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Ruth
Ruth, a novel by Mrs Gaskell, published 1853.
Ruth Hilton, a 15-year-old orphan apprenticed to a dressmaker, is seduced and then deserted by the wealthy young Henry Bellingham. She is rescued from suicide by Thurston Benson, a Dissenting minister, who takes her into his own house. She bears Bellingham's son. Later she is employed as a governess in the family of the tyrannical and pharisaical Mr Bradshaw, where she is discovered by Bellingham, whose offer of marriage she rejects. Bradshaw, learning the truth, brutally dismisses her. Ruth regains esteem by becoming a heroic hospital nurse during a cholera epidemic, and dies after nursing Bellingham to recovery. Mrs Gaskell's purpose in this novel was to arouse more sympathy for ‘fallen women’ who had been unprotected victims of seduction, but she shocked many contemporary readers. See also social problem novel. |
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MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Ruth." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Ruth." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-Ruth.html MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Ruth." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-Ruth.html |
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Ruth
Ruth a book of the Bible telling the story of Ruth, a Moabite woman, who when her husband died resolved to accompany her mother-in-law Naomi back to Judah, with the words, ‘Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goes, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.’
The two women returned to Judah, and through Naomi's agency Ruth married her deceased husband's kinsman Boaz and bore a son who became grandfather to King David. Ruth together with Naomi may be taken as a type of devotion; the image of Ruth herself, in her early days in Judah, may also be that of a lonely stranger. |
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Ruth." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Ruth." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Ruth.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Ruth." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Ruth.html |
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Ruth
Ruth book of the Bible. It tells a story, set in the days of the judges, of the fidelity of a Moabite widow (Ruth) to her widowed mother-in-law (Naomi). After the death of her husband in Moab, Ruth returns with Naomi to Bethlehem. There Ruth marries Naomi's kinsman, Boaz. Boaz and Ruth were ancestors of David. This idyll is one of the most popular of scriptural stories. Dates before and after the 6th-century exile have been suggested, but it was probably composed between 450 BC and 300 BC
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"Ruth." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Ruth." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Ruth.html "Ruth." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Ruth.html |
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Ruth
Ruth ♀ Biblical name (of uncertain derivation) of a Moabite woman who left her own people to remain with her mother-in-law Naomi, and afterwards became the wife of Boaz and an ancestress of David. Her story is told in the book of the Bible that bears her name. It was used among the Puritans in England in the 16th century, partly because of its association with the English vocabulary word ruth meaning ‘compassion’. It has always been popular as a Jewish name, but is now also widespread among people of many different cultures and creeds.
Pet forms: Ruthi, Ruthie. |
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PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Ruth." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Ruth." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Ruth.html PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Ruth." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Ruth.html |
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Ruth
Ruth Eighth book of the Old Testament recounting the story of Ruth, a young Moabite widow. It tells of her devotion to Naomi, her Hebrew mother-in-law; her decision to leave her own land and settle in Israelite territory; and her eventual marriage to the wealthy Boaz, whereby she becomes the great-grandmother of Israel's greatest leader, King David.
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"Ruth." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Ruth." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-Ruth.html "Ruth." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-Ruth.html |
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Ruth
Ruth An outsider, a Moabitess, who as a widow married into the tribe of Judah at Bethlehem. Her son was the grandfather of David, and therefore Ruth appears in the genealogy of Jesus (Matt. 1: 5).
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W. R. F. BROWNING. "Ruth." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. W. R. F. BROWNING. "Ruth." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-Ruth.html W. R. F. BROWNING. "Ruth." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-Ruth.html |
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Ruth
Ruth. Opera in 1 act by L. Berkeley to lib. by E. Crozier based on Book of Ruth. Prod. London 1956. Also title of various 19th-cent. oratorios.
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MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "Ruth." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "Ruth." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-Ruth.html MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "Ruth." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-Ruth.html |
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ruth
ruth (arch.) pity. XII. f. RUE2. Survives in gen. use in ruthless XIV.
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T. F. HOAD. "ruth." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "ruth." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-ruth.html T. F. HOAD. "ruth." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-ruth.html |
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Ruth
Ruth ♀ (German) Biblical.
Also: Rut. |
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Cite this article
PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Ruth." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Ruth." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Ruth1.html PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Ruth." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Ruth1.html |
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ruth
ruth •buck tooth, couth, Duluth, forsooth, Maynooth, ruth, sleuth, sooth, strewth, tooth, truth, youth
•eye tooth • dog-tooth • sawtooth
•houndstooth • sabretooth
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"ruth." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "ruth." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-ruth.html "ruth." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-ruth.html |
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