Rush (?), n. [OE. rusche, rische, resche, AS. risce, akin to LG. rusk, risch, D. & G. rusch; all probably fr. L. ruscum butcher's broom; akin to Goth. raus reed, G. rohr.] 1. (Bot.) A name given to many aquatic or marsh-growing endogenous plants with soft, slender stems, as the species of Juncus and Scirpus.
☞ Some species are used in bottoming chairs and plaiting mats, and the pith is used in some places for wicks to lamps and rushlights.
2. The merest trifle; a straw.
John Bull's friendship is not worth a rush. Arbuthnot.
Bog rush. See under Bog. — Club rush, any rush of the genus Scirpus. — Flowering rush. See under Flowering. — Nut rush (a) Any plant of the genus Scleria, rushlike plants with hard nutlike fruits. (b) A name for several species of Cyperus having tuberous roots. — Rush broom, an Australian leguminous plant (Viminaria denudata), having long, slender branches. Also, the Spanish broom. See under Spanish. — Rush candle, See under Candle. — Rush grass, any grass of the genus Vilfa, grasses with wiry stems and one-flowered spikelets. — Rush toad(Zoöl.), the natterjack. — Scouring rush. (Bot.) Same as Dutch rush, under Dutch. — Spike rush, any rushlike plant of the genus Eleocharis, in which the flowers grow in dense spikes. — Sweet rush, a sweet-scented grass of Arabia, etc. (Andropogon schœnanthus), used in Oriental medical practice. — Wood rush, any plant of the genus Luzula, which differs in some technical characters from Juncus.