Rubicon

rubicon English Etymology en ine-pro *h₁rewdʰ- From en la Rubicō, la Rubicōn the Rubicon,Rubicon n 168363 March 2011 yes; possibly from la rubeus red, reddish, from la rubeō to be red, ultimately from en ine-pro *h₁rewdʰ- red, an allusion to the colour of the river caused by mud deposits. Pronunciation en /ˈɹuːbɪkɒn/ /-k(ə)n/ RP en LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Rubicon.wav Southern England en /ˈɹubəˌkɑn/ GA en Ru bi con Proper noun (the) Rubicon en historical en small river in northeastern c/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 began a civil war. The same river in the present day, identified with a river previously named Fiumicino. en locality shire:Pref/Murrindindi central eastern s/Victoria c/Australia. Derived terms en cross the Rubicon en rubicon Translations small river in northeastern Italy Basque: eu Rubikon Bulgarian: bg Рубикон m Catalan: ca Rubicó m Czech: cs Rubikon m Danish: da Rubicon c Dutch: nl Rubicon m Esperanto: eo Rubikono Finnish: fi Rubikon French: fr Rubicon m German: de Rubikon m Greek: el Ρουβίκωνας m Hebrew: he רוביקון m rubikon Hungarian: hu Rubicon Italian: it Rubicone m Latin: la Rubicō, la Rubicōn Latvian: lv Rubikona f Lithuanian: lt Rubikonas m Norwegian: Bokmål: nb Rubicon m Nynorsk: nn Rubicon m Polish: pl Rubikon m Portuguese: pt Rubicão m Romanian: ro Rubicon n Russian: ru Рубико́н m Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: sh Рубикон m Latin: sh Rubikon m Slovak: sk Rubikon m Slovene: sl Rubikon m Spanish: es Rubicón m Swedish: sv Rubicon c Turkish: tr Rubikon Ukrainian: uk Рубіко́н m Noun en 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. en [Thomas Paine] Preface 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,Piccadilly. 1787 iii https://books.google.com/books?id=PN9bAAAAQAAJ&pg=PP3 1102700980 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. en w:James M. Mathews Sermon CCVIII. Critical Periods in the Sinner’s Life. Austin Dickinson The American National Preacher: Or Original Monthly Sermons from Living Ministers of the United States New York, N.Y. Printed by West & Trow January 1836 10 8 (number 116 overall) 316 https://books.google.com/books?id=Z5EeAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA316 914502602 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. V 90 Forgive me, ghosts of patriots,— [...] / [...] —for being taught in vain / That while the illegitimate Cæsars show / Of meaner stature than the first full strain, / (Confessed incompetent to conquer Gaul) / They swoon as feebly and cross Rubicons / As rashly as any Julius of them all. en Used-up Classical Allusions The British Journal: A Home, Colonial, and General Magazine London John Mortimer, publisher,141, Strand. January–June 1853 III 322 https://books.google.com/books?id=DWQEAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA322 41337867 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. en ‘On the Wrong Side of the Rubicon.’: (A Groan from a Mild M.P., Half in and Half out of the Cave.) Punch, or The London Charivari London Published at the office, 85, Fleet Street,and sold by all booksellers. 16 June 1866 L 251 https://books.google.com/books?id=jhtcAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA251 2 732224722 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! en Answers to Correspondents. [Piquet.] The Westminster Papers. A Monthly Journal of Chess, Whist, Games of Skill, and the Drama London W. Kent & Co.,Paternoster Row, and W. W. Morgan,67 Barbican, E.C.; Edinburgh: J. Menzies & Co.; Dublin: McGlashan & Gill 1 August 1873 1874 VI 84 https://books.google.com/books?id=asxeAAAAcAAJ&pg=PP92 2 16930933 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. en Cavendish [pseudonym; Henry Jones] Hints to Learners The Laws of Piquet: Edited by “Cavendish” and Adopted by the Portland and Turf Clubs: With a Treatise on the Game 4th London Thomas De La Rue & Co. 1885 paragraph 12 82 https://archive.org/details/lawsofpiquetadop00caveuoft/page/82/mode/1up 67881896 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. en T[homas] Lawrason Riggs On Getting Up J. Howland Auchincloss; et al. The Yale Literary Magazine:Conducted by the Students of Yale University. New Haven, Conn. Published by the editorsOn sale at the Coōperative Store.; the Tuttle, Moorehouse & Taylor Company February 1908 LXXIII V (number 650 overall) 226 https://books.google.com/books?id=JRQBAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA226 0044-0108 977340881 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. en-US Christopher Caldwell This Maverick Thinker Is the Karl Marx of Our Time The New York Times 2024-11-28 https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/28/opinion/wolfgang-streeck-populism.html 0362-4331 Essentially, governments had begun borrowing from the next generation. That was the Rubicon, Mr. Streeck believes: “the first time after the postwar growth period that states took to introducing not-yet-existing future resources into the conflict between labor and capital.” https://web.archive.org/web/20251020143420/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/28/opinion/wolfgang-streeck-populism.html 20 October 2025 References Further reading Rubicon French Pronunciation fr LL-Q150 (fra)-Jérémy-Günther-Heinz Jähnick-Rubicon.wav <<France>> (<<Somain>>) Proper noun m en Rubicon Derived terms fr franchir le Rubicon fr passer le Rubicon Latin Etymology la rubeus -icus -ō red, reddish, from la rubeō to be red, ultimately from la ine-pro *h₁rewdʰ- red, an allusion to the colour of the river caused by mud deposits. right|thumb|The river's mouth Pronunciation Rubicōn Proper noun Rubicōn<3> m Rubicon Declension Rubicōn<3> Descendants mul Rubiconia genus 1 References la Rivers