rush

Etymology 1

From Middle English risshe, rusch, risch, from Old English rysċ, rysċe, risċ, risċe, from a merger of Proto-West Germanic *riskijā, from Proto-Indo-European *(H)resg- (“to weave”) and Proto-West Germanic *ruskijā, borrowed from Latin rūscum (“butcher's broom”), of unknown origin + *-jā (animal and plant suffix). Cognates include West Frisian risk, Dutch rus (“bulrush”), Norwegian Bokmål rusk, dialectal Norwegian ryskje (“hair-grass”). Further cognates include Russian розга (rozga).

noun

1. Any of several stiff plants of the genus Juncus, or the family Juncaceae, having hollow or pithy stems and small flowers, and often growing in marshes or near water.
   (plant of the genus Juncus):
2. The stem of such plants used in making baskets, mats, the seats of chairs, etc.
3. The merest trifle; a straw.
4. A wick.

Etymology 2

Perhaps from Middle English ruschen, russchen (“to rush, startle, make a loud rushing noise”), from Old English hrysċan (“to jolt, startle”), from Proto-West Germanic *hurskijan, from Proto-Germanic *hurskijaną (“to startle, drive”), from *hurskaz (“fast, rapid, quick”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱers- (“to run, hurry”). Cognate with Old High German hursken (“to hurry, speed, incite, accelerate”), Old English horsc (“quick, quick-witted, clever”). etymology note An alternative etymology traces rush via Middle English rouschen (“to rush”) from Old English *rūscian (“to rush”) from Proto-Germanic *rūskōną (“to rush, storm, be fierce, be cruel”), a variant (with formative k) of Proto-Germanic *rūsōną (“to be cruel, storm, rush”) from Proto-Indo-European *(o)rewə- (“to drive, move, agitate”), making it akin to Old High German rosc, rosci (“quick”), Middle Low German rūschen (“to rush”), Middle High German rūschen, riuschen (“to rush”) (German rauschen (“to rush”)), North Frisian ruse (“to rush”), Middle Dutch ruuscen (“to make haste”), Middle Dutch rūsen (“to rush”) (Dutch ruisen (“to rush”)), Danish ruse (“to rush”), Swedish rusa (“to rush”). Compare Middle High German rūsch (“a charge, rush”). Influenced by Middle English russhen (“to force back”) from Anglo-Norman russher, russer from Old French ruser, rëuser. Alternatively, according to the OED, perhaps an adaptation of Anglo-Norman russher, russer (“to force back, down, out of place, by violent impact", "to pull out or drag off violently or hastily”), from Old French re(h)usser, ruser (although the connection of the forms with single -s- and double -ss- is dubious; also adopted in English ruse; French ruser (“to retreat, drive back”)), from an assumed Vulgar Latin *refūsāre and Latin refundō (“I cause to flow back”), although connection to the same Germanic root is also possible. More at rouse.

