Ruth

From Ruth the Moabite, Hebrew רות, of uncertain origin, possibly meaning "companion". Also associated with the English noun ruth (“compassion”) by Puritans.

• IPA^(key): /ɹuːθ/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -uːθ

Ruth

1. A book of the Old Testament and the Hebrew Tanakh.

   Synonym: (abbreviation) Rth.

2. Ruth, the resident of Moab around whom the text centers.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Ruth 1:16:

     And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.

3. A female given name from Hebrew.
   • 1945, Agatha Christie, Sparkling Cyanide, HarperCollins, published 2010, →ISBN, page 30:

     Her face hardened.
     "I despise pity."
     "In spite of your name? Ruth is your name, isn't it? Piquant that. Ruth the ruthless."

   • 1982, Anne Tyler, Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, Fawcett Columbine, published 1996, →ISBN, page 134:

     He pictured the woman as dark and Biblical, because of her name: Ruth. Shadowed eyes and creamy skin. Torrents of loose black hair.

4. A census-designated place in White Pine County, Nevada, United States.
5. A census-designated place in Trinity County, California, United States.

• The given name was rarely used by non-Jews in the Middle Ages. Taken into regular use by Christian Puritans as a virtue name from the 16th century. Popular from the 1890s to the 1920s, particularly in the USA.

• Hurt, Thur, hurt, thru, thur

Ruth

1. Ruth (biblical character).
2. a female given name of biblical origin

• Danskernes Navne, based on CPR data: 31,594 females with the given name Ruth have been registered in Denmark between about 1890 (=the population alive in 1967) and January 2005, with the frequency peak in the 1920s. Accessed on April 14, 2011.

• Rut (nonstandard, rare)

From Middle Dutch ruth, from Latin Ruth, from Koine Greek Ῥούθ (Rhoúth), from Biblical Hebrew רוּת (rut).

• IPA^(key): /rʏt/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: Ruth
• Rhymes: -ʏt

Ruth f

1. (Judaism, Christianity) Ruth (Moabite woman, Biblical character).
2. (Judaism, Christianity) Ruth (book of the Hebrew Bible; the eighth book according to the Christian canon).
3. a female given name

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

• Hyphenation: Ruth

Ruth n

1. A hamlet in Deurne, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands.

Ruth

1. a female given name of biblical origin, variant of Rutt

• IPA^(key): /ʁyt/

Ruth f

1. a female given name
2. (biblical) Ruth

• IPA^(key): [ʁuːt]

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -uːt

Ruth f (proper noun, genitive Ruth or Ruths, plural Ruths)

1. Ruth (biblical character).
2. a female given name, equivalent to English Ruth

From Vulgate Latin Ruth, from Hebrew רות, cognate with English Ruth. Used as a given name since the 18th century. Equivalent to the modern Norwegian biblical Rut.

Ruth

1. a female given name, equivalent to English Ruth

• Kristoffer Kruken - Ola Stemshaug: Norsk personnamnleksikon, Det Norske Samlaget, Oslo 1995, →ISBN
• Statistisk sentralbyrå, Namnestatistikk: 9707 females with the given name Ruth, compared to 385 named Rut, living in Norway on January 1st 2011, with the frequency peak in the 1920s. Accessed on April 14th 2011.

An etymological spelling under the influence of English Ruth.

• IPA^(key): /ˈrut/ [ˈrut̪]
• Rhymes: -ut

Ruth f

1. a female given name, equivalent to English Ruth
2. Alternative spelling of Rut
   • 1922, Federico García Lorca, Primeras Canciones, Cuatro Baladas Amarillas, III:

     Los bueyes
     siempre van suspirando
     por los campos de Ruth
     en busca del vado,
     del eterno vado,
     borrachos de luceros
     a rumiarse sus llantos.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

From Vulgate Latin Ruth, from Hebrew רות. First recorded as a given name in 1621.

• Audio

  (file)

Ruth c (genitive Ruths)

1. a female given name, an alternative spelling of Rut

• Roland Otterbjörk: Svenska förnamn, Almqvist & Wiksell 1996, →ISBN
• Statistiska centralbyrån: 14 540 females with the given name Ruth, compared to 23 268 named Rut, living in Sweden on December 31st, 2010, with the frequency peak in the 1920s. Accessed on April 14th, 2011.