consisting of, a rush’, as
rush-dip,
rush-lance,
rush-tube,
rush-wick.
| 1673 Dryden Epil. Univ. Oxford 15 Stout Scaramoucha with rush lance rode in. 1725 Fam. Dict. s.v. Candle, Put..in a small Rush-wick. 1780 Coxe Russ. Disc. 150 Hollowing out a stone, into which they put a rush-wick, and burn train oil. 1839 Ure Dict. Arts 836 A paper smift..is then fixed to the top of the rush-tube. 1861 Reade Cloister & H. lvii, I'll not give him a rush dip. |
d. In sense ‘of or belonging to a rush’, as
rush-bent,
rush-pith,
rush-root.
| c 1420 Anturs of Arth. 553 No more for þe faire fole þene for a risshe rote. 1801 Encycl. Brit. Suppl. I. 574/1 A rush-pith electrometer. 1821 Clare Vill. Minstr. I. 137 Quick the rush-bent fann'd away, As they danc'd and bounded through. 1862 H. Marryat Year in Sweden ii. 419 A better light than the rush-pith burnt by English peasants twenty of thirty years since. |
6. Comb. a. Objective, as
rush-bearer,
rush-cutter,
rush-cutting,
rush-dealer,
rush-peeler,
rush-reaper,
rush-worker.
| c 1552 in Strype Cranmer (1694) II. 137 A rope is a fytt reward for such ryshe repers As have strowed this church ageinst the Kings prechers. 1595 in Hanshall Hist. Cheshire (1817) 581 For wine to the Rushbearers. 1607 Ibid., To the Rushbearers, wine, ale [etc.]. 1851 in Illustr. Lond. News 5 Aug. (1854) 119/3 Rush-manufacture, dealer. 1885 Census Instructions Index, Rush Peeler (for Rushlights). 1888 Carlisle Patriot 17 Aug. (E.D.D.), Service over, each rushbearer received the customary present. 1889 Pall Mall G. 17 Aug. 3/1 Fishing in the river, chatting with the rush-cutters. Ibid., Rush cutting. |
b. Instrumental, as
rush-bordered,
rush-bottomed,
rush-floored,
rush-fringed,
rush-girt,
rush-matted,
rush-plaited,
rush-seated,
rush-seating,
rush-strewn,
rush-wove.
| a 1847 Eliza Cook Winter is here v, The rush-bordered rills. 1912 W. de la Mare Child's Day 26 A green, rush-bordered pool. |
| 1753 S. Fielding Adv. David Simple (ed. 2) V. vii. ii. 178 His Candle falling off the Table, set fire to a Rush-bottomed Chair. 1759 Phil. Trans. LI. 287 Several rush-bottomed chairs were burnt. 1840 C. F. Hoffman Greyslaer II. iii. i. 96 The apartment..was large and rudely furnished, containing only..a small cherry-wood table and a few rush-bottomed chairs. 1867 A. D. Richardson Beyond Mississippi xi. 131 The adjacent settlers came..in heavy ox-wagons sitting upon rush-bottomed chairs. 1902 Chambers's Jrnl. July 471/2 Here were..ancient rush-bottomed chairs, an old corner-cupboard with glass doors [etc.]. 1918 Heal & Son Catal. 2 Rush-bottomed Chair. 1976 ‘D. Halliday’ Dolly & Nanny Bird v. 60 A creak from the stairs..or the sounds of the rushbottomed chair I had used when feeding Benedict. |
| 1741 Richardson Pamela III. 118 We went to bed,..I to my Loft, and they to their Rush-floor'd cleanly Bedroom. |
| 1881 H. W. Taunt Map Thames 60/2 The picturesque farm with its rush-fringed river's bank. |
| 1836–48 B. D. Walsh Aristoph., Acharnians ii. vi, In the rush-girt flask..Mix the greasy Thasian soy. |
| 1960 C. Day Lewis Buried Day x. 226 Our stone-floored, rush-matted living⁓room..felt at first like an Aeolus' cave of draughts. |
| 1939 F. Thompson Lark Rise xv. 273 His wide, rush-plaited hat. |
| 1868 Lessons of Middle Age 273 The congregation sit on rush-seated chairs in the nave. 1952 M. Laski Village viii. 135 A long rush-seated oak stool. 1977 Times 3 Sept. 11/3 Rush-seated chairs and homely local service. |
| 1926 Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 14 July 5/1 We do old-fashioned rush seating also chair recaning... The Red Cross Workshop. 1979 Jrnl. R. Soc. Arts CXXVII. 453/2 The pieces to be shown will demonstrate the variety of the skills learned by the students..—rush-seating, marquetry, turning, [etc.]. |
| 1861 W. F. Collier Hist. Eng. Lit. 106 The gallants, who paid sixpence apiece for stools upon the rush-strewn stage. |
| 1789 E. Darwin Bot. Gard. II. 38 With rush-wove crowns in sad procession move. |
c. Similative, as
rush-leaved,
rush-stemmed;
rush-looking. Also
rush-like.
| 1753 Chambers' Cycl. Suppl. s.v. Narcissus, The..rush-leaved narcissus. 1855 Miss Pratt Flower. Pl. V. 269 Chive Garlic, or Rush-leaved Onion. 1871 M. C. Cooke Hdbk. Fungi 102 Rush-stemmed Nolanea. 1889 Westgarth Austral. Progr. 273 It has no grass, but in its stead some green rush-looking tufts, pleasant to our eyes. |
7. Special combs., as
rush-broom, (
a) Spanish broom; (
b) a yellow-flowered Australian shrub,
Viminaria denudata (Morris, 1898);
rush-cart, a cart piled with rushes at a rush-bearing;
† rush chicory = rush succory;
† rush cress (?);
rush family, the natural order
Juncaceæ;
† rush garlic, chives (
cf. rush leek,
rush onion);
rush-grass, a species of grass having a rush-like appearance;
rush-holder, a device for holding a rushlight;
† rush leek = rush garlic;
rush-man, one who supplies or deals in rushes;
rush-nut (see
quot. 1819);
† rush onion = rush garlic;
† rush-pin (?);
rush-sad (?);
† rush succory, the plant
Chondrilla juncea;
† rush-tail, a bird having a long slender tail;
rush-toad, the natterjack;
rush veneer, a species of moth;
rush wheat, a species of wild wheat (
Triticum junceum) growing on sandy shores.
