"Rubicon" meaning in English

See Rubicon in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Proper name

IPA: /ˈɹuːbɪkɒn/ [Received-Pronunciation], /-k(ə)n/ [Received-Pronunciation], /ˈɹubəˌkɑn/ [General-American] Forms: the Rubicon [canonical]
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. Etymology templates: {{root|en|ine-pro|*h₁rewdʰ-}}, {{der|en|la|Rubicō}} Latin Rubicō, {{m|la|Rubicōn||the Rubicon}} Rubicōn (“the Rubicon”), {{m|la|rubeus||red, reddish}} rubeus (“red, reddish”), {{m|la|rubeō||to be red}} rubeō (“to be red”), {{der|en|ine-pro|*h₁rewdʰ-||red}} Proto-Indo-European *h₁rewdʰ- (“red”) Head templates: {{en-proper noun|head=the Rubicon}} the Rubicon
  1. (historical) 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. Tags: historical Categories (place): Places in Italy, Rivers in Italy Derived forms: cross the Rubicon, rubicon Translations (small river in northeastern Italy): Rubikon (Basque), Рубикон (Rubikon) [masculine] (Bulgarian), Rubicó [masculine] (Catalan), Rubikon [masculine] (Czech), Rubicon [common-gender] (Danish), Rubicon [masculine] (Dutch), Rubikono (Esperanto), Rubikon (Finnish), Rubicon [masculine] (French), Rubikon [masculine] (German), Ρουβίκωνας (Rouvíkonas) [masculine] (Greek), רוביקון (rubikon) [masculine] (Hebrew), Rubicon (Hungarian), Rubicone [masculine] (Italian), Rubicō (Latin), Rubicōn (Latin), Rubikona [feminine] (Latvian), Rubikonas [masculine] (Lithuanian), Rubicon [masculine] (Norwegian Bokmål), Rubicon [masculine] (Norwegian Nynorsk), Rubikon [masculine] (Polish), Rubicão [masculine] (Portuguese), Rubicon [neuter] (Romanian), Рубико́н (Rubikón) [masculine] (Russian), Рубикон [Cyrillic, masculine] (Serbo-Croatian), Rubikon [Roman, masculine] (Serbo-Croatian), Rubikon [masculine] (Slovak), Rubikon [masculine] (Slovene), Rubicón [masculine] (Spanish), Rubicon [common-gender] (Swedish), Rubikon (Turkish), Рубіко́н (Rubikón) [masculine] (Ukrainian)
    Sense id: en-Rubicon-en-name-7g3UcQJ5 Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 46 28 25 Disambiguation of 'small river in northeastern Italy': 89 11
  2. The same river in the present day, identified with a river previously named Fiumicino.
    Sense id: en-Rubicon-en-name-~jV9ko1B

Noun

IPA: /ˈɹuːbɪkɒn/ [Received-Pronunciation], /-k(ə)n/ [Received-Pronunciation], /ˈɹubəˌkɑn/ [General-American] Forms: Rubicons [plural]
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. Etymology templates: {{root|en|ine-pro|*h₁rewdʰ-}}, {{der|en|la|Rubicō}} Latin Rubicō, {{m|la|Rubicōn||the Rubicon}} Rubicōn (“the Rubicon”), {{m|la|rubeus||red, reddish}} rubeus (“red, reddish”), {{m|la|rubeō||to be red}} rubeō (“to be red”), {{der|en|ine-pro|*h₁rewdʰ-||red}} Proto-Indo-European *h₁rewdʰ- (“red”) Head templates: {{en-noun}} Rubicon (plural Rubicons)
  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”) Tags: alt-of Alternative form of: rubicon (extra: 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)
    Sense id: en-Rubicon-en-noun-P85kRY8w

Inflected forms

Download JSON data for Rubicon meaning in English (14.6kB)

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  "etymology_text": "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.",
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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "name",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "place",
          "langcode": "en",
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          "orig": "en:Places in Italy",
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          "_dis1": "58 42",
          "word": "cross the Rubicon"
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          "word": "rubicon"
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        [
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        ],
        [
          "Adriatic Sea",
          "Adriatic Sea"
        ],
        [
          "marking",
          "mark#Verb"
        ],
        [
          "boundary",
          "boundary"
        ],
        [
          "Roman",
          "Roman#Adjective"
        ],
        [
          "province",
          "province"
        ],
        [
          "Gaul",
          "Gaul"
        ],
        [
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          "heartland"
        ],
        [
          "crossing",
          "crossing#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "civil war",
          "civil war"
        ]
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      "raw_glosses": [
        "(historical) 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."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "historical"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "89 11",
          "code": "eu",
          "lang": "Basque",
          "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
          "word": "Rubikon"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "89 11",
          "code": "bg",
          "lang": "Bulgarian",
          "roman": "Rubikon",
          "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "Рубикон"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "89 11",
          "code": "ca",
          "lang": "Catalan",
          "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "Rubicó"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "89 11",
          "code": "cs",
          "lang": "Czech",
          "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "Rubikon"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "89 11",
          "code": "da",
          "lang": "Danish",
          "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
          "tags": [
            "common-gender"
          ],
          "word": "Rubicon"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "89 11",
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "Rubicon"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "89 11",
          "code": "eo",
          "lang": "Esperanto",
          "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
          "word": "Rubikono"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "89 11",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
          "word": "Rubikon"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "89 11",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "Rubicon"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "89 11",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "Rubikon"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "89 11",
