Wiktionary

roust

English

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Etymology

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1650s, variant of rouse,[1] possibly influenced by rout.

Pronunciation

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Verb

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roust (third-person singular simple present rousts, present participle rousting, simple past and past participle rousted)

  1. (transitive) to rout out of bed; to rouse
    • 1884, Mark Twain, chapter VII, in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn:
      "Why didn't you roust me out?" / "Well, I tried to, but I couldn't; I couldn't budge you." / "Well, all right. Don't stand there palavering all day, but out with you and see if there's a fish on the lines for breakfast. I'll be along in a minute."
    • 1977-1980, Lou Sullivan, personal diary, quoted in 2019, Ellis Martin, Zach Ozma (editors), We Both Laughed In Pleasure
      Yesterday morn at 6:30 they rousted me up & gave me 2 shots in the behind.
  2. (transitive, informal) To harass, to treat in a rough way.
    • 1962, 00:28:45 from the start, in Cape Fear:
      My client is an ex-convict. He's been constantly harassed by the police... subjected to extreme mental cruelty and public degradation. He's even been denied an adequate place to live! To be very blunt, gentlemen, my client has been thoroughly rousted.
  3. (transitive, slang) to arrest
  4. (transitive) to drive strongly (Can we add an example for this sense?)

Synonyms

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Translations

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Noun

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roust (plural rousts)

  1. A strong tide or current, especially in a narrow channel.
    • 1786, Thomas Gifford, An Historical Description of the Zetland Islands:
      At the north , point of this island , called Ska , goes a very rapid current ; like the Roust of Sumburghead

Synonyms

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References

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  1. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “roust”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Anagrams

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Middle English

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Noun

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roust

  1. Alternative form of rust
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