rugged
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈɹʌɡɪd/
rhymes: -ʌɡɪd
Forms: form: more rugged
form: most rugged
Etymology: From Middle English rugged, roggyd, ruggyd, derived from Old Norse rǫgg (“tuft, shagginess”), equivalent to rug (“rough, woollen material”) + -ed. Compare Old Swedish ruggoter (“wrinkled”), Swedish rugga (“to roughen”), Swedish ruggig (“shaggy”), Icelandic rögg (“shagginess”), Old Norse raggaðr (“tufted”), dialectal Danish raggad (“shaggy”).
Senses: examples: text: BY and by, after a rugged climb, we halted on the summit of a hill which commanded a far-reaching view.
ref: 1870–1871 (date written), Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], “”, in Roughing It, Hartford, Conn.: American Publishing Company [et al.], published 1872, →OCLC, page 465:
glosses: Broken into sharp or irregular points; uneven; not smooth; rough.
examples: text: Commercially produced yarn, such as rayon, produces a cloth with a smoother, shinier look than hand-spun cotton, but the uneven, rugged look of hand-spun cotton can be quite appealing.
ref: 2011, Ronke Luke-Boone, African Fabrics: Sewing Contemporary Fashion with Ethic Flair:
glosses: Not neat or regular; irregular, uneven.
examples: text: His hair was light and rather thin; his face strong and rugged from exposure, and his eyes narrow and observant.
ref: 1897, Kate Chopin, A Morning Walk:
glosses: Rough with bristly hair; shaggy.
examples: text: Many women and men delude themselves into thinking that only the hardest and most rugged man is attractive and to many it may be the case.
ref: 2010, Arthur Queen Jr., Young Man: Ageless Fatherly Wisdom to Hold:
glosses: Strong, sturdy, well-built.
raw_tags: of a person
examples: text: As the train wound along the river valleys through western Pennsylvania the scenery grew more rugged and the painted houses of Lancaster County gave way to dirty clapboard dwellings and shack homes clinging to the mountainside.
ref: 1953 July, Allen Rowley, “First Impressions of American Railways”, in Railway Magazine, page 492:
text: Hidden within 30,000 acres of rugged private land, the ranch is cocooned by peaks and canyons in all directions.
ref: 2013, Vicky Baker, The Guardian, Riding with the cowboys on a Mexico ranch:
text: Much of the area can be seen only by hikers who travel without trails to the higher reaches of this rugged mountain range.
ref: 1971, United States Forest Service, Search for solitude: our wilderness heritage:
glosses: Rocky and bare of plantlife.
raw_tags: of land
synonyms: crabbed
qualifier: or people
glosses: Harsh; austere; hard
raw_tags: of temper
synonyms: rude
glosses: Stormy; turbulent; tempestuous
raw_tags: of weather
qualifier: style etc.
glosses: Harsh; grating; unpleasant sounding or looking
raw_tags: of sound
examples: text: "Ah!" sighed the unimaginative Granby, and his honest, rugged face grew clouded. Pepper puffed in silence for a moment or two; then spoke.
ref: 1908, Rafael Sabatini, The Abduction:
qualifier: appearance etc.
glosses: Sour; surly; frowning; wrinkled
raw_tags: of looks
glosses: Violent; rude; boisterous
raw_tags: of behaviour
examples: text: "Her gaze rested for a moment on the muscular neck, heavy corded, almost bull-like, bronzed by the sun, spilling over with rugged health and strength..."
ref: 1909, Jack London, Martin Eden:
qualifier: physique etc.
glosses: Vigorous; robust; hardy
raw_tags: of health
examples: text: Psion, which supplies a range of rugged hand held computers, has lost nearly 2% after announcing a plunge into the red.
ref: 2011, Nick Fletcher, Psion drops 2% after supply chain issues push it into loss:
topics: computing
engineering
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
sciences
glosses: Designed to reliably operate in harsh usage environments and conditions.
raw_tags: of a computer
Derived terms: rugged individualism
ruggedize
ruggedly
ruggedness
semirugged