different between gaul vs rubicon

Icelandic

Etymology

Back-formation from gaula (“to bellow”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /køy?l/
• Rhymes: -øy?l

Noun

gaul n (genitive singular gauls, no plural)

1. bellowing, howling

Declension

English

Etymology

The noun is derived from the phrase cross the Rubicon (“to make an irreversible decision or to take an action with consequences”). Julius Caesar’s crossing of the Rubicon, a small river in northeastern Italy, on 10 January 49 B.C.E., indicated his intention to start a civil war with Pompey. Rubicon is derived from Latin Rubic?, Rubic?n (“the Rubicon”), possibly from rubeus (“red, reddish”), from rube? (“to be red”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h?rewd?- (“red”), an allusion to the colour of the river caused by mud deposits.

The verb is derived from the noun.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /??u?b?k?n/, /-k(?)n/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /??ub??k?n/
• Hyphenation: ru?bi?con

Noun

rubicon (plural rubicons)

1. A limit that when surpassed cannot be returned from, or an action that when taken cannot be reversed.

   Synonym: point of no return
2. (card games) Especially in bezique and piquet: a score which, if not achieved by a losing player, increases the player's penalty.

Alternative forms

• Rubicon

Related terms

• cross the Rubicon

Translations

Verb

rubicon (third-person singular simple present rubicons, present participle rubiconing, simple past and past participle rubiconed)

1. (transitive, card games) Especially in bezique and piquet: to defeat a player who has not achieved the rubicon.

Translations

References

Further reading

• Rubicon on Wikipedia.Wikipedia