rough

Reading level: medium

Estimated CEFR level: B1 — Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun the part of a golf course bordering the fairway where the grass is not cut short
  2. verb prepare in preliminary or sketchy form
  3. adjective having or caused by an irregular surface

Etymology

From Middle English rough, roughe, roȝe, row, rou, ru, ruȝ, ruh, from Old English rūg, rūh, from Proto-Germanic *rūhaz. Cognate with Scots ruch, rouch (“rough”), Saterland Frisian ruuch, rouch (“rough”), West Frisian rûch (“rough”), Low German ruuch (“rough”), Dutch ruig (“rough”), German rau(h) (“rough”), Danish ru (“uneven on the surface, "rough", "rugged"”).

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