| 1713 Phil. Trans. XXVIII. 219 Common Spanish *Rush-Broom. |
| 1848 Ainsworth Lancs. Witches I. 148 In the rear of the performers in the pageant came the *rush-cart drawn by a team of eight stout horses. 1860 Sir J. P. Kay-Shuttleworth Scarsdale I. 202 To assemble at its rushbearing..at least eight, and sometimes a dozen, rush-carts. |
| 1611 Cotgr., Lettron, Gumme Cichorie, *rush Cichorie. |
| c 1710 Petiver Catal. Ray's Eng. Herbal xlviii, Irish *Rush Cress. |
| 1849 Balfour Man. Bot. §1084 Juncaceæ, the *Rush Family. |
| 1578 Lyte Dodoens 643 This kinde is called in French, des Oignoncettes.., that is to say, *Rushe Garlike. |
| 1753 Chambers' Cycl. Suppl. s.v. Plantago, The gramen junceum or *rush-grass. 1796 Withering Brit. Pl. (ed. 3) II. 76 Small Plymouth Rush-grass. 1820 Shelley Hymn Merc. xvii, With rushgrass tall, Lotus, and all sweet herbage. 1857 Thoreau Maine W. (1894) 36 Cutting the native grass—rush-grass and meadow-clover, as he called it. |
| 1578 Lyte Dodoens 643 In Latine [it is called] Scœnoprasum, which may be Englished, *Rushe Leekes. |
| 1606 Chapman Gentleman Usher ii. i, Here is one That was a *Rush-mans jerkin, Wer't not absurd a Broome-man should weare it? |
| 1819 Pantologia X, *Rush nut, the root of the cyperus esculentus.., a native of Italy, where it is collected and eaten. 1887 C. A. Moloney Forestry W. Afr. 445 Chefa, Chufa or Earth Almond, Tiger or Rush Nut (Cyperus esculentus, L.)... The tubers, which are about the size of an ordinary bean, may be eaten either raw or cooked. |
| 1578 Lyte Dodoens 642 Cyues or *Rushe Onyons, in the steede of leaues haue litle, smal, holowe..blades, lyke to smal Rushes. |
| 1673 Maldon Borough Deeds (Bundle 98, fol. 1), [Innkeepers fined] vis. viiid. a peece,..for using *rushpinns in their severall yards. |
| 1811 Sporting Mag. XXXVII. 34 The flag-sads cut too much, *rush-sads too little. |
| 1548 Turner Names Herbes (E.D.S.) 26 Chondrilla..maye be named in englishe *Ryshe Succory or gum Succory. |
| 1598 Hakluyt Voy. II. ii. 100 The Portugals haue named them all according to some propriety which they haue; some they call *rushtailes, because their tailes be..long and small like a rush. |
| 1880 Cassell's Nat. Hist. IV. 360 The Natter-Jack, or *Rush Toad, is not common. |
| 1819 G. Samouelle Entomol. Compend. 425 Botys hybridalis, the *rush Veneer. 1832 J. Rennie Butterfl. & M. 151 The Rush Veneer (Nymphula hybridalis, Schrank) appears in July. |
| 1796 Withering Brit. Plants II. 173 Triticum junceum. Sea Wheat-grass. *Rush Wheat. |
▪ II. rush, n.2 (
rʌʃ)
Also 4
russche, 5–6
rusche, 6
russhe,
rushe.
[f. rush v.2] 1. The act, or an act, of rushing; a sudden violent or tumultuous movement; a charge, an onslaught:
a. Of persons or animals.
Esp., the movement of large numbers of people at a specified time or season to or from work, recreation, shops, etc.;
gen., haste, urgency; excessive activity.
| c 1380 Sir Ferumb. 2888 Þan schullaþ our men..be-trappe hem þar & take hem at one russche. c 1470 Henry Wallace iv. 450 At the fyrst rusche feill Inglismen war slayne. a 1639 Wotton Life Dk. Buckhm. in Reliq. (1651) 111 A Gentle⁓man of his train..spurred up his Horse, and with a violent rush severed him from the Duke. 1813 Shelley Q. Mab iv. 44 The ceaseless clangour, and the rush of men Inebriate with rage. 1885 Sat. Rev. 21 Feb. 235/2 Preparing their young horses for the wild rush of the hunting-field. 1924 G. B. Shaw Saint Joan p. vii, His accuser..might have been picked out of any first class carriage on a suburban railway during the evening or morning rush from or to the City. 1925 H. Crane Let. 1 Dec. (1965) 220 Selling books in stores during the Christmas rush. 1931 H. Nicolson Diary 22 Aug. (1966) 88, I have learnt that rapidity, hustle and rush are the allies of superficiality. 1932 E. Bowen To the North vi. 51 She had not come down all this way..in the middle of what she and Peter considered the Whitsun rush. 1939 [see after- I. 1]. 1943 E. B. White Let. 13 Aug. (1976) 243, I would like to discuss my publishing life with you some time... There is no rush about it, however, as I have no book ready to go. 1951 E. Paul Springtime in Paris ix. 157 The easter rush of tourists..had crowded the St. Sulpice district to overflowing. 1973 [see office worker s.v. office n. 12]. |
b. Of material things. Also, a rushing sound; a rushing sensation in the body; a thrill (of fear, pleasure, etc.); a drug-induced euphoria,
= flash n.2 1 h (
colloq.).
| c 1425 Wyntoun Cron. iv. vii. 724 Þar men mycht here bot dusche for dusche, Rappis ruyde withe mony a rusche. Ibid. iv. xxv. 2384 Þat al þe wyndois in a rusche Off his chawmyr qwhar he laye Brak wp. 1535 Coverdale 2 Esdras xiii. 11 The blast of fyre..fell with a russhe vpon y⊇ people. 1541 Paynell Catiline xiv. 20 b, Whatsoeuer noise or rushe they hard, they fered it was Catiline and Manlius. 1648 Crashaw Delights of the Muses Poems (1904) 143 The rush of Death's unruly wave, Swept him off into his Grave. 1751 Johnson Rambler No. 126 ¶2 Overset by..the rush of a larger vessel. 1789 J. Williams Min. Kingd. II. 148 Some mighty current, rush, or eddy of the tide. 1817 Shelley Rev. Islam v. xxix, Like the rush of showers Of hail in spring, pattering along the ground. 1848 Dickens Dombey xxvi, There was a sudden rush of blood to Mr. Dombey's face. 1873 ‘Ouida’ Pascarèl I. 120 My eyes grew wet with a rush of tears. 1916 ‘Boyd Cable’ Action Front 113 At nine, sharp to the tick of the clock, the rush, rush, rush of a field battery's shells passed overhead. 1922 Joyce Ulysses 509 He couldn't get a connection. Only, you know, sensation. A dry rush. 1971 Frendz 21 May 11/1 When you start smoking one type of Hash, the best rushes come during the first day of smoking. (Assuming the Hash is good). 1976 National Observer (U.S.) 23 Oct. 6 Methadone is addictive, too, but it doesn't give the pleasurable ‘rush’ that heroin addicts speak of. 1979 Washington Post 25 Mar. n5 Never again was there anything quite like the rush we got from the simple fact of spring. |
c. fig. Of immaterial things.
| 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. viii. II. 336 In a ferment with the sudden rush of business from all corners of the kingdom. 1868 Dickens Let. to M. de Cerjat 26 Aug., To this hour I have sudden vague rushes of terror. 1883 F. M. Peard Contrad. xi, She..gave the girl time to recover from her first rush of shyness. |
d. pl. Cinemat. The first prints of film resulting from a period of shooting; the preliminary showing of such film;
= daily n. 4.
