rout
Definitions
General English
- noun the complete defeat of an army or a team
- verb to defeat someone completely
Construction
- To deepen and widen a crack, preparing it for patching or sealing.
- To cut out by gouging.
Law
- noun the offence of gathering together of people to do some unlawful act
Military
- noun a retreat following a defeat, where command and control has completely broken down
- verb to force the enemy into a rout
Publishing
- verb to cut away the blank parts of a plate so that there is no chance of their printing by accident
Real Estate
- verb to cut a groove in wood or metal, especially with a router cutter
Origin & History of “rout”
English has two words rout. ‘Disorderly retreat’ (16th c.) comes via archaic French route ‘dispersed group’ and Italian rotta ‘breakage’ from vulgar Latin *rupta, a noun use of the past participle of Latin rumpere ‘break’ (source of English corrupt, disrupt (17th c.), erupt, and rupture and related to English rob). other English descendants of *rupta are route, routine, and rut. Rout ‘dig with the nose’, hence ‘search, rummage’ (16th c.) is a variant form of root.
