Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Rue \Rue\, n. [F. rue, L. ruta, akin to Gr. ?; cf. AS. r?de.]
   1. (Bot.) A perennial suffrutescent plant ({Ruta
      graveolens}), having a strong, heavy odor and a bitter
      taste; herb of grace. It is used in medicine.

            Then purged with euphrasy and rue The visual nerve,
            for he had much to see.               --Milton.

            They [the exorcists] are to try the devil by holy
            water, incense, sulphur, rue, which from thence, as
            we suppose, came to be called herb of grace. --Jer.
                                                  Taylor.

   2. Fig.: Bitterness; disappointment; grief; regret.

   {Goat's rue}. See under {Goat}.

   {Rue anemone}, a pretty springtime flower ({Thalictrum
      anemonides}) common in the United States.

   {Wall rue}, a little fern ({Asplenium Ruta-muraria}) common
      on walls in Europe.

Goat \Goat\, n. [OE goot, got, gat, AS. g[=a]t; akin to D. geit,
   OHG. geiz, G. geiss, Icel. geit, Sw. get, Dan. ged, Goth.
   gaits, L. haedus a young goat, kid.] (Zo["o]l.)
   A hollow-horned ruminant of the genus {Capra}, of several
   species and varieties, esp. the domestic goat ({C. hircus}),
   which is raised for its milk, flesh, and skin.

   Note: The Cashmere and Angora varieties of the goat have
         long, silky hair, used in the manufacture of textile
         fabrics. The wild or bezoar goat ({Capra [ae]gagrus}),
         of Asia Minor, noted for the bezoar stones found in its
         stomach, is supposed to be one of the ancestral species
         ofthe domestic goat. The Rocky Montain goat
         ({Haplocercus montanus}) is more nearly related to the
         antelopes. See {Mazame}.

   {Goat antelope} (Zo["o]l), one of several species of
      antelopes, which in some respects resemble a goat, having
      recurved horns, a stout body, large hoofs, and a short,
      flat tail, as the goral, thar, mazame, and chikara.

   {Goat fig} (Bot.), the wild fig.

   {Goat house}.
   (a) A place for keeping goats.
   (b) A brothel. [Obs.]

   {Goat moth} (Zo["o]l.), any moth of the genus {Cossus}, esp.
      the large European species ({C. ligniperda}), the larva of
      which burrows in oak and willow trees, and requires three
      years to mature. It exhales an odor like that of the
      he-goat.

   {Goat weed} (Bot.), a scrophulariaceous plant, of the genus
      {Capraria} ({C. biflora}).

   {Goat's bane} (Bot.), a poisonous plant ({Aconitum
      Lucoctonum}), bearing pale yellow flowers, introduced from
      Switzerland into England; wolfsbane.

   {Goat's beard} (Bot.), a plant of the genus {Tragopogon}; --
      so named from the long silky beard of the seeds. One
      species is the salsify or oyster plant.

   {Goat's foot} (Bot.), a kind of wood sorrel ({Oxalis
      caprina}) growing at the Cape of Good Hope.

   {Goat's rue} (Bot.), a leguminous plant ({Galega officinalis}
      of Europe, or {Tephrosia Virginiana} in the United
      States).

   {Goat's thorn} (Bot.), a thorny leguminous plant ({Astragalus
      Tragacanthus}), found in the Levant.

   {Goat's wheat} (Bot.), the genus {Tragopyrum} (now referred
      to {Atraphaxis}).

Source : WordNet®

goat's rue
     n 1: perennial subshrub of eastern North America having downy
          leaves yellowish and rose flowers and; source of
          rotenone [syn: {catgut}, {wild sweet pea}, {Tephrosia
          virginiana}]
     2: tall bushy European perennial grown for its masses of
        light-textured pinnate foliage and slender spikes of blue
        flowers; sometimes used medicinally [syn: {goat rue}, {Galega
        officinalis}]