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49 results for: Rubicon

Dictionary Entries (6 more entries. View all »)
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)Cite This Source
Ru·bi·con    Audio Help   [roo-bi-kon] Pronunciation Key
–noun
1.a river in N Italy flowing E into the Adriatic. 15 mi. (24 km) long: in crossing this ancient boundary between Cisalpine Gaul and Italy, to march against Pompey in 49 b.c., Julius Caesar made a major military commitment.
—Idiom
2.cross or pass the Rubicon, to take a decisive, irrevocable step: Our entry into the war made us cross the Rubicon and abandon isolationism forever.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopedia Articles (41 more entries. View all »)
Columbia Electronic EncyclopediaCite This Source


Rubicon, Lat. Rubico, small stream that flows into the Adriatic and in Roman times marked the boundary between Cisalpine Gaul and ancient Italy. In 49 B.C., after some hesitation, Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon to march against Pompey in defiance of the senate's orders. He thus committed himself to conquer or to perish, and "