roué definition - Dictionary

Dictionary

	rough breathing

	rough collie

	rough copy

	rough cut

	rough-cut

	rough diamond

	rough-dry

	rough endoplasmic reticulum

	rough fish

	rough-hew

	rough-hewn

	rough out

	Rough Rider

	rough shooting

	rough sledding

	rough stuff

	rough trade

rou·é [ roo áy ] (plural rou·és)

noun

Definition:

debauched man: a man who regularly engages in drinking, gambling, and womanizing ( literary )

[Early 19th century. < French< past participle of rouer "break on the wheel" (a medieval instrument of torture) < Latin rotare (see rotate)]

Word History


	The term roué is thought to stem from Philip, duke of Orléans and regent of France (1715-1723), who humorously designated his debauched companions as roués, either to suggest that they deserved to be broken upon the wheel or because their behavior was so exhausting that they felt they had undergone this torture. See also rota.