rue
v.
"feel regret," Old English hreowan "make sorry, distress, grieve" (class II strong verb; past tense hreaw, past participle hrowen), from Proto-Germanic *khrewan (cognates: Old Frisian riowa, Middle Dutch rouwen, Old Dutch hrewan, German reuen "to sadden, cause repentance"); in part, blended with Old English weak verb hreowian "feel pain or sorrow," and perhaps influenced by Old Norse hryggja "make sad," both from Proto-Germanic *khruwjan, all from PIE root *kreue- (2) "to push, strike" (see anacrusis). Related: Rued; ruing.
n.
1
perennial evergreen shrub, late 14c., from Old French rue (13c.), earlier rude, from Latin ruta "rue," probably from Greek rhyte, of uncertain etymology, originally a Peloponnesian word. The bitter taste of its leaves led to many punning allusions to rue (n.2.).
2
"sorrow, repentance," Old English hreow "grief, repentance, sorrow, regret, penitence," common Germanic (Frisian rou, Middle Dutch rou, Dutch rouw, Old High German (h)riuwa, German reue), related to the root of rue, v..
3
French for "street," from Vulgar Latin *ruga (source also of Old Italian ruga), properly "a furrow," then in Medieval Latin "a path, street" (see rough, adj.).