Ruth

I learned a new word today.  That's so unusual that I want to announce it.  Madeleine Begun Kane, a humorist and song parodist who calls herself and her humor blog Mad Kane, sent out this limerick today:

Ruthless Limerick
by Madeleine Begun Kane

A dentist who’s lacking in ruth
Worships money, possessions, and youth.
In his quest for all three,
His crimes guarantee
He’ll be jailed until long in the tooth.

Ruth?  It's a name.  Yes, I know names often mean something, but ruth?  Never heard it used as a word, so I looked it up.  Basically, it's the opposite of ruthless, as in Mad Kane's "Ruthless Limerick."

ruth (noun)

(1)  compassion or pity for another.
(2)  sorrow or misery about one's own misdeeds or flaws.

Archaic meaning

(1)  pity; compassion.
(2)  repentance; remorse.
(3)  grief or distress.

And the word ruth comes from rewen, meaning "to rue."  Even rue seems to have dropped out of everyday usage.  I can remember saying, "I rue the day that..." or "You'll rue the day you did this!"

rue (verb)

(1)  to feel sorrow over; repent of; regret bitterly.
(2)  to wish that (something) had never been done, taken place, etc.

Shall I close with some synonyms for ruthless?

merciless, pitiless, cruel, heartless, hard-hearted, cold-hearted, cold-blooded, harsh, callous, unmerciful, unforgiving, uncaring, unsympathetic, uncharitable; remorseless, unbending, inflexible, implacable; brutal, inhuman, inhumane, barbarous, barbaric, savage, sadistic, vicious

Also mentioned today on my book blog.