rubi

Noun

ruby (countable and uncountable, plural rubies)

1. A clear, deep, red variety of corundum, valued as a precious stone.
   • They respond instantly to the faintest rustling in the covert of a sheaf of Ulysses S. Grants, or the homely, rustic tinkle of a wheelbarrow full of rubies being jounced along over a nightclub floor.1957, The Monthly Record, volume 61, page 22
2. A deep red colour.
   • When now I thinke you can behold such sights, / And keepe the naturall Rubie of your Cheekes, / When mine is blanch'd with feare.c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
3. The tincture red or gules.
   • Elgin. Topaz a Saltier and Chief Ruby, on a Canton Pearl a Lyon Rampant Saphyr, which last is their paternal Coat; and the Field Topaz, and Saltier, and Chief Ruby, was the Arms of King Robert the Bruce, they altering the Field from Pearl (as he bore it) to Topaz.1720, Francis Nichols, Rudiments of Honour, page 296
4. A ruby hummer, a South American hummingbird, Clytolaema rubricauda.
5. A red bird-of-paradise, Paradisaea rubra.
6. (UK, dated, uncountable) The size of type between pearl and nonpareil, standardized as 5½-point.

   Synonyms:

   agate

See all 21 meanings of ruby