Rubicon

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See also: rubicon

English

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Etymology

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From Latin Rubicō, Rubicōn (“the Rubicon”),[1] possibly from rubeus (“red, reddish”), from rubeō (“to be red”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rewdʰ- (“red”), an allusion to the colour of the river caused by mud deposits.

Pronunciation

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Proper noun

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the Rubicon

  1. (historical) A small river in northeastern Italy which flowed into the Adriatic Sea marking the boundary between the Roman province of Gaul and the Roman heartland. Its crossing by Julius Caesar in 49 B.C.E. began a civil war.
  2. The same river in the present day, identified with a river previously named Fiumicino.

Derived terms

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Translations

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Noun

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Rubicon (plural Rubicons)

  1. Alternative letter-case form of rubicon (“a limit that when exceeded, or an action that when taken, cannot be reversed; especially in bezique and piquet: a score which, if not achieved by a losing player, increases the player's penalty”)
    • 1787, [Thomas Paine], “Preface”, in Prospects on the Rubicon: Or, An Investigation into the Causes and Consequences of the Politics to be Agitated at the Meeting of Parliament, London: Printed for J[ohn] Debrett, […], →OCLC, page iii:
      Fortunately for England ſhe is yet on the peaceable ſide of the Rubicon; but as the flames once kindled are not alway eaſily extinguiſhed, the hopes of peace are not ſo clear as before the late myſterious diſpute began.
    • 1836 January, James M. Mathews, “Sermon CCVIII. Critical Periods in the Sinner’s Life.”, in Austin Dickinson, editor, The American National Preacher: Or Original Monthly Sermons from Living Ministers of the United States, volume 10, number 8 (number 116 overall), New York, N.Y.: Printed by West & Trow, →OCLC, page 316:
      But, my hearers, there are Rubicons to be passed in our religious and moral course, as well as in our temporal—occasions in the experience of our hearts, which extend their influence so far into the future, that it mainly depends on the decision we then make, and the purposes we then form, whether we shall at last be saved or lost for ever.
    • 1851, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Casa Guidi Windows. A Poem, London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, part II, stanza V, page 90:
      Forgive me, ghosts of patriots,— [...] / [...] —for being taught in vain / That while the illegitimate Cæsars show / Of meaner stature than the first full strain, / (Confessed incompetent to conquer Gaul) / They swoon as feebly and cross Rubicons / As rashly as any Julius of them all.
    • 1853 January–June, “Used-up Classical Allusions”, in The British Journal: A Home, Colonial, and General Magazine, volume III, London: John Mortimer, publisher, […], →OCLC, page 322:
      We are always passing the Rubicon, or being called upon to see somebody else pass it. Considering how often it has been passed, the Rubicon ought to be as well bridged as the Thames. [...] Looking back a few years, we find that that heaven-born minister, Pitt [i.e., William Pitt the Younger], crossed the Rubicon time after time; and while he was crossing it, [Napoleon] Buonaparte was constantly crossing it also. Later, our Wellington crossed the Rubicon when he marched against the French in the Peninsula.
    • 1866 June 16, “‘On the Wrong Side of the Rubicon.’: (A Groan from a Mild M.P., Half in and Half out of the Cave.)”, in Punch, or The London Charivari, volume L, London: Published at the office, 85, Fleet Street, […], →OCLC, page 251, column 2:
      There's only one thing to be done, / For Ministers to save their bacon; / That's to re-cross the Rubicon, / To ground they ne'er should have forsaken. / [...] / On the wrong side [of] the Rubicon, / Hang me if longer I remain; / Gladstone must just re-build his boats, / And take us back again!
    • 1873 August 1, “Answers to Correspondents. [Piquet.]”, in The Westminster Papers. A Monthly Journal of Chess, Whist, Games of Skill, and the Drama, volume VI, London: W. Kent & Co., […], and W. W. Morgan, […]; Edinburgh: J. Menzies & Co.; Dublin: McGlashan & Gill, published 1874, →OCLC, page 84, column 2:
      The game is called a double, and you score 200 instead of 100 when your adversary does not get 100, which, in technical language, is called crossing the Rubicon.
    • 1885, Cavendish [pseudonym; Henry Jones], “Hints to Learners”, in The Laws of Piquet: Edited by “Cavendish” and Adopted by the Portland and Turf Clubs: With a Treatise on the Game, 4th edition, London: Thomas De La Rue & Co., →OCLC, paragraph 12, page 82:
      If you are a good way ahead, and particularly in the last hand but one, if you have a chance of winning a Rubicon, you should make a safe discard, with the view of dividing or winning the cards, in order to keep your adversary back. On the other hand, if the score is much against you, and you are under a Rubicon, you are justified in making a bold discard.
    • 1908 February, T[homas] Lawrason Riggs, “On Getting Up”, in J. Howland Auchincloss et al., editors, The Yale Literary Magazine: […], volume LXXIII, number V (number 650 overall), New Haven, Conn.: Published by the editors […]; the Tuttle, Moorehouse & Taylor Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 226:
      When one is snugly ensconced under several thicknesses of eiderdown, with the frozen water-bottle sending a cracked and mocking leer from the window sill, getting up is the one thing really irrevocable. It becomes the most final of Rubicons, the most suicidal of bridge-burnings, a leap into an abyss of vaguely dreadful activities,—a fantastic world where people stand on their feet and tie neckties.

References

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  1. ^ “Rubicon, n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, March 2011; “Rubicon”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Further reading

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French

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Proper noun

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Rubicon m

  1. Rubicon

Derived terms

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Latin

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Etymology

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Possibly from rubeus (“red, reddish”), from rubeō (“to be red””), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rewdʰ- (“red”), an allusion to the colour of the river caused by mud deposits.

The river's mouth

Pronunciation

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Proper noun

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Rubicōn m sg (genitive Rubicōnis); third declension

  1. Rubicon

Declension

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Third-declension noun, singular only.

singular
nominative Rubicōn
genitive Rubicōnis
dative Rubicōnī
accusative Rubicōnem
ablative Rubicōne
vocative Rubicōn

References

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  • Rubicon in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
  • “Rubicon”, in William Smith, editor (1854, 1857), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, volume 1 & 2, London: Walton and Maberly
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