rush ringn.
/ˈrʌʃ rɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈrəʃ ˌrɪŋ/ historical in later use.
A ring made of a rush or rushes, esp. one used in a ceremony for a temporary or unofficial marriage.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > types of ornamentation > jewellery > ring > [noun] > rush-ring
rush ring1579
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > wedding or nuptials > marriage vows or bonds > [noun] > marriage or wedding bond > ring as token of > article used as
rush ring1579
1579 E. Spenser Shepheardes Cal. Nov. 116 The knotted rushringes, and gilte Rosemaree.
1593 B. Barnes Parthenophil & Parthenophe 115 The meanewhile The Shepheard sate, but did compile Greene knotted rush [r] ings.
1617 in R. F. Williams Birch's Court & Times James I (1848) (modernized text) II. 35 Ned Wymarke, for all the ancient acquaintance between them, hath not so much as a rush-ring for remembrance.
a1644 F. Quarles Shepheards Oracles (1646) vi The Love-sick Swains Compose Rush-rings and Myrtleberry Chains.
1668 W. Davenant Rivals v I'l Crown thee with a Garland of straw then, and I'le Marry thee with a Rush ring.
1754 tr. J. M. Lowhen Anal. Nobility i. 20 It was custom anciently, especially in France, to use only a rush ring at the ceremony of marriage, when there had been too intimate an acquaintance before.
1813 H. Ellis Brand's Observ. Pop. Antiq. (rev. ed.) II. 38 A custom..appears antiently to have prevailed,..of marrying with a Rush Ring; chiefly practised, however, by designing men.
1877 W. Jones Finger-ring Lore 284 The abuse of the rush ring led to the practice being strictly prohibited.
1894 A. B. Gomme Trad. Games I. 374 It was a popular belief in ancient times that to wed with a rush-ring was a legal marriage, without the intervention of a priest or the ceremonies of marriage. Poore, Bishop of Salisbury (circa 1217), prohibited the use of them.
1916 C. M. Doughty Titans iii. 59 Elder children..Whose fingers rush-rings knit, dight daisy chains: Whiles blossoms laughter, on their twin-wreathed lips.
1917 G. F. Kunz Rings for Finger v. 206 When the ecclesiastical court enforced matrimony as a penalty or a reparation for bad conduct, a rush ring or a ring of straw was used at the ceremony.
1957 L. E. Pearson Elizabethans at Home v. 348 They must have felt uneasy, however, when a rush ring was given them, for it was frequently used at mock ceremonies.
1997 Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 17 Mar. 10 Such examples are in sharp contrast to the rush rings exchanged during hasty Gretna Green weddings in the eighteenth century.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2011; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1579