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "Rouvíkonas",
          "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "Ρουβίκωνας"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "89 11",
          "code": "he",
          "lang": "Hebrew",
          "roman": "rubikon",
          "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "רוביקון"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "89 11",
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
          "word": "Rubicon"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "89 11",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "Rubicone"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "89 11",
          "code": "la",
          "lang": "Latin",
          "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
          "word": "Rubicō"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "89 11",
          "code": "la",
          "lang": "Latin",
          "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
          "word": "Rubicōn"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "89 11",
          "code": "lv",
          "lang": "Latvian",
          "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "Rubikona"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "89 11",
          "code": "lt",
          "lang": "Lithuanian",
          "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "Rubikonas"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "89 11",
          "code": "nb",
          "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
          "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "Rubicon"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "89 11",
          "code": "nn",
          "lang": "Norwegian Nynorsk",
          "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "Rubicon"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "89 11",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "Rubikon"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "89 11",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "Rubicão"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "89 11",
          "code": "ro",
          "lang": "Romanian",
          "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "Rubicon"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "89 11",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "Rubikón",
          "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "Рубико́н"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "89 11",
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
          "tags": [
            "Cyrillic",
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "Рубикон"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "89 11",
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
          "tags": [
            "Roman",
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "Rubikon"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "89 11",
          "code": "sk",
          "lang": "Slovak",
          "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "Rubikon"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "89 11",
          "code": "sl",
          "lang": "Slovene",
          "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "Rubikon"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "89 11",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "Rubicón"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "89 11",
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
          "tags": [
            "common-gender"
          ],
          "word": "Rubicon"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "89 11",
          "code": "tr",
          "lang": "Turkish",
          "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
          "word": "Rubikon"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "89 11",
          "code": "uk",
          "lang": "Ukrainian",
          "roman": "Rubikón",
          "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "Рубіко́н"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "The same river in the present day, identified with a river previously named Fiumicino."
      ],
      "id": "en-Rubicon-en-name-~jV9ko1B"
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈɹuːbɪkɒn/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/-k(ə)n/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈɹubəˌkɑn/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "Rubicon"
}

{
  "etymology_templates": [
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        "4": "red, reddish"
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      "name": "m"
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  "etymology_text": "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.",
  "forms": [
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      "args": {},
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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "alt_of": [
        {
          "extra": "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",
          "word": "rubicon"
        }
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      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1787, [Thomas Paine], “Preface”, in Prospects on the Rubicon: Or, An Investigation into the Causes and Consequences of the Politics to be Agitated at the Meeting of Parliament, London: Printed for J[ohn] Debrett, […], →OCLC, page iii",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1836 January, James M. Mathews, “Sermon CCVIII. Critical Periods in the Sinner’s Life.”, in Austin Dickinson, editor, The American National Preacher: Or Original Monthly Sermons from Living Ministers of the United States, volume 10, number 8 (number 116 overall), New York, N.Y.: Printed by West & Trow, →OCLC, page 316",
          "text": "But, my hearers, there are Rubicons to be passed in our religious and moral course, as well as in our temporal—occasions in the experience of our hearts, which extend their influence so far into the future, that it mainly depends on the decision we then make, and the purposes we then form, whether we shall at last be saved or lost for ever.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1853 January–June, “Used-up Classical Allusions”, in The British Journal: A Home, Colonial, and General Magazine, volume III, London: John Mortimer, publisher, […], →OCLC, page 322",
