ruddle
9.9
A red powder used for dyeing and marking things like sheep
- noun
- Archaic
:
ruddle
- Ancient stone carvings were often adorned with ruddle to enhance their appearance.
Examples
-
Farmers commonly use ruddle to mark their sheep for identification.
-
The proposed Ogle's Mill and Ruddle's Mill roads crossed the Inner Bluegrass plain along routes where topographic variation was comparatively benign.
Academic text (2004) -
The artist used ruddle to create vibrant red marks on the canvas.
Synonyms
9.9
A red mineral used to make red dye or paint
is the same material but is a different regional or historic term
9.9
A red powder used to mark sheep and color cloth
is the same purpose but comes as ore rather than fine powder
9.9
A soft reddish brown clay used to make paint
is an iron mineral used for marking and dyeing rather than clay
Surface Forms
Etymology
Ruddle comes from an old root rud- meaning 'red', the same idea you see in the word ruddy. It was the name for a red earth or ore used for dyeing and marking, so remember ruddle as a red pigment.
