ruth1
/ruːθ
/noun [mass noun] archaic
A feeling of pity, distress, or grief.The young men, fiery savage children of a gentle civilized mother, slew with neither ruth nor pity....
- Her honesty is never ruthless in the strict sense of the word; there is ruth, or mercy, even for the worst.
- But when it comes to making personnel decisions, Johnson is legendarily ruthless; not an ounce of ruth in him.
Origin
Middle English: from the verb rue1, probably influenced by Old Norse hrygth.
Rhymes
Ruth2
/ruːθ/A book of the Bible telling the story of Ruth, a Moabite woman, who married her deceased husband’s kinsman Boaz and bore a son who became grandfather to King David.