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Ruck

//ɹʌk// name, noun, verb, slang

Definitions

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname from German.
Noun
  1. 1
    A throng or crowd of people or things; a mass, a pack.

    "Dandolo was constantly in the ditch, sometimes lying with his side against the bank, and had now been so hustled and driven that, had he been on the other side, he would have had no breath left to carry his rider, even in the ruck of the hunt."

  2. 2
    A crease, a wrinkle, a pucker, as on fabric.
  3. 3
    Obsolete form of roc. alt-of, obsolete

    "The Henry Royall [a ship], at her parting thence, / Like the Huge Ruck from Gillingham that flevv: […]"

  4. 4
    A rucksack; a large backpack. especially, slang

    "Shah-e-Kot Valley, Afghanistan. March 2002. I strained to see over the soldiers in front of me. They were struggling to shuffle off the bird as quickly as they could. I dragged my ruck across the floor of the aircraft in my right hand."

  5. 5
    A small heifer.
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  1. 6
    a crowd especially of ordinary or undistinguished persons or things wordnet
  2. 7
    In Australian rules football; A contest in games in which the ball is thrown or bounced in the air and two players from opposing teams attempt to give their team an advantage, typically by tapping the ball to a teammate.
  3. 8
    an irregular fold in an otherwise even surface (as in cloth) wordnet
  4. 9
    In Australian rules football; A player who competes in said contests; a ruckman or ruckwoman.
  5. 10
    In Australian rules football; Either of a ruckman or a ruck rover, but not a rover. archaic
  6. 11
    In Australian rules football; Any one of a ruckman, a ruck rover or a rover; a follower.
  7. 12
    The situation formed when a player carrying the ball is brought to the ground and one or more members of each side are engaged above the ball, trying to win possession of it; a loose scrum.
  8. 13
    The common mass of people or things; the ordinary ranks.

    "‘Here and there among cats one comes across an outstanding superior intellect, just as one does among the ruck of human beings [...].’"

  9. 14
    An argument or fight. colloquial

    "Your worth as a couple is not down to how passionate your rucks are—I said rucks—and how frantic the making-up sex is."

Verb
  1. 1
    To act as a ruck in a stoppage in Australian rules football. obsolete, transitive
  2. 2
    To crease or fold. transitive

    "Puzzle begged very hard to have the lion-skin taken off him. He said it was too hot and the way it was rucked up on his back was uncomfortable […]"

  3. 3
    To cower or huddle together; to squat; to sit, as a hen on eggs. UK, dialectal, obsolete

    "Bot now thei rucken in here nest And resten as hem liketh best."

  4. 4
    To carry a backpack while hiking or marching.

    "He started at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday as he began rucking to church. He changed his clothes, went to church and then began rucking again. That distance totaled about nine miles. Rucking is hiking with a military style backpack, filled with weight."

  5. 5
    become wrinkled or drawn together wordnet
Show 2 more definitions
  1. 6
    To contest the possession of the ball in a ruck. transitive
  2. 7
    To become creased or folded. intransitive

    ""Will you come over now and try on your dress?" Ally asked, looking at her with wistful admiration. "I want to be sure the sleeves don't ruck up the same as they did yesterday.""

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English ruke, from or related to Old Norse hraukr, which is from Proto-Germanic *hraukaz (“haystack, heap”). Compare Icelandic hrúka, Swedish ruka.

Etymology 2

From Middle English ruke, from or related to Old Norse hraukr, which is from Proto-Germanic *hraukaz (“haystack, heap”). Compare Icelandic hrúka, Swedish ruka.

Etymology 3

1780, from Old Norse hrukka (“wrinkle, crease”), from Proto-Germanic *hrunkijō, *hrunkitō (“fold, wrinkle”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to turn, bend”). Akin to Icelandic hrukka (“wrinkle, crease, ruck”), Old High German runza (“fold, wrinkle, crease”), German Runzel (“wrinkle”), Middle Dutch ronse (“frown”). More at frounce. Possibly related to Irish roc.

Etymology 4

1780, from Old Norse hrukka (“wrinkle, crease”), from Proto-Germanic *hrunkijō, *hrunkitō (“fold, wrinkle”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to turn, bend”). Akin to Icelandic hrukka (“wrinkle, crease, ruck”), Old High German runza (“fold, wrinkle, crease”), German Runzel (“wrinkle”), Middle Dutch ronse (“frown”). More at frounce. Possibly related to Irish roc.

Etymology 5

Compare Danish ruge (“to brood, to hatch”), itself related to Proto-Germanic *hraukaz (“heap, stack”).

Etymology 6

Clipping of rucksack.

Etymology 7

Clipping of rucksack.

Etymology 8

* As a German surname, from the noun Rücken (“back”). * Also as a German surname, shortened from derivatives of Rüdiger. * As an English surname, variant of Rook, itself from the noun rook (“type of crow”).

See also for "ruck"

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