| 1924 G. R. Chester On Set & Off xvii. 206 Isidor Iskovitch sat very cockily exhibiting to his friend and boss..some thousands of feet of ‘rushes’ on his pet picture, ‘the Woman's Half’. 1927 L. Fawcett Films Facts & Forecasts xiv. 130 A good many pictures are entirely remade, and sometimes sequences are ordered to be reconstructed when the ‘rushes’ (short lengths of film) are seen during actual production. 1934 [see daily n. 4]. 1940 Manch. Guardian Weekly 15 Nov. 355 We were shown ‘stills’ of Mr. Gielgud's Disraeli and..in a private theatre we saw ‘rushes’ of the previous day's work. 1952 [see daily n. 4]. 1956 B. Holiday Lady sings Blues (1973) xv. 126 Every night after we'd finished work at six o'clock, Blondie would rush to the projection room to see the rushes. 1962 Movie Sept. 31/2 For Rouch, the ideal film of this title would be the four hours of ‘rushes’, without cuts or montage. 1969 New Yorker 29 Nov. 160/2 Nothing makes us more aware of staginess than actors reciting poetry outdoors—as directors of Shakespearean movies discover when they look at their first day's rushes. 1976 C. Bermant Coming Home ii. iv. 160 My function was to write the outline script as a rough guide for the film crew. Then, when the rushes were available, I re-wrote to fit the pictures. |
e. Used
fig. in
phrs. bum's rush, see
bum n.4 1 b;
to get a rush, of a girl or woman: to be the recipient of frequent attentions from men;
to give (someone,
spec. a girl or woman)
a rush: to lavish attention on (that person) in the form of social engagements and entertainment.
colloq.| 1928 Amer. Speech III. 221 To say that a girl ‘certainly gets a big rush’ means that she has many desirable dates, and is ‘cut’ a lot at dances. 1934 J. O'Hara Appointment in Samarra (1935) i. 20 Wilhelmina Hall..was still the best dancer in the club, and was getting the best rush. 1938 E. Bowen Death of Heart ii. iv. 249, I don't think most girls appreciate friendship; all they want is to be given a rush. 1940 Wodehouse Eggs, Beans & Crumpets 93 He's been giving me the rush of a lifetime. 1953 H. Waugh Last seen Wearing 71 She goes round with another guy..and I think he was giving her pretty much of a rush. 1956 W. H. Whyte Organization Man (1957) 252 An actor..comes to town from the city for a short stay. He gives her a mild rush, and she dreams of a glamorous life with him. 1969 A. Lurie Real People 18 She certainly wasn't prepared for the rush she got, probably for the first time in her life... You've got to admit she's not madly attractive. |
f. In
attrib. use passing into
adj., denoting rapidity of movement, haste, or urgency. Also
ellipt. as
quasi-adv.| 1879 W. Whitman Daybooks & Notebooks (1978) I. 145, I am told that Saturday is a real rush day. 1896 Rush order [in sense 9 below]. 1900 J. London Let. 15 Mar. (1966) 102 This isn't sharpshooting, but repelling a rush attack of a body of men. 1901 C. Moffett Careers of Danger 381 Already the mail clerks are swarming at the pouches, like printers on a rush edition. 1901 Merwin & Webster Calumet ‘K’ vii. 126 But if you ever try to put me on a rush job, I'll quit and buy a small farm. 1904 N.Y. Herald 17 Sept. 1 He stated that six weeks' rush work would be required to repair the boilers to make them serviceable and the ship seaworthy. 1929 T. H. Burnham Engin. Econ. xv. 199 Rush orders are difficult to put through, even in well-organized works. 1933 D. L. Sayers Murder must Advertise viii. 126 Mr. Copley..was left working overtime upon a rush series of cut-price advertisements for Jamboree Jellies. 1933 Balmer & Wylie When Worlds Collide i. 24 You see, Tony, some—some things were being sent rush, by airplane. 1939 C. Day Lewis Child of Misfortune ii. vi. 241 Christmas was a rush-time of services, visits to the sick, parties for the children and old people of the parish. 1946 Ann. Reg. 1945 40 There should be a three weeks' interval..so as to avoid a rush election. 1955 ‘A. Gilbert’ Is she Dead Too? viii. 151 She was gone before he arrived on the scene. It was a rush job. 1958 [see one numeral a. 30 b]. 1965 Mrs L. B. Johnson White House Diary 2 July (1970) 292 So I got a rush appointment with Mr. Per and went over for a permanent. 1968 Listener 8 Aug. 176/3 It was an odd life at Oxford at the time because most people had just come out of the army and were going in for quick degrees, sort of rush degrees. a 1974 R. Crossman Diaries (1975) I. 238 They are horrifyingly superficial—merely a collection of the facts available to central government with one or two rush-job social surveys and some very hasty conclusions. 1977 R. V. Hudson in Bond & McLeod Newslett. to Newspapers ii. 123 His expertise earned him an assignment to rush work and the highest wage among some fifty printers. |
2. † a. slang. (See
quots.)
Obs.| 1785 Gentl. Mag. LV. i. 485 Patroles have been productive of a new species of robbery called the Rush; that is, a number of villains assemble at the door of a house, and as soon as opened rush in, bind the family, and plunder the house. 1812 J. H. Vaux Flash Dict. s.v., A rush may signify a forcible entry by several men into a detached dwelling house for the purpose of robbing its owners. |
b. dial. (See
quots.)
| 1788 W. H. Marshall Rur. Econ. Yorks. Gloss., Rush, a feast; a merry-making; a rout. 1855 [Robinson] Whitby Gloss. s.v., A merry-making is often spoken of as ‘the grand rush’ that is going to be held. |
3. a. Rugby and
N. Amer. Football. An attempt by one or more players,
esp. the forwards, to force the ball through the opponents' line and towards their goal. Also, a player who is skilled in this.
| 1857 Hughes Tom Brown i. v, Then follows rush upon rush, and scrummage upon scrummage. Ibid., Don't give the rush a chance of reaching you! 1897 Sportsman 16 Dec., The Dark Blues broke away, but the rush was well saved by Black. 1903 Westm. Gaz. 13 Jan. 5/2 He..had the reputation of being the best centre rush that the university [of Harvard] ever had. 1970 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 28 Sept. 18/6 Fleming was Hamilton's leading ground gainer with four catches for 66 yards and nine rushes for 42 more. 1979 Honolulu Advertiser 8 Jan. c–1/1 Larry's strong rush helped keep pressure on Ram quarterback Pat Haden. |
b. Croquet. (See
quot. 1874.)
| 1874 Heath Croquet Player 14 Rush, a shot or roquet played so hard as to send the object ball to some spot where the striker desires to place it. 1877 Encycl. Brit. VI. 609/1 The learner should next practise..cutting, which is a rush played fine instead of full. |
c. Amer. A scrimmage or struggle between first and second year students.
| 1860 Yale Lit. Mag. XXVI. 22 As a basis, a Rush tacitly assumes that it is promoting a rivalry that is proper and praiseworthy. 1871 G. R. Cutting Stud. Life Amherst Coll. 128 Participants will, however, readily recall the..‘rush’ of '67 and '68, in Athenæ Hall;..and..the ‘rushes’ of '71 with '72. 1905 Dundee Advt. 5 Dec. 4 What is known in Canadian academic life as ‘rush’, that is, a trial of strength between the freshmen and the second year students. 1916 C. A. Eastman From Deep Woods to Civilization 68 The two classes met in a first ‘rush’. 1937 Amer. Speech XII. 156 Cane rushes, or encounters between freshmen carrying canes and sophomores seeking to break them were an institution at the University of Nebraska in the late '80's of the last century. They were vigorous affairs and fraternity rushing may well have had name from them. |
d. U.S. A round of entertainment in which candidates for admission to a fraternity or a sorority participate. Also
attrib., as
rush party,
rush week, etc.
