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If you remember your high school French, or if you've ever strolled down the Rue de Rivoli in Paris, you may have the notion that the English word rue is somehow connected to the French word for "street." In actuality, the French and English words are not related at all. Indeed, the English rue traveled its own road: it comes originally from the Old English word hrēow, meaning "sorrow." Used as both a noun meaning "sorrow, regret," and, more frequently, a verb meaning "to feel sorrow or regret for something," rue is very old, dating to before the 12th century. As for the rue that refers to an aromatic culinary and medicinal herb, that word has another history altogether, coming ultimately from the Greek word rhytē.
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“Rue.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rue. Accessed 10 Jul. 2026.
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