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rude (rd)
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adj. rud·er, rud·est
1. Ill-mannered, discourteous, or insulting: was offended by his rude behavior.
2.
a. Undeveloped or uncivilized; primitive: a rude and savage land.
b. Crude, unfinished, or made with limited skill: a rude thatched hut.
c. In a natural, raw state: bales of rude cotton.
3. Unpleasantly forceful or harsh: faced rude winds; received a rude shock.
4. Chiefly British Vigorous or robust: in rude health.
5. Archaic Lacking education or refinement: “They were so rude and ignorant ... that very little could be learned from them” (Samuel Johnson).
[Middle English, from Old French, unrefined, harsh, from Latin rudis, in a natural state, crude, ignorant; possibly akin to rūdus, rubble; see RUDERAL.]
rudely adv.
rudeness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

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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