| 1899 A. H. Quinn Pennsylvania Stories 60 It was not long before Theta Chi gave him a bid to a rush smoker. 1918 Dialect Notes V. 27 The object of the many attentions of a frat-rush. 1931 Kansas City Times 24 Sept. 20/6 Aunt Phoebe Tilden read where so many colleges are having rush parties. 1940 Sun (Baltimore) 16 Sept. 2/8 (heading) Rush week for C. of C. 1944 Greeley (Colo.) Daily Tribune 24 Sept. 3/5 Formal rush week for all sororities on the campus will be Oct. 1 to Oct. 6. 1964 Rush week [see pledge week s.v. pledge n. 7]. 1970 Guardian 23 Apr. 11/4 What is called the Rush Programme. Girls who want to be ‘rushed’, i.e. who want to join a sorority, put their names down for sororities (the screening process) and ‘rush’ to about 30 or 40 parties. 1979 Arizona Daily Star 19 Apr. 6/2 Jennifer Johnston..was elected assistant rush chairman. |
4. a. A sudden migration of numbers of people to a certain place,
esp. to a new goldfield.
| 1848 Morning Courier & New-York Enquirer 11 Dec. 2/1 There is a general rush for the new found Dorado. 1849 Merchant's Mag. XX. 60 In May, the gold itself began to come into the town. And then began the rising and the rush. 1850 R. Monckton Milnes in Life (1891) I. x. 444 The rush of English to those parts is so great that there is hardly a bed to be had. 1861 T. M'Combie Austral. Sk. 86 We had a long conversation on the ‘rush’, as it was termed. 1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Col. Reformer (1891) 289 A large proportion had been lured to Turonia by the golden possibilities of the great rush. 1893 [see gold-rush s.v. gold1 10 a]. 1897 Boston Globe 29 Aug. 6/6 There are only about 1600 new Americans in the mines... There are plenty of supplies there for those already in but not for any big rush late in the fall. 1908 E. J. Banfield Confessions of Beachcomber ii. ii. 288 A party of bushmen, fresh from the excitement and weariness of the Gilbert rush. 1911 C. E. W. Bean ‘Dreadnought’ of Darling xxxv. 306 A friend of the writer's, who was in Coolgardie from the time when the rush there first started, tells of how first the waistcoat came onto the mining field. 1935 Chambers's Encycl. VI. 459/2 Only in 1896 was gold found in such abundance as to create a rush [to the Klondike]. 1947 R. Peattie Sierra Nevada 60 The discovery in 1859 of a glittering silver bonanza in Washoe County, Nevada, started a frantic rush over the mountains to Virginia City. 1955 Bull. Atomic Sci. Mar. 88/2 Thus the uranium boom began. The rush has grown rather than quieted, but there are healthy signs of stabilization. 1966 ‘J. Hackston’ Father clears Out 104 Following on this ‘rich’ find, the big Red Range rush set in. 1972 Standard Encycl. Southern Africa V. 227/1 By then [sc. 8 Sept. 1886] the rush of diggers had already set in, so that fully 3 000 people were estimated to be scattered along the Rand by this time. |
b. transf. The scene of such a migration;
spec. a new goldfield.
| 1855 W. Howitt Land, Lab., & Gold I. 172 It is a common practice for them to mark out one or more claims in each new rush. 1885 Forbes Souvenirs (1894) 272 When he migrates to a new rush, he takes live belongings with him. 1900 H. Lawson Story of Oracle in Stories (1964) I. 435 My Uncle Bob was mates with him on one of those rushes along there—the Pipeclay, I think it was, or the Log Paddock. 1966 ‘J. Hackston’ Father clears Out 52 Why is he so poor now, after finding all the rich reefs and rushes? |
5. a. An eager demand
for, a strong run
on, something.
| 1856 R. Monckton Milnes in Life (1891) II. xii. 10 There is such a rush for places I shall probably not see it. 1884 19th Cent. Nov. (1889) 854 There was a slight boom in the mining market, and a bit of a rush on American rails. |
b. with a rush, with a sudden onset; in a sweeping or rapid manner.
| 1841 Daily Picayune (New Orleans) 10 Dec. 2/2 They all travel round to the old brushing ground where they ‘go it with a rush’. 1846 S. F. Smith Theatrical Apprenticeship & Anecdotal Recollections 152 When you find yourself in possession of four aces, go it with a perfect rush. 1859 Bartlett Dict. Amer. (ed. 2) s.v., ‘To go it with a rush, or with a perfect rush,’ is to do a thing energetically, with spirit. 1861 Times 6 June, Already the Confederate States perceive that they cannot carry all before them with a rush. 1898 McClure's Mag. X. 352 The gray-backs came through with a rush. 1903 G. B. Shaw Man & Superman iii. 138 The complete reality comes back with a rush. 1914 T. Dreiser Titan i. 3 Chicago, when it finally dawned on him, came with a rush on the second morning. He had spent two nights in the gaudy Pullman..when the first lone outposts of the prairie metropolis began to appear. 1934 A. Christie Parker Pyne Investigates 53 She stared at Mr Parker Pyne with a desperate intentness. Suddenly she spoke with a rush. |
c. (all) in a rush (and variants):
phrs. denoting rapidity, liveliness, briskness, suddenness, or haste.
| 1859 Hotten Dict. Slang 84 Doing it on the rush, running away, or making off. 1876 ‘Mark Twain’ Tom Sawyer xviii. 149 He is always in such a rush that he never thinks of anything. 1877 G. M. Hopkins Spring in Poems (1967) 67 That blue is all in a rush With richness. 1890 Kipling Barrack-Room Ballads (1892) 11 An 'appy day with Fuzzy on the rush Will last an 'ealthy Tommy for a year. 1901 H. James Sacred Fount iv. 75 Last night she was on the rush. 1916 ‘Taffrail’ Pincher Martin i. 11 Take a pride in yourself, an' obey all orders at the rush. 1938 Sun (Baltimore) 8 June 8/8 Later in the season they [sc. soft crabs] drop off almost altogether until late July or in August, when they seem to come back all of a rush. 1962 E. B. Atwood Regional Vocab. Texas iii. 71 To leave in a rush. The most common single expression for hurried departure is light a shuck. 1971 Cassell's Mod. Guide to Synonyms 502 The slow, jolting pace of one who is in no rush. |
6. a. A (migratory) flock or flight of birds.
| 1875 ‘Stonehenge’ Brit. Rur. Sports i. ix. 118 A ‘flight’ or ‘rush’ of dunbirds. 1901 Scotsman 10 Sept. 7/1 The greater number of birds in the autumn rushes. |
b. Austr. A stampede of horses or cattle.
| 1881 A. C. Grant Bush Life (1882) 298 A confused whirl of dark forms swept before him... It was ‘a rush’, a stampede. |
7. Dysentery in cattle.
| 1799 Prize Ess. Highland Soc. III. 407 Purging or Rush. 1838 in W. C. L. Martin Ox (1847) 18/2 They are bad breeders, and much subject to the rush, a complaint common to animals bred in and in. |
8. Mining. (See
quot.)
