Word Origin Atlas

Exact historical dictionary sense

Rule in Webster's 1913 dictionary

The 1913 record labels rule as verb. Its source-bounded etymology and selected historical definition appear below.

WEBSTER 1913verb
Rule

[Cf. OF. riuler, ruiler, L. regulare. See Rule, n., and cf. Regulate.]

Cross-verified historical sense
The source text may be outdated. The page preserves that historical boundary.
Cross-verified 1913 record
Headwordrule
Part of speechverb
Historical etymology[Cf. OF. riuler, ruiler, L. regulare. See Rule, n., and cf. Regulate.]
Selected historical definitionTo control the will and actions of; to exercise authority or dominion over; to govern; to manage.
Signed record IDwebster1913-rule-verb-c22082f6f58e
Source locatorCIDE.R, paragraph 10799; Gutenberg eBook 667
Edition-scoped answerNot earliest-attestation proofNot modern consensus
Independent historical textProject Gutenberg section 667Signed structural record sourceGNU GCIDE 0.54 archive
Quick answer

In Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), "rule" is labeled verb. Its etymology is recorded as: "[Cf. OF. riuler, ruiler, L. regulare. See Rule, n., and cf. Regulate.]" The selected historical definition says: "To control the will and actions of; to exercise authority or dominion over; to govern; to manage."

Project Gutenberg Webster 1913 plus signed GNU GCIDE 0.54 Exact cross-verified historical record reviewed 2026-10-04

What this answer proves

One named sense in one historical dictionary edition.

The answer reports the selected headword, part of speech, etymology, definition, and source locator as transcribed in the cross-verified 1913 record.

Evidence boundaryIt does not establish the earliest attestation or a complete borrowing chain.It does not claim current scholarly consensus or a modern dictionary definition.Historical dictionary text may be obsolete, incomplete, inaccurate, or offensive by modern standards.

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