Either plural of rush—the aquatic plant with long, thin leaves, or sudden bursts of activity, hurrying, or fast movements.
From Old English 'risce,' related to Old Norse 'roskr,' referring to the wetland plant. The sense of 'hurrying' comes from the fast motion of moving quickly.
Ancient Romans and Egyptians wove rush plants into mats and chair seats, and the cattail (a type of rush) is edible—Native Americans used it as a food source for thousands of years, showing that what we might see as weeds were actually valuable resources.
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