Dictionary

ruddock en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈɹʌdək/

Etymology

From Middle English ruddocke, ruddok, roddok, from Old English rudduc, ruduc (“robin, ruddock”, literally “little red one, red-ling”), equivalent to rud (“redness”) + -ock (diminutive suffix). The Welsh rhuddog, and Cornish rudhek (“the redbreast”) are probably from the English, although a derivation from a British Celtic *roudākos (< *roudos "red") for all three cannot be ruled out. More at rud.

Meanings

1. (archaic) The European robin.
   • The Ouzell shrills; the Ruddock warbles soft. 1595, Edmund Spenser, Epithalamion:
   • The sweet And shrilly ruddock, with its bleeding breast 1827, Thomas Hood, The Plea of the Midsummer Fairies:
2. (obsolete) A piece of gold money (probably because the gold of coins was often reddened by copper alloy).
   • Great pieces of gold […] red ruddocks. 1611, John Florio, Queen Anna's New World of Words, or Dictionarie of the Italian and English tongues:
3. (obsolete) A variety of red apple, used for cidermaking.

Forms