          "text": "We are always passing the Rubicon, or being called upon to see somebody else pass it. Considering how often it has been passed, the Rubicon ought to be as well bridged as the Thames. [...] Looking back a few years, we find that that heaven-born minister, Pitt [i.e., William Pitt the Younger], crossed the Rubicon time after time; and while he was crossing it, [Napoleon] Buonaparte was constantly crossing it also. Later, our Wellington crossed the Rubicon when he marched against the French in the Peninsula.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1866 June 16, “‘On the Wrong Side of the Rubicon.’: (A Groan from a Mild M.P., Half in and Half out of the Cave.)”, in Punch, or The London Charivari, volume L, London: Published at the office, 85, Fleet Street, […], →OCLC, page 251, column 2",
          "text": "There's only one thing to be done, / For Ministers to save their bacon; / That's to re-cross the Rubicon, / To ground they ne'er should have forsaken. / [...] / On the wrong side [of] the Rubicon, / Hang me if longer I remain; / Gladstone must just re-build his boats, / And take us back again!",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1873 August 1, “Answers to Correspondents. [Piquet.]”, in The Westminster Papers. A Monthly Journal of Chess, Whist, Games of Skill, and the Drama, volume VI, London: W. Kent & Co., […], and W. W. Morgan, […]; Edinburgh: J. Menzies & Co.; Dublin: McGlashan & Gill, published 1874, →OCLC, page 84, column 2",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1885, Cavendish [pseudonym; Henry Jones], “Hints to Learners”, in The Laws of Piquet: Edited by “Cavendish” and Adopted by the Portland and Turf Clubs: With a Treatise on the Game, 4th edition, London: Thomas De La Rue & Co., →OCLC, paragraph 12, page 82",
          "text": "If you are a good way ahead, and particularly in the last hand but one, if you have a chance of winning a Rubicon, you should make a safe discard, with the view of dividing or winning the cards, in order to keep your adversary back. On the other hand, if the score is much against you, and you are under a Rubicon, you are justified in making a bold discard.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1908 February, T[homas] Lawrason Riggs, “On Getting Up”, in J. Howland Auchincloss et al., editors, The Yale Literary Magazine: […], volume LXXIII, number V (number 650 overall), New Haven, Conn.: Published by the editors […]; the Tuttle, Moorehouse & Taylor Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 226",
          "text": "When one is snugly ensconced under several thicknesses of eiderdown, with the frozen water-bottle sending a cracked and mocking leer from the window sill, getting up is the one thing really irrevocable. It becomes the most final of Rubicons, the most suicidal of bridge-burnings, a leap into an abyss of vaguely dreadful activities,—a fantastic world where people stand on their feet and tie neckties.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "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”)"
      ],
      "id": "en-Rubicon-en-noun-P85kRY8w",
      "links": [
        [
          "rubicon",
          "rubicon#English"
        ],
        [
          "limit",
          "limit#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "exceed",
          "exceed"
        ],
        [
          "action",
          "action"
        ],
        [
          "taken",
          "take#Verb"
        ],
        [
          "reversed",
          "reverse#Verb"
        ],
        [
          "bezique",
          "bezique"
        ],
        [
          "piquet",
          "piquet"
        ],
        [
          "score",
          "score#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "achieve",
          "achieve"
        ],
        [
          "losing",
          "lose"
        ],
        [
          "player",
          "player"
        ],
        [
          "increases",
          "increase#Verb"
        ],
        [
          "penalty",
          "penalty"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈɹuːbɪkɒn/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/-k(ə)n/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈɹubəˌkɑn/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "Rubicon"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English 3-syllable words",
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English proper nouns",
    "English terms derived from Latin",
    "English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European",
    "English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₁rewdʰ-",
    "English terms with IPA pronunciation",
    "English uncountable nouns"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "cross the Rubicon"
    },
    {
      "word": "rubicon"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*h₁rewdʰ-"
      },
      "expansion": "",
      "name": "root"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "Rubicō"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin Rubicō",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "Rubicōn",
        "3": "",
        "4": "the Rubicon"
      },
      "expansion": "Rubicōn (“the Rubicon”)",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "rubeus",
        "3": "",
        "4": "red, reddish"
      },
      "expansion": "rubeus (“red, reddish”)",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "rubeō",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to be red"
      },
      "expansion": "rubeō (“to be red”)",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*h₁rewdʰ-",
        "4": "",
        "5": "red"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *h₁rewdʰ- (“red”)",
      "name": "der"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "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.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "the Rubicon",
      "tags": [
        "canonical"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "head": "the Rubicon"
      },
      "expansion": "the Rubicon",
      "name": "en-proper noun"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenation": [
    "Ru‧bi‧con"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "name",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with historical senses",
        "en:Places in Italy",
