rouge1
/ruːʒ
/noun
1 [mass noun] A red powder or cream used as a cosmetic for colouring the cheeks or lips: she wore patches of rouge on her cheeks...
- Other women would have their faces powdered and rouge rubbed into their cheeks, but Evy was only planning on putting a little bit of lipstick on.
- Lydia also managed to dot a little bit of rouge on her cheeks and smudge the smallest amount of make-up onto her eyelids despite Sarah's protests.
- For one thing she was wearing rouge on her cheeks and kohl about her eyes.
2 short for jeweller's rouge.
verb [with object] (often as adjective rouged)
1Colour with rouge: her brightly rouged cheeks...
- Elagabalus painted his eyes and rouged his cheeks, openly referred to this or that lover as his husband, and allegedly even stood in doorways, shaking the curtains as a harlot would.
- She tossed her blond hair away from her heavily rouged cheeks.
- And finally, in each, the palest cream complexion is dramatically offset by the feverishly high color of expansively rouged cheeks.
1.1 [no object] archaic Apply rouge to one’s cheeks: she rouged regularly now
adjective
(Of wine) red.Not surprisingly, he has discovered the utter joy to be found in a decent bottle of vin rouge....
- We admit to enjoying a glass or two of vin blanc and/or vin rouge of an evening.
- 2000 was a good Bordeaux year, some call it great, and even the lesser Bordeaux rouges like this one are good value for money.
Origin
Late Middle English (denoting the colour red): from French, 'red', from Latin rubeus. The cosmetic term dates from the mid 18th century.
Rhymes
rouge2
/ruːʒ/noun
(In Canadian football) a single point awarded when the receiving team fails to run a kick out of its own end zone.
Origin
Late 19th century: of unknown origin.