Rubicon
name, noun, verb ·Uncommon ·College level
Definitions
- 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”). alt-of
"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."
- 2 A limit that when surpassed cannot be returned from, or an action that when taken cannot be reversed.
"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."
- 3 a line that when crossed permits of no return and typically results in irrevocable commitment wordnet
- 4 Especially in bezique and piquet: a score which, if not achieved by a losing player, increases the player's penalty.
"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."
- 1 Especially in bezique and piquet: to defeat a player who has not achieved the rubicon. transitive
"A curious score was made in a game of piquet with one of the ladies. [...] In the fifth hand she made a piquet and capot, scoring 121 to 0, and in the sixth hand, being the minor, she made a repiquet, taking all but the last trick, counting 111 to 3, totalling 270, and rubiconing her opponent at 99, with a win of 469 points."
- 1 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. historical
- 2 The same river in the present day, identified with a river previously named Fiumicino.
- 3 A locality in the Shire of Murrindindi, central eastern Victoria, Australia.
Antonyms
All antonymsExample
More examples"Caesar leaves Gaul, crosses the Rubicon, and enters Italy."
Etymology
From Latin Rubicō, Rubicōn (“the Rubicon”), 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 noun is derived from the phrase cross the Rubicon (“to make an irreversible decision or to take an action with consequences”). Julius Caesar’s crossing of the Rubicon, a small river in northeastern Italy, on 10 January 49 B.C.E., indicated his intention to start a civil war with Pompey. Rubicon is derived from Latin Rubicō, Rubicōn (“the Rubicon”), 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 verb is derived from the noun.