Word: rush Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Perhaps from Middle English ruschen, russchen (“to rush, startle, make a loud rushing noise”), from Old English hrysċan (“to jolt, startle”), from Proto-West Germanic *hurskijan, from Proto-Germanic *hurskijaną (“to startle, drive”), from *hurskaz (“fast, rapid, quick”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱers- (“to run, hurry”). Cognate with Old High German hursken (“to hurry, speed, incite, accelerate”), Old English horsċ (“quick, quick-witted, clever”), Old Frisian rosk, rosch (“quick, rapid, sudden”). etymology note An alternative etymology traces rush via Middle English ruschen (“to rush”) from Old English *rūscian (“to rush”) from Proto-Germanic *rūskōną (“to rush, storm, be fierce, be cruel”), a variant (with formative k) of Proto-Germanic *rūsōną (“to be cruel, storm, rush”) from Proto-Indo-European *(o)rewə- (“to drive, move, agitate”), making it akin to Old High German rosc, rosci (“quick”), Middle Low German rûschen (“to rush”), Middle High German rūschen, riuschen (“to rush”) (German rauschen (“to rush”)), North Frisian ruse (“to rush”), Middle Dutch ruuscen (“to make haste”), Middle Dutch rūsen (“to rush”) (Dutch ruisen (“to rush”)), Danish ruse (“to rush”), Swedish rusa (“to rush”). Compare Middle High German rūsch (“a charge, rush”). Influenced by Middle English russhen (“to force back”) from Anglo-Norman russher, russer from Old French ruser, rëuser. Alternatively, according to the OED, perhaps an adaptation of Anglo-Norman russher, russer (“to force back, down, out of place, by violent impact", "to pull out or drag off violently or hastily”), from Old French re(h)usser, ruser (although the connection of the forms with single -s- and double -ss- is dubious; also adopted in English ruse; French ruser (“to retreat, drive back”)), from an assumed Vulgar Latin *refūsāre and Latin refundō (“I cause to flow back”), although connection to the same Germanic root is also possible. More at rouse. Pronunciation: /ɹʌʃ/, /ɹʊʃ/ 1. A sudden forward motion. Example: A gentleman of his train spurred up his horse, and, with a violent rush, severed him from the duke. Example: When Timothy and Julia hurried up the staircase to the bedroom floor, where a considerable commotion was taking place, Tim took Barry Leach with him. […]. The captive made no resistance and came not only quietly but in a series of eager little rushes like a timid dog on a choke chain. 2. A surge. Example: It's a rush / To find someone before the sun comes up / To find someone before the beat is gone / Don't wanna leave all alone / Everybody scrambled to the floor once more Example: A rush of business can be difficult to handle effectively for its unexpected volume. 3. General haste. Example: Many errors were made in the rush to finish. Example: Diane makes an announcement to the patient passengers on the quarter-full train. There is no sense of rush - time really does move more slowly in the Highlands. The passengers, nearly all tourists, don't seem in the slightest bothered. 4. A rapid, noisy flow. Example: a rush of water; a rush of footsteps 5. A sudden attack; an onslaught. 6. The strategy of attacking an opponent with a large swarm of weak units, rather than spending time developing their abilities. 7. The act of running at another player to block or disrupt play. Example: a rush on the quarterback 8. A rusher; a lineman. Labels: dated Example: the center rush, whose place is in the center of the rush line 9. A sudden, brief exhilaration, for instance the pleasurable sensation produced by a stimulant. Example: The rollercoaster gave me a rush. Example: She felt the familiar cocaine rush soon after injecting herself. 10. A regulated period of recruitment in fraternities and sororities. Example: rush week Example: The trend burst through last week during sorority rush at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, but it continues today in the form of parody videos, deep dives on the status of various recruits and rush videos from women at other colleges across the country who are just starting the process themselves. 11. A person attempting to join a fraternity or sorority as part of a rush. Example: At the end of rush, the fraternities vote on who they want to extend invitations to join, and the rushes can then make their selection from the bids they get. Some rushes get bids from multiple fraternities, while others do not get bids from any. Example: After a few rounds of these competitions, the rushes that survive to the end get a "bid." Again, kind of like an auction. They don’t come in nice envelopes like sororities, though. Usually what happens is that they put the rushes in a room individually and tell them they didn’t get the bid, to see how sad they get. If they get really sad, the fraternity brothers come to the room and congratulate them on being accepted to the fraternity. Then, the rushes become pledges. 12. A perfect recitation. Labels: US, dated 13. A roquet in which the object ball is sent to a particular location on the lawn.