rush

Where “rush” sits in English frequency

Definition

1. 1
   A sudden forward motion.
2. 2
   A surge.
3. 3
   General haste.
4. 4
   A rapid, noisy flow.
5. 5
   A sudden attack; an onslaught.
6. 6
   The strategy of attacking an opponent with a large swarm of weak units, rather than spending time developing their abilities.
7. 7
   The act of running at another player to block or disrupt play.
8. 8
   A rusher; a lineman.
9. 9
   A sudden, brief exhilaration, for instance the pleasurable sensation produced by a stimulant.
10. 10
    A regulated period of recruitment in fraternities and sororities.
11. 11
    A person attempting to join a fraternity or sorority as part of a rush.
12. 12
    A perfect recitation.
13. 13
    A roquet in which the object ball is sent to a particular location on the lawn.

Etymology

Perhaps from Middle English ruschen, russchen (“to rush, startle, make a loud rushing noise”), from Old English hrysċan (“to jolt, startle”), from Proto-West Germanic *hurskijan, from Proto-Germanic *hurskijaną (“to startle, drive”), from *hurskaz (“fast, rapid, quick”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱers- (“to run, hurry”). Cognate with Old High German hursken (“to hurry, speed, incite, accelerate”), Old English horsċ (“quick, quick-witted, clever”), Old Frisian rosk, rosch (“quick, rapid, sudden”). etymology note An alternative etymology traces rush via Middle English ruschen (“to rush”) from Old English *rūscian (“to rush”) from Proto-Germanic *rūskōną (“to rush, storm, be fierce, be cruel”), a variant (with formative k) of Proto-Germanic *rūsōną (“to be cruel, storm, rush”) from Proto-Indo-European *(o)rewə- (“to drive, move, agitate”), making it akin to Old High German rosc, rosci (“quick”), Middle Low German rûschen (“to rush”), Middle High German rūschen, riuschen (“to rush”) (German rauschen (“to rush”)), North Frisian ruse (“to rush”), Middle Dutch ruuscen (“to make haste”), Middle Dutch rūsen (“to rush”) (Dutch ruisen (“to rush”)), Danish ruse (“to rush”), Swedish rusa (“to rush”). Compare Middle High German rūsch (“a charge, rush”). Influenced by Middle English russhen (“to force back”) from Anglo-Norman russher, russer from Old French ruser, rëuser. Alternatively, according to the OED, perhaps an adaptation of Anglo-Norman russher, russer (“to force back, down, out of place, by violent impact", "to pull out or drag off violently or hastily”), from Old French re(h)usser, ruser (although the connection of the forms with single -s- and double -ss- is dubious; also adopted in English ruse; French ruser (“to retreat, drive back”)), from an assumed Vulgar Latin *refūsāre and Latin refundō (“I cause to flow back”), although connection to the same Germanic root is also possible. More at rouse.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: rrush,rsuh,ruhs,rushh,russh,ursh

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of rush - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

Frequently Asked Questions