| 1883 Gresley Gloss. Coal-mining 209 Rush, the sudden weighting of the roof when robbing the pillars begins, and the roof is a strong one. |
9. Comb., as
rush dodge , the act of overcoming or disarming a person by means of a rush;
rush line (see sense 3 a); also
fig.;
rush order, an order for goods required in a hurry;
rush-release, the action or an instance of producing and marketing a gramophone record in the shortest possible time; so
rush-release vb. trans. Also
rush hour.
| 1888 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Robbery under Arms II. ii. 19 It's no use trying the rush dodge with them. |
| 1887 Century Mag. XXXIV. 891/2 Across the field stretch the football infantry, the ‘rush-line’ or ‘rushers’. 1891 Harper's Weekly 19 Sept. 715/3 Princeton's rush line is where she needs material and plenty of it. 1906 Life 4 Oct. 366 We hear of a surprising prevalence among the young men..of the disposition to get into the political rush-line. 1923 R. D. Paine Comr. Rolling Ocean i. 3 The unlucky young men who were left in his wake when he tore through a rush-line. 1976 Webster's Sports Dict. 365/1 Rush line, the defensive line of a football team. |
| 1896 Daily News 28 Dec. 3/7 Makers..have so much work on hand that they are neglecting rush orders. |
| 1966 Melody Maker 16 July 4 The group's ‘Pet Sounds’ LP—rush-released by EMI—entered the MM's best-selling LPs chart this week at number nine. 1968 Ibid. 22 June 2 The Regal Zonophone label is rush-releasing the new Move E.P. 1978 New Musical Express 11 Feb. 4/2 Radiators From Space have just finished recording their new single..and Chiswick hope to have it ready for rush release on February 17. |
▪ III. rush, n.3 north. dial. [Of obscure origin.] A thick growth of plants or shrubs; a brake.
| 1796 W. H. Marshall Rur. Econ. Yorks. (ed. 2) II. 340 Rush (of grass or corn); a tuft, knot, cluster, or crowd of plants. 1822 T. Bewick Mem. 39 In the midst of a ‘whin rush’—that is, a great extent of old whins. 1844 M. A. Richardson Historian's Table-bk., Leg. Div. II. 43 Through a rush of briars and nettles. 1892 M. C. F. Morris Yorks. Folk-Talk 155 A field..has a ‘rush’ or narrow strip of wood or rough ground at one end of it. |
▪ IV. rush, v.1 (
rʌʃ)
Also 5
russhe, 6
rysshe.
[f. rush n.1] 1. trans. a. To strew with rushes.
| 1422 Secreta Secret., Priv. Priv. 242 Noght vpon harde erthe ne Pament, but vpon erthe nesshly y-strawet or russhet. c 1430 Pilgr. Lyf Manhode ii. cxxvi. (1869) 142, I can wel russhe a dungy place. a 1851 [see rushed ppl. a.]. 1895 T. Ellwood Lakeland Gloss. 78 In some parishes, rushing the church in this way was paid for. |
b. To tie up, work or make, with rushes.
| 1848 Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. IX. ii. 556 Keep them [i.e. hop-bines] well rushed around at the bottom. 1885 Leisure Hour Jan. 47/1 Women and children..caning or rushing the ‘bottoms’ [of chairs]. |
2. intr. To gather rushes.
rare.
| 1530 Palsgr. 692/2, I rysshe, I gather russhes, je cueils des joncs. Ibid., Go no more a rysshynge Malyn. 1896 Baring-Gould Dartmoor Idylls 234 Don't y' go a-rushing, maids, in May. |
▪ V. rush, v.2 (
rʌʃ)
Forms: 4
russchen, 4–6
rusche (5
russch-,
ruyssch-,
Sc. rousch-); 4–6
russhe (5
rosshe, 6
russzh-); 4–6
rushe, 6–
rush.
[a. AF. russher, var. of russer, = OF. re(h)usser, re(h)user, ruser, etc. (mod.F. ruser: see ruse v.1). The forms with s would normally represent a pop.L. *refūsāre, f. ppl. stem of L. refundĕre to cause to flow back, but it is difficult to regard those in ss and ssh as having this origin. The development of some of the senses may have been helped by a feeling of phonetic appropriateness:
cf. the similar uses of
MHG. rûschen,
riuschen (G.
rauschen), which is quite unconnected in origin.]
I. trans. † 1. a. To force out of place or position by violent impact; to drive back, down, etc.
Obs.| 1375 Barbour Bruce ii. 404 In the stour sa hardyly He ruschyt with hys chewalry, That he ruschyt his fayis ilkane. c 1420 Avow. Arth. iv, He betus on the busshes; Alle he riues and he russhes, That the rote is vnryȝte. |
† b. Const.
down,
up;
to (the ground),
under (foot), etc.
Obs.| c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints i. (Peter) 527 Þe hound..schot on symeon..and to þe ȝerde hym vndirnethe Ruschit. ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 1339 Of alle his ryche castelles [I will] rusche doune the walles. c 1425 Wyntoun Cron. iii. ii. 333 Conȝhe and rabit bathe he brak, And ruschit wp þe ȝhettis þar. c 1470 Henry Wallace iii. 193 Hors..rouschede frekis wndir feit. c 1530 Ld. Berners Arth. Lyt. Bryt. (1814) 192 A tempest of winde..rusht downe standerdes, and tare downe lodgynges. a 1578 Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) II. 39 They ruschit thame rouchlie to the earth. 1635 Swan Spec. M. vi. §2 (1643) 225 Many hills and buildings have been rushed down by this kind of earth⁓quake. 1678 Sir G. Mackenzie Crim. Laws Scot. ii. (1699) 235 He thereupon ran and rushed the said Main..to the ground under his Feet. |
| fig. 1592 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. iii. iii. 26 The kind Prince Taking thy part, hath rusht aside the Law. |
† c. To smash, shatter.
Obs.—1| 1470–85 Malory Arthur v. x. 176 He smote thurgh shelde..and al to russhed and brake the precious stones. |
2. a. To cause to move with great speed and force; to send or impel violently. Chiefly with preps.
| 1382 Wyclif 2 Macc. iii. 25 He with feersnesse..rushide the former feet to Heleodore. c 1430 Syr Gener. (Roxb.) 8931 He armed him, and russhed his stede, And forto Ioust fast he yede. 1470–85 Malory Arthur vi. ii. 185 He russhed his hors on syre Ector and..bare hym clene out of the sadel. 1592 tr. Junius on Rev. xii. 18 A most mighty tempest that he rushed upon the whole world. c 1611 Chapman Iliad v. 18 Then rush'd he out a lance at him. 1654 I. Ambrose Ultima 18 Into what a sea of misery have I now rushed saile! 1730 T. Boston Mem. vii. (1899) 153 There was a spit sticking in the wall of the house... I rushed inadvertently my face on it. 1858 Times 30 Nov., How skilfully these young creatures managed their frail tiny barks! They rush them through the fiercest rapids. |
† b. To pull
out hastily, drag
off violently.
Obs.| ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 2550 Redely theis rathe mene rusches owtte swerdes. 1470–85 Malory Arthur iv. x. 132 Syr Arthur..pulled hym to the erthe, and thenne russhed of his helme. a 1600 Sir Lancelot du Lake 120 in Percy Reliques (1765) I. 186 He pull'd him downe upon his knee, And rushing off his helm [etc.]. |
3. a. refl. To move with speed and force (
obs.); to impel (oneself) heedlessly, violently, or hurriedly
upon or
on something. ?
