Rue n.
1. Bot. A perennial suffrutescent plant (Ruta graveolens), having a strong, heavy odor and a bitter taste; herb of grace. It is used in medicine.
Then purged with euphrasy and rue
The visual nerve, for he had much to see. --Milton.
They [the exorcists] are to try the devil by holy water, incense, sulphur, rue, which from thence, as we suppose, came to be called herb of grace. --Jer. Taylor.
2. Fig.: Bitterness; disappointment; grief; regret.
Goat's rue. See under Goat.
Rue anemone, a pretty springtime flower (Thalictrum anemonides) common in the United States.
Wall rue, a little fern (Asplenium Ruta-muraria) common on walls in Europe.
Ru·tin n. Chem. A glucoside resembling, but distinct from, quercitrin. Rutin is found in the leaves of the rue (Ruta graveolens) and other plants, and obtained as a bitter yellow crystalline substance which yields quercitin on decomposition.
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Ruta graveolens
n : European strong-scented perennial herb with gray-green
bitter-tasting leaves; an irritant similar to poison ivy
[syn: rue, herb of grace]