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rut¹

(rŭt)

1. A sunken track or groove made by the passage of vehicles.

2. An uninspired routine or pattern of behavior that one continues unthinkingly or because change is difficult.

tr.v. rut·ted, rut·ting, ruts

To make ruts in (a path, for example).

[Possibly alteration of ROUTE.]

rut²

(rŭt)

1. A regularly recurring condition of fertility during which breeding occurs in certain mammals, especially deer and various other ungulates: a buck in rut.

2. The period during which this condition occurs.

intr.v. rut·ted, rut·ting, ruts

To be in rut.

[Middle English rutte, from Old French rut, from Vulgar Latin *rūgitus, from *rūgere, to roar, from Latin rūgīre, to roar.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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