ENGLISH
REFERENCE

rubicon

n.
US //ˈɹubɪkɔn// ru·bi·con Archaic
Origin

From Latin Rubicō, Rubicōn (“the Rubicon”), possibly from rubeus (“red, reddish”), from rubeō (“to be red”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rewdʰ- (“red”), an allusion to the colour of the river caused by mud deposits.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Idioms1 entry

Last updated April 21, 2026