Category:Common Rue

Rue, n. Etym: [f. rue, l. ruta, akin to gr. r.]

1. (bot.)

Defn: a perennial suffrutescent plant (ruta graveolens), having a strong, heavy odor and a bitter taste; herb of grace. It is used in medicine. Then purged with euphrasy and rue the visual nerve, for he had much to see. Milton. They [the exorcists] are to try the devil by holy water, incense, sulphur, rue, which from thence, as we suppose, came to be called herb of grace. Jer. Taylor.

2. Fig.: Bitterness; disappointment; grief; regret. Goat's rue. See under goat. -- rue anemone, a pretty springtime flower (thalictrum anemonides) common in the United States. -- wall rue, a little fern (asplenium ruta-muraria) common on walls in Europe. See Rue.