Obs.| c 1400 Song Roland 589 ‘Lordingis,’ said Roulond, ‘rusche you be-dene’. c 1470 Henry Wallace vii. 819 Rudly till ray thai ruschit thaim agayne. 1642 Rogers Naaman 47 To have made him desperate, and to have rusht himselfe upon vile courses. 1659 Gentl. Calling 448 Men, that can thus knowingly and consideringly rush themselves upon such unspeakable mischiefs. |
b. trans. To drag, force, or carry rapidly; (
orig. rapidly and violently); to convey (someone or something) rapidly or urgently. Chiefly
const. into,
to,
out of.
| 1577 Reg. Privy Council Scot. II. 627 The said Thesaurare..put violent handis on the said complenar, ruschit him to the Tolbuith. 1632 J. Featley Hon. Chast. 15 His will rushes him headlong to the whirlepoole of destruction. 1658 Whole Duty Man vi. §21 Consideration..we owe to our Souls. For without it, we shall..rush them into infinite perils. 1721 Young Revenge iv. i, O, how like innocence she looks! what, stab her, And rush her into blood? 1740–1 Richardson Pamela II. 30 Tell me you forgive me for rushing you into so much Danger and Distress. 1897 Sportsman 16 Dec., From a line out here the leather was finely rushed up. 1898 G. B. Shaw You never can tell Plays II. 294 They rush him out of the room between them. 1914 S. Lewis Our Mr. Wrenn 214 I'll make Tom rush us a growler of beer. 1927 U. Sinclair Oil! 264 It was our job to rush them supplies. 1935 in A. P. Herbert What a Word! v. 143 She was rushed to Alton Hospital, where her condition is critical. 1947 Milwaukee Jrnl. 29 Oct. 2 Uncle Tom doesn't scurry around to rush us a loan. 1958 [see jerrican, jerrycan]. 1966 L. Cohen Beautiful Losers i. 107 Rush to me the free book on the Home Method of Slenderizing Heavy Legs. 1971 Sunday Express (Johannesburg) 28 Mar. 7/5 (Advt.), Rush me my..illustrated Guide. 1976 Star (Sheffield) 3 Dec. 10/7 My husband to be was rushed into hospital for a serious operation. |
c. transf. To get or bring
out, carry
through, push on, etc., in an unusually rapid manner.
| 1830 Scott Jrnl. II. 106 Cadell rather wished to rush it out by employing these different presses. 1864 Daily Tel. 21 Sept., When his name was proposed they rushed it through with a will. 1890 Standard 20 Feb., All we desire is that the measure shall not be rushed through the House. 1893 Daily News 14 Apr. 2/6 There is no disposition to rush business, and caution is being manifested by dealers. |
d. To make (one's way) with a rush.
| 1896 Baden-Powell Matabele Campaign xii, This morning by dawn we were rushing our way along the Uvunkwe. |
4. a. To force at an unusual or excessive pace or speed. Also with
off,
on,
through,
up. Also, in weakened senses, to accomplish or produce rapidly; to expedite; to hurry or hustle.
| 1850 R. G. Cumming Hunter's Life S. Afr. (1902) 39/1 This Bushboy..would never rush his horse to overtake any antelope if the ground were at all rough. 1883 ‘Mark Twain’ Life on Mississippi li. 452 Since there was so much time to spare that nineteen years of it could be devoted to the construction of a mere towhead, where was the use, originally, in rushing this whole globe through in six days? 1887 Smiles Life & Labour 355 While the country boy is allowed to grow up, the city boy is rushed up. 1892 Garden 27 Aug. 184 There is no doubt that Cucumbers can be rushed on with heat and moisture. 1894 [Godley] Aspects Mod. Oxford 43 Nor will he..allow himself to be ‘rushed’ through the various objects of interest. 1901 Chambers's Jrnl. Apr. 210/1 Candida rushed her news. 1918 W. Owen Let. 19 Aug. (1967) 569 I rushed off a note in time for this evening's post. 1938 Amer. Speech XIII. 156/1 Bootleg 'em, to rush a special order through outside of regular channels. 1946 R.A.F. Jrnl. May 161 Do not through nervousness rush your replies. 1947 Sun (Baltimore) 8 Nov. 6/2 Representative Knutson..announced his intention of rushing the special session with a ‘quickie’ bill for income-tax reduction. 1949 Shurr & Yocom Mod. Dance 5 Head of Developing and Printing at Willoughby's Camera Stores, Inc., who rushed prints and supplies through in record time. 1974 Times 1 Feb. 2/8 Nevertheless, Mr Campbell Adamson, director general, emphasized that the CBI was ‘rushing’ a council meeting, a somewhat unprecedented action, to consider Mr Heath's letter. 1976 M. Machlin Pipeline lxi. 517 If you ask me..he's rushing the whole thing and I think that these ULCC'S—these ultra-big tankers—are a mistake. |
b. colloq. To defraud or cheat, to ‘do’,
out of. Also
ellipt.| 1887 J. Payn Glow-Worm Tales II. 44 That a fraud had been committed on us was certain, and a fraud of a very clumsy kind... He had ‘rushed us’ as, the phrase goes. 1891 L'pool Mercury 26 May 5/4 With an added 2{supd} it is equivalent in value to the dollar, and..much good sport is to be obtained in America in trying to rush the natives out of that 2{supd}. 1930 Brophy & Partridge Songs & Slang 1914–1918 158 How much did they rush you? meant ‘How much did you have to pay?’ 1931 T. R. G. Lyell Slang, Phrase & Idiom 655 Rush a person,..to overcharge a person; to make him pay an exorbitant price. A. ‘How much d'you say you paid for this car?’ B. ‘Two hundred and fifty pounds.’ A. ‘My word! they rushed you, all right! It's not worth a penny more than {pstlg}120.’ 1973 N. W. Schur British Self-Taught 340 Rush,..soak. For instance: ‘How much did they rush you for that sherry?’ To rush is to charge, with the distinct implication that the price was too high. |
c. To hurry or pressure (a person); now
freq. pass. (passing into ppl. a.), of a person: to have much to do in a limited time, to be hard-pressed by shortage of time (also with the activity or the period of time as subject). Hence in
colloq. phrases
to be rushed around,
to be rushed off one's feet (or legs) (
cf. run off one's feet s.v. run v. 44 a).