        "en:Rivers in Italy"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "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."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "Italy",
          "Italy#English"
        ],
        [
          "flowed",
          "flow#Verb"
        ],
        [
          "Adriatic Sea",
          "Adriatic Sea"
        ],
        [
          "marking",
          "mark#Verb"
        ],
        [
          "boundary",
          "boundary"
        ],
        [
          "Roman",
          "Roman#Adjective"
        ],
        [
          "province",
          "province"
        ],
        [
          "Gaul",
          "Gaul"
        ],
        [
          "heartland",
          "heartland"
        ],
        [
          "crossing",
          "crossing#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "civil war",
          "civil war"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(historical) 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."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "historical"
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "The same river in the present day, identified with a river previously named Fiumicino."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈɹuːbɪkɒn/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/-k(ə)n/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈɹubəˌkɑn/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "eu",
      "lang": "Basque",
      "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
      "word": "Rubikon"
    },
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "roman": "Rubikon",
      "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Рубикон"
    },
    {
      "code": "ca",
      "lang": "Catalan",
      "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Rubicó"
    },
    {
      "code": "cs",
      "lang": "Czech",
      "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Rubikon"
    },
    {
      "code": "da",
      "lang": "Danish",
      "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
      "tags": [
        "common-gender"
      ],
      "word": "Rubicon"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Rubicon"
    },
    {
      "code": "eo",
      "lang": "Esperanto",
      "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
      "word": "Rubikono"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
      "word": "Rubikon"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Rubicon"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Rubikon"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "Rouvíkonas",
      "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Ρουβίκωνας"
    },
    {
      "code": "he",
      "lang": "Hebrew",
      "roman": "rubikon",
      "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "רוביקון"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
      "word": "Rubicon"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Rubicone"
    },
    {
      "code": "la",
      "lang": "Latin",
      "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
      "word": "Rubicō"
    },
    {
      "code": "la",
      "lang": "Latin",
      "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
      "word": "Rubicōn"
    },
    {
      "code": "lv",
      "lang": "Latvian",
      "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "Rubikona"
    },
    {
      "code": "lt",
      "lang": "Lithuanian",
      "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Rubikonas"
    },
    {
      "code": "nb",
      "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
      "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Rubicon"
    },
    {
      "code": "nn",
      "lang": "Norwegian Nynorsk",
      "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Rubicon"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Rubikon"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Rubicão"
    },
    {
      "code": "ro",
      "lang": "Romanian",
      "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "Rubicon"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "Rubikón",
      "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Рубико́н"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
      "tags": [
        "Cyrillic",
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Рубикон"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
      "tags": [
        "Roman",
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Rubikon"
    },
    {
      "code": "sk",
      "lang": "Slovak",
      "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Rubikon"
    },
    {
      "code": "sl",
      "lang": "Slovene",
      "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Rubikon"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Rubicón"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
      "tags": [
        "common-gender"
      ],
      "word": "Rubicon"
    },
    {
      "code": "tr",
      "lang": "Turkish",
      "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
      "word": "Rubikon"
    },
    {
      "code": "uk",
      "lang": "Ukrainian",
      "roman": "Rubikón",
      "sense": "small river in northeastern Italy",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Рубіко́н"
    }
  ],
  "word": "Rubicon"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English 3-syllable words",
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English proper nouns",
    "English terms derived from Latin",
    "English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European",
    "English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₁rewdʰ-",
    "English terms with IPA pronunciation",
    "English uncountable nouns"
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*h₁rewdʰ-"
      },
      "expansion": "",
      "name": "root"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "Rubicō"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin Rubicō",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "Rubicōn",
        "3": "",
        "4": "the Rubicon"
      },
      "expansion": "Rubicōn (“the Rubicon”)",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "rubeus",
        "3": "",
        "4": "red, reddish"
      },
      "expansion": "rubeus (“red, reddish”)",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "rubeō",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to be red"
      },