noun

1. A sudden forward motion.
   A gentleman of his train spurred up his horse, and, with a violent rush, severed him from the duke. 1642, Henry Wotton, A Short View of the Life and Death of George Villiers
2. A surge.
   A rush of business can be difficult to handle effectively for its unexpected volume.
3. General haste.
   Many errors were made in the rush to finish.
4. A rapid, noisy flow.
   a rush of water; a rush of footsteps
5. (military) A sudden attack; an onslaught.
6. (video games) The strategy of attacking an opponent with a large swarm of weak units, rather than spending time developing their abilities.
7. (contact sports) The act of running at another player to block or disrupt play.
   a rush on the quarterback
8. (American football, dated) A rusher; a lineman.
   the center rush, whose place is in the center of the rush line
9. A sudden, brief exhilaration, for instance the pleasurable sensation produced by a stimulant.
   The rollercoaster gave me a rush.
   She felt the familiar cocaine rush soon after injecting herself.
10. (university slang) A regulated period of recruitment in fraternities and sororities.
    rush week
    The trend burst through last week during sorority rush at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, but it continues today in the form of parody videos, deep dives on the status of various recruits and rush videos from women at other colleges across the country who are just starting the process themselves. 2021-08-17, Allie Jones, “#BamaRush, Explained”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
    […]daily “OOTDs” (outfits of the day), rush recap videos from freshly tanned and coiffed prospective new members (PNMs), and reactions to 18-year-old girls either elated or devastated by the high-stakes game of likability that is rush. 2023-05-24, Adrian Horton, “‘Competitive femininity’: inside the wild and secretive world of sororities”, in The Guardian, →ISSN
11. (university slang) A person attempting to join a fraternity or sorority as part of a rush.
    At the end of rush, the fraternities vote on who they want to extend invitations to join, and the rushes can then make their selection from the bids they get. Some rushes get bids from multiple fraternities, while others do not get bids from any. 2011-09-15, Abe Gutierrez, “To Rush Or Not To Rush: A Crash Course From A Brother Who Likes It”, in NYU Local
    After a few rounds of these competitions, the rushes that survive to the end get a "bid." Again, kind of like an auction. They don’t come in nice envelopes like sororities, though. Usually what happens is that they put the rushes in a room individually and tell them they didn’t get the bid, to see how sad they get. If they get really sad, the fraternity brothers come to the room and congratulate them on being accepted to the fraternity. Then, the rushes become pledges. 2017-02-08, Youngweon Lee, “The Fraternity Rush Process As Told By Someone Who Knows Nothing About The Fraternity Rush Process”, in Bwog
12. (US, dated, university slang) A perfect recitation.
13. (croquet) A roquet in which the object ball is sent to a particular location on the lawn.

verb

1. (transitive or intransitive) To hurry; to perform a task with great haste, often not properly or without thinking carefully.
   rush one's dinner; rush off an email response
   A party of men[…] shoud be ready to rush out; and upon the noise of the first shot immediately run down to the Gate and break in. c. 1683, Robert West, The further Exmaination of Robert West of the Middle-Temple, Barrister at Law
   Most of the Himalayan rivers have been relatively untouched by dams near their sources. Now the two great Asian powers, India and China, are rushing to harness them as they cut through some of the world's deepest valleys. 2013-08-16, John Vidal, “Dams endanger ecology of Himalayas”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 10, page 8
2. (intransitive) To flow or move forward rapidly or noisily.
   armies rush to battle; waters rush down a precipice.
   The desert storm was riding in its strength; the travellers lay beneath the mastery of the fell simoom. Whirling wreaths and columns of burning wind, rushed around and over them. 1892, James Yoxall, chapter 5, in The Lonely Pyramid
3. (intransitive, soccer) To dribble rapidly.
4. (transitive or intransitive, contact sports) To run directly at another player in order to block or disrupt play.
5. (transitive) To cause to move or act with unusual haste.
   Don't rush your client or he may withdraw.
6. (intransitive, military) To make a swift or sudden attack.
7. (military) To swiftly attack without warning.
8. (video games, slang, transitive) To attack (an opponent) with a large swarm of units.
9. (transitive) To transport or carry quickly.
   The shuttle rushes passengers from the station to the airport.
   The harvest is now in full swing in the Great Plains and efforts are being made to rush the grain from the fields to the country elevators and then to the large terminals, such as Kansas City, Houston, Galveston and New Orleans. 1964-06-16, “Surprise Strike Stops Traffic On 6 Railroads”, in The Indianapolis Star, volume 62, number 11, Indianapolis, Ind., page 3
10. (transitive or intransitive, croquet) To roquet an object ball to a particular location on the lawn.
11. (transitive or intransitive, university slang) To attempt to join a fraternity or sorority, often involving a hazing or initiation process.
12. (US, slang, dated) To recite (a lesson) or pass (an examination) without an error.
13. (intransitive, music) To play at a faster tempo than one is supposed to or than the other musicians one is playing with, or to inadvertently gradually increase tempo while one is playing.

adj

1. Performed with, or requiring urgency or great haste, or done under pressure, especially if therefore done badly.
   a rush job