| a 1890 Elect. Rev. XV. xiv. 10 (Cent.), Nearly all [telegraph operators] are ambitious to send faster than the operator at the receiving station can write it down, or in other words to rush him. 1902 W. N. Harben Abner Daniel 268 Wish I had more time at my disposal..but I really am rushed, to-day particularly. 1911 Beerbohm Let. 2 Oct. (1964) 204, I wish you would tell Sister Loveridge..that I was so ‘rushed’ that I had not time to go and see anybody. 1916 E. Fenwick Diary 14 Feb. (1981) 111 Just rushed off my legs the whole day long. 1923 H. Crane Let. 6 Feb. (1965) 118, I have been so rushed around with too much society that I have not yet got at the review for your study. 1924 Ibid. 5 Mar. (1965) 177 What with one's work, one's friends, books, writing, eating and sleeping, things are certainly rushed! 1937 W. H. Saumarez Smith Let. 20 Sept. in Young Man's Country (1977) ii. 91 I've been so rushed off my feet that I've not had a moment to do anything except work. 1943 D. Powell Time to be Born x. 225 Amanda's too rushed right now to attend to these details. 1944 C. Himes Black on Black (1973) 196 ‘State yo' plan, Charlie Chan—then scram!’ ‘Don't rush me, don't rush me.’ 1947 M. Morris in B. James Austral. Short Stories (1963) 345 She..waited on the tables in Gleeson's dining-room when they were rushed. 1963 Listener 31 Jan. 223/2 Lentil soup requires little preparation, and, on a rushed day, takes kindly to the pressure cooker. 1965 Listener 4 Nov. 724/2 The elegant Harley Street Consultants, the fatherly GPs, the harassed hospital house surgeons,..those ‘you can talk to’ and those who are ‘rushed off their feet’. 1966 ‘J. Hackston’ Father clears Out 203 In fact, I rushed her so, that I flabbergasted her, got her rattled. 1977 Oxford Star 22 Dec. 1/1 Shopkeepers have been rushed off their feet rolling out the barrel at Sainsburys, the Co-op, [etc.]. |
d. U.S. Of fraternity or sorority members: to entertain (a new student) in order to assess his or her suitability for membership, or to offer him or her membership.
| 1896 W. C. Gore in Inlander Jan. 149 Rush,..to entertain a student in various ways, with the view of inducing him to join a fraternity. 1922 S. Lewis Babbitt xxvi. 309 He was on the committee for the Freshman Hop, and..he was being ‘rushed’ by two fraternities. 1924 P. Marks Plastic Age vii. 62 He ought to be a good man for the fraternity... We've got to rush him sure. 1946 E. B. Thompson Amer. Daughter x. 173 There were a lot of students who weren't rushed or pledged who found solace in the Y, in literary or musical clubs, but not Dora. 1970 [see rush n.2 3 d]. |
e. To court the affection of (a girl or woman) by means of frequent entertainment, ‘dating’, etc.
orig. and chiefly
U.S.| 1899 F. Norris McTeague xi. 226 Marcus had ‘taken up with’ Salna a little after Trina had married, and had been ‘rushing’ her ever since. 1922 F. Scott Fitzgerald Beautiful & Damned ii. i. 144 With one she had gone to New Haven..she had been flattered because ‘Touch down’ Michaud had ‘rushed’ her all evening. 1932 ‘B. Ross’ Tragedy of X 71 He had ‘rushed’ her, she said, for several months, and they had decided to announce their engagement. 1938 E. Bowen Death of Heart ii. iv. 249 That may be because you are so young that no fellow has started to rush you yet. 1955 F. A. Collymore Barbadian Dialect 73 Who's the girl your brother's rushing now? |
5. a. Austr. (See
quot.)
| 1852 G. C. Mundy Our Antipodes I. 313 Sometimes at night this animal will leap into the fold amongst the timid animals and so ‘rush’ them—that is, cause them to break out and disperse through the bush. |
b. Mil. To overcome, take, capture, carry, by means of a sudden rush. Also, in extended uses, to attack (someone) by means of a sudden rush; to ‘go for’ (a person).
| 1863 A. S. Atkinson Jrnl. 29 May in Richmond–Atkinson Papers (1960) II. 47 There were two sets of pits (called rifle pits by courtesy) the first were rushed but the Maoris ran & got all away. 1865 Cornh. Mag. Oct. 498 They break from our Christianity and ‘rush’ our pickets. 1884 Pall Mall G. 4 July 1/2 The Arabs ‘rushed’ the town, putting every man to the sword. 1888 Besant 50 Yrs. Ago 137 Peeresses..occupied every seat, and even ‘rushed’ the reporters' gallery. 1889 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Robbery under Arms xxiii, A single bushranger was rushed by a couple of determined men. 1896 Baden-Powell Matabele Campaign ii, The town was to be rushed in the night, and the whites to be slaughtered without quarter to any. 1930 L. G. D. Acland Early Canterbury Runs viii. 196 The cook took up his gun and ordered him off, but the man rushed him and the cook shot him dead. 1934 Wodehouse Right Ho, Jeeves xvi. 197 Damn it, they'd rush the platform. 1937 C. Himes Nigger in Black on Black (1973) 131 He tried to shift the wire to his right hand so he could flay her with it, but she rushed him, clawing and biting. 1939 Sun (Baltimore) 23 Aug. 1/2 The shots were fired by Gerald Blowers..after about fifty pickets rushed a milk truck on which he was riding. 1962 Wodehouse Service with Smile iii. 42 ‘Your sermon was a success, I trust?’ ‘Well, they didn't rush the pulpit.’ |
c. To cross, penetrate, traverse, negotiate (or endeavour to do so) with a rush.
to rush one's fences: see
fence n. 5 c.
| 1884 Graphic 29 Nov. 166/2 In ‘rushing’ the hurdles, men are stationed..to prevent the horses swerving. 1893 Earl Dunmore Pamirs II. 298 The next one [snow-drift] we came to, the driver thought he could ‘rush’ it. 1897 M. Kingsley W. Africa 280, I rushed it, and reached the other side in safety. |
| fig. 1888 Besant Eulogy of R. Jefferies vii. 188 Most readers like to rush a volume. You cannot rush Jefferies. |
d. To occupy by a rush (of gold-miners).
| 1862 Otago: Goldfields & Resources 26 The Highlay [goldfield]..has been rushed, condemned, almost deserted, and yet survives. 1872 Daily Tel. 9 Feb. 3/3 The place was ‘rushed’—an expressive word,..which signifies that the diggers swarmed to the spot in such crowds as to render merely foolish any resistance which an owner might be inclined to make. 1878 I. L. Bird in Leisure Hour 5 Oct. 635/2 Even their [sc. Indians'] ‘reservations’ do not escape seizure practically; for if gold should ‘break out’ on them, they are ‘rushed’. 1879 R. J. Atcherley Trip to Boerland 171 The locality was ‘rushed’ for gold. 1887 Hayter Xmas Adv. 3 The Bald Hill had just been rushed, and therefore I decided..a claim to take up. 1973 Nation Rev. (Melbourne) 31 Aug. (Suppl.) 1/1 It was first explored by Hume and Hovell, then opened up by cattlemen, rushed by gold seekers, and finally developed as a prosperous agricultural area. |
e. Croquet. To roquet (a ball) with considerable force. Also
absol.| 1874 Heath Croquet Player 14 It is rushed at an angle, instead of in a direct line. 1877 Encycl. Brit. VI. 609/2 When able to rush, the strokes made in taking croquet..should be practised. |
II. intr. 6. a. Of persons or animals: To run, dash, or charge with violence or impetuous rapidity. Usually
const. with
advs. or preps.