      "expansion": "rubeō (“to be red”)",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*h₁rewdʰ-",
        "4": "",
        "5": "red"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *h₁rewdʰ- (“red”)",
      "name": "der"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "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.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "Rubicons",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "Rubicon (plural Rubicons)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenation": [
    "Ru‧bi‧con"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "alt_of": [
        {
          "extra": "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",
          "word": "rubicon"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1787, [Thomas Paine], “Preface”, in Prospects on the Rubicon: Or, An Investigation into the Causes and Consequences of the Politics to be Agitated at the Meeting of Parliament, London: Printed for J[ohn] Debrett, […], →OCLC, page iii",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1836 January, James M. Mathews, “Sermon CCVIII. Critical Periods in the Sinner’s Life.”, in Austin Dickinson, editor, The American National Preacher: Or Original Monthly Sermons from Living Ministers of the United States, volume 10, number 8 (number 116 overall), New York, N.Y.: Printed by West & Trow, →OCLC, page 316",
          "text": "But, my hearers, there are Rubicons to be passed in our religious and moral course, as well as in our temporal—occasions in the experience of our hearts, which extend their influence so far into the future, that it mainly depends on the decision we then make, and the purposes we then form, whether we shall at last be saved or lost for ever.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1853 January–June, “Used-up Classical Allusions”, in The British Journal: A Home, Colonial, and General Magazine, volume III, London: John Mortimer, publisher, […], →OCLC, page 322",
          "text": "We are always passing the Rubicon, or being called upon to see somebody else pass it. Considering how often it has been passed, the Rubicon ought to be as well bridged as the Thames. [...] Looking back a few years, we find that that heaven-born minister, Pitt [i.e., William Pitt the Younger], crossed the Rubicon time after time; and while he was crossing it, [Napoleon] Buonaparte was constantly crossing it also. Later, our Wellington crossed the Rubicon when he marched against the French in the Peninsula.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1866 June 16, “‘On the Wrong Side of the Rubicon.’: (A Groan from a Mild M.P., Half in and Half out of the Cave.)”, in Punch, or The London Charivari, volume L, London: Published at the office, 85, Fleet Street, […], →OCLC, page 251, column 2",
          "text": "There's only one thing to be done, / For Ministers to save their bacon; / That's to re-cross the Rubicon, / To ground they ne'er should have forsaken. / [...] / On the wrong side [of] the Rubicon, / Hang me if longer I remain; / Gladstone must just re-build his boats, / And take us back again!",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1873 August 1, “Answers to Correspondents. [Piquet.]”, in The Westminster Papers. A Monthly Journal of Chess, Whist, Games of Skill, and the Drama, volume VI, London: W. Kent & Co., […], and W. W. Morgan, […]; Edinburgh: J. Menzies & Co.; Dublin: McGlashan & Gill, published 1874, →OCLC, page 84, column 2",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1885, Cavendish [pseudonym; Henry Jones], “Hints to Learners”, in The Laws of Piquet: Edited by “Cavendish” and Adopted by the Portland and Turf Clubs: With a Treatise on the Game, 4th edition, London: Thomas De La Rue & Co., →OCLC, paragraph 12, page 82",
          "text": "If you are a good way ahead, and particularly in the last hand but one, if you have a chance of winning a Rubicon, you should make a safe discard, with the view of dividing or winning the cards, in order to keep your adversary back. On the other hand, if the score is much against you, and you are under a Rubicon, you are justified in making a bold discard.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1908 February, T[homas] Lawrason Riggs, “On Getting Up”, in J. Howland Auchincloss et al., editors, The Yale Literary Magazine: […], volume LXXIII, number V (number 650 overall), New Haven, Conn.: Published by the editors […]; the Tuttle, Moorehouse & Taylor Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 226",
          "text": "When one is snugly ensconced under several thicknesses of eiderdown, with the frozen water-bottle sending a cracked and mocking leer from the window sill, getting up is the one thing really irrevocable. It becomes the most final of Rubicons, the most suicidal of bridge-burnings, a leap into an abyss of vaguely dreadful activities,—a fantastic world where people stand on their feet and tie neckties.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "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”)"
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "rubicon",
          "rubicon#English"
        ],
        [
          "limit",
          "limit#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "exceed",
          "exceed"
        ],
        [
          "action",
          "action"
        ],
        [
          "taken",
          "take#Verb"
        ],
        [
          "reversed",
          "reverse#Verb"
        ],
        [
          "bezique",
          "bezique"
        ],
        [
          "piquet",
          "piquet"
        ],
        [
          "score",
          "score#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "achieve",
          "achieve"
        ],
        [
          "losing",
          "lose"
        ],
        [
          "player",
          "player"
        ],
        [
          "increases",
          "increase#Verb"
        ],
        [
          "penalty",
          "penalty"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈɹuːbɪkɒn/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/-k(ə)n/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈɹubəˌkɑn/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "Rubicon"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-20 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (1d5a7d1 and 304864d). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.