ruelle

noun

ru·​elle

(ˈ)rü¦el

plural -s

1

archaic : the space between a bed and the wall

2

: a morning reception held in their bedrooms by fashionable French ladies of the 17th and 18th centuries

3

: a narrow street or alley

the smaller ruelles were in pitch-darkness

—Donald Stokes

Word History

Etymology

Middle English ruel, from Middle French ruele, literally, alley, diminutive of rue street, from Latin ruga wrinkle, fold

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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