Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Ruth

Ruth (ruth) , noun

[From Rue, v.: compare Icelandic hrygge, hryge.]

1.
Sorrow for the misery of another; pity; tenderness. [Poetic]
They weep for ruth. — Chaucer
Have ruth of the poor. — Piers Plowman
To stir up gentle ruth, Both for her noble blood, and for her tender youth. — Spenser
2.
That which causes pity or compassion; misery; distress; a pitiful sight. [Obsolete]
It had been hard this ruth for to see. — Chaucer
With wretched miseries and woeful ruth. — Spenser