Rude Meant Rough and Unfinished First
Rude means offensively impolite. Its older sense of rough survives in a few phrases.
Rude means offensively impolite. Its older sense is rough, unworked or unrefined, from Latin *rudis*, raw or untrained — and that meaning survives intact in *a rude awakening*, *rude health* and *in its rudest form*. None of those implies bad manners; they mean abrupt, vigorous and unpolished respectively. The same root gives *rudiment*, the first rough beginning of something, and *erudite*, which literally means the roughness taken out.
- Impolite. *A rude remark.*
- Rough or unworked. *A rude shelter.*
- Abrupt. *A rude awakening.*
- Vigorous. *Rude health.*
- Latin — *rudis*, raw. *The root.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Adjective | rude | Rude. |
| Adverb | rudely | Rudely. |
| Noun | rudeness | Rudeness. |
| Related | rudiment | A rudiment. |
| Related | erudite | Erudite. |
- That was rude.Manners.
- A rude awakening.Abrupt.
- In rude health.Vigorous.
The rudis family
- Rude — raw, then unmannerly
- Rudiment — the first rough form of something
- Rudimentary — basic and undeveloped
- Erudite — literally with the roughness removed, learned
- Erudition — the learning itself
Latin *rudis*, raw, rough or untrained, through Old French.
What does rude health mean?
Robust, vigorous health. It uses the older sense of rude as rough and unrefined, not impolite.
Is erudite related to rude?
Yes. It literally means having the roughness taken out, hence well educated.