| 1375 Barbour Bruce ii. 380 In the stour sa hardyly He ruschyt, that all the semble schuk. c 1386 Chaucer Knt.'s T. 783 The hunters..hereth hym come russhyng in the greues. ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 2880 So raythely thay rusche with roselde speris, That the raskaille was rade. c 1470 Henry Wallace ix. 1049 The worthi Scottis ruschyt on thaim, in gret ire. 1526 Skelton Magnyf. 1910, I rushe at them rughly, and make them ly full lowe. 1590 Shakes. Com. Err. v. i. 143 Doing displeasure to the Citizens, By rushing in their houses. 1617 Moryson Itin. i. 151 The wilde Boare rushed upon one of these frames wheeling towards him. 1680 Otway Orphan i. ii, The desperate savage rusht within my Force. 1748 Gray Alliance 93 To brave the savage rushing from the wood. 1797–1805 S. & Ht. Lee Canterb. T. II. 198 Strangely departing from all the civilities of life..[he] would rush from the room. 1862 H. Kingsley Ravenshoe I. 110 Then the colt rushed by them..hard held. 1880 Mrs. Forrester Roy & V. I. 79 A few minutes later Madame de Férias rushed into her husband's room. |
b. fig. To press, make an attack or descent,
on or
upon one.
| 1535 Coverdale Bel & Dragon 30 Now whan y⊇ kynge sawe, that they russhed in so sore vpon him,..he deliuered Daniel vnto them. 1592 Nashe Four Lett. Confut. Wks. (Grosart) II. 274 For with none but clownish and roynish ieasts dost thou rush vppon vs. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair xvii, All his creditors would have come rushing on him in a body. |
c. fig., denoting precipitate, rash, or unconsidered action. Freq.
const. into.
| 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 62 You rushe forth head⁓long unadvisedly. 1563 Winȝet Wks. (S.T.S.) II. 13 Rinnand and ruscheand without knaulege quhat thai othir do or say. 1630 Prynne Anti-Armin. 159 Restraine and keepe backe men from rushing presumptuously..in their sinnes. 1729 Butler Serm. Wks. 1874 II. 7 One man rushes upon certain ruin for the gratification of a present desire. 1781 Cowper Conversat. 185 To rush into a fixt eternal state Out of the very flames of rage and hate. 1846 J. Baxter Libr. Pract. Agric. (ed. 4) I. 252 The inquiring reader..rushes blindly to the experiment, indifferent to the nature of his soil. 1872 O. W. Holmes Poet. Breakf.-t. vi, So many foolish persons are rushing into print. 1873 J. O. Brookfield Not a Heroine II. 268 He always rushes into extremes. |
d. To go
on hurriedly in speaking.
| 1850 Thackeray Pendennis xvi[i], ‘My means,’ rushed on Smirke, ‘are at present limited, I own’. |
e. To pass or travel rapidly. Also, to hurry, to hasten. Freq. with (
a)round (hence
rush-round attrib. phr.);
to rush round in circles: see
circle n. 1 c.
| 1852 M. Arnold Human Life 17 We rush by coasts where we had lief remain. 1897 Windsor Mag. Jan. 250/2 It might be done by leaving the ship at Plymouth, and rushing up to London by the first train. 1914 ‘High Jinks, Jr.’ Choice Slang 22 We rush off shopping. 1916 W. Owen Let. 18 Mar. (1967) 386, I am obliged to rush into Romford for Running Clothes for a Run announced for the 17th. 1923 H. Crane Let. 9 May (1965) 134 Of course I have been rushing around to a lot of other agencies. 1958 Spectator 20 June 807/2 Young Asia and young Africa delight to pull the legs of rush-round correspondents. 1965 G. McInnes Road to Gundagai xii. 216, I..tore out of the room and rushed off to school. 1973 [see nose-bag 3]. 1976 F. Raphael Glittering Prizes 23 ‘It's C7, Third Court, St John's. Only I've got to rush.’ ‘I shall be there.’ |
f. With
it and
out.
| 1526 Skelton Magnyf. 856 Properly drest..To russhe it oute In euery route. 1856 in B. H. Hall College Words & Customs (rev. ed.) 365 Leg it, put it, rush it, streak it, Run and worship God. 1859 Bartlett Dict. Amer. (ed. 2), To Rush it, to do a thing with spirit; as, ‘The old negro is rushing it with his fiddle’. 1976 L. Sanders Hamlet Warning (1977) ix. 79 She laughed and looked up at him. ‘Well, let's not rush it, Loomis.’ |
g. In American football, to run carrying the ball; to gain ground by running with the ball.
| 1949 Lafayette Alumnus (Lafayette College, Easton, Pa.) 24 Oct. 1/1 The Maroon had made 9 first downs rushing, three by passing and one by penalty. 1974 Cleveland (Ohio) Plain Dealer 13 Oct. c. 1/3 The Buckeyes rushed for 359 yards as quarterback Cornelius Greene and wingback Brian Baschnagel each scored twice. 1979 Tucson (Arizona) Citizen 20 Sept. 10 d/7 The Warrior running game hasn't been as effective as McKee would like, having rushed for only 133 yards in the first two games. |
7. a. Of things: To move, flow, fall, etc., with great speed or impetuosity.
| 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 368 Mony clustered clowde clef alle in clowtez, To-rent vch a rayn-ryfte & rusched to þe vrþe. c 1380 Sir Ferumb. 497 He..lokede on þe kniȝte, & saw þe red blod russchen out. 1460 in Pol., Rel., & L. Poems (1866) 206 The elementes gonne to rusche & rappe. c 1470 Henry Wallace vi. 553 The noyis rouschit throuch straikis that thai dang. 1513 Douglas æneis xii. i. 125 Of our wondis the red blude ruschis owt. 1582 Stanyhurst æneis i. (Arb.) 20 Rush do the winds forward... They skud too the seaward. 1610 Holland Camden's Brit. (1637) 730 Swale rusheth rather than runneth..with foaming waters. 1671 Milton P.R. iv. 414 Nor slept the winds Within thir stony caves, but rush'd abroad. 1757 W. Wilkie Epigoniad ii. 46 Beyond the hostile ranks the weapon drove; The warriors stooping as it rush'd above. 1819 Scott Ivanhoe xlii, The blood rushed in anger to the countenance of Richard. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. ii. 13 A dozen avalanches rushed downwards from its summit. 1884 W. C. Smith Kildrostan 45 When you..hear the water rushing Around you, and beneath. |
b. fig. Of immaterial things.
| 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. iv. i. 222 Many an error by the same example, Will rush into the state. 1671 Milton Samson 21 Restless thoughts, that..rush upon me thronging, and present Times past. 1778 F. Burney Evelina xl, Almost instantly the whole truth of the transaction seemed to rush upon her mind. 1850 Thackeray Pendennis x[i]x, A dreadful rumour rushed through the University. 1863 Geo. Eliot Romola i. xvi, His mind rushed over all the circumstances of his departure from Florence. |
c. To come suddenly into view.
| 1798 Coleridge Anc. Mar. iii. xiii, The Sun's rim dips; the stars rush out. 1879 Mrs. A. G. F. E. James Ind. Househ. Managem. 65 In India that luminary does not ‘peep up’, he rushes up. |
d. To grow or shoot
up rapidly.
| 1819 Scott Ivanhoe xl, The weeds have rushed up, and conspired to choke the fair and wholesome blossom. |
† 8. To fall quickly or violently.
Obs. Now only contextually, as in sense 7.
| 1375 Barbour Bruce iii. 139 He rouschit doun off blud all rede. ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 120 The Romaynes for radnesse ruschte to the erthe. 1470–85 Malory Arthur iv. xviii. 142 Therwith syre Gawayne and his hors russhed doune to the erthe. 1533 Bellenden Livy i. xxi. (S.T.S.) I. 121 Brutus..ruschit (as It had bene aganis his wil) to þe ground and kissit þe erde. |