Roughe

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Having an uneven, coarse surface that is not smooth to the touch ; harsh, violent or unrefined in manner or behavior
2. Describing something with a jagged, irregular texture that is not even ; characterized by rudeness, harshness or a lack of polish
3. Not level or even on the surface, feeling coarse under the hand ; acting in a brutal or severe way toward others ; lacking precision, so only roughly accurate

Etymology: "Roughe" is a Middle English spelling of "rough," with a final "e" that was once a grammatical ending and was still written in Chaucer's time. The root goes back to Old English "rūh," which meant "shaggy" or "hairy," as in the coat of an animal, before it came to describe uneven surfaces. That older sense survives in German "rauh," which still means "rough" and shares the same Germanic ancestor.