Rough

(rŭf), a. [compar. ROUGHER; superl. ROUGHEST.] [A-S. hreóh, hreóg, hreów, reów, rûh, rûg, rûw, L. Ger. rug, ruwe, rowe, D. ruig, ruw, O. H. Ger. rûh, N. H. Ger. rauh, rauch, Dan. ruu, ru, O. Eng. row, rowe.]

1Sense 1. Having inequalities, small ridges, or points on the surface; not smooth or plain; as, a rough board; a rough stone; rough cloth; hence, (a.) Not level; uneven;—said of a piece of land, or of a road.

The fiend, O’er bog or steep, through strait, rough, dense, or rare, Pursues his way. Milton.

(b.) Not polished; uncut;—said of a gem; as, a rough diamond. (c.) Tossed in waves; boisterous; high;—said of a sea or other piece of water. “More unequal than the roughest sea.” Burnet. (d.) Marked by coarseness; shaggy; ragged; disordered;—said of dress, appearance, and the like; as, a rough coat. “A visage rough.” Dryden. “Rough satyrs.” Milton.

2Sense 2. Hence, figuratively, lacking refinement, gentleness, or polish; as, (a.) Not courteous or kind; rude; uncivil;—said of temper, manners, and the like. “A fiend, a fury, pitiless and rough.” Shak. “A surly boatman, rough as seas or winds.” Prior. (b.) Marked by severity or violence; harsh; hard;—said of measures, actions, or the like. “The rough edge of battle.” Milton. “A quicker and rougher remedy.” Clarendon.

Kind words prevent a good deal of that perverseness which rough and imperious usage often produces in generous minds. Locke.

(c.) Loud and hoarse; offensive to the ear; harsh;—said of sound, voice, and the like; as, a rough tone; rough numbers. Pope. (d.) Austere; harsh;—said of tastes; as, rough wine. (e.) Tempestuous; boisterous; stormy;—said of weather, wind, and the like.

He stayeth his rough wind in the day of the east wind. Is. xxvii. 8.

Time and the hour run through the roughest day. Shak.

In the rough, in an unwrought or rude condition, or in the original material. “Contemplating the people in the rough.” E. B. Browning.—Rough customer, a troublesome antagonist. [Colloq.]—Rough draught, a draught in its rudiments; a draught not perfected; a sketch.

(rŭf), n. 1. Boisterous or stormy weather. [Obs.] 2. A rude, coarse fellow; a swaggerer; a coarse bully.

(rŭf), v. t. 1. To render rough; to give a rough appearance to; to roughen. 2. To break in, as a horse, especially for military purposes. Crabb.

Roughing rollers, rollers for reducing, in a rough manner, a bloom of iron to bars.—To rough it, to have or pursue a rough or rugged course; to encounter and overcome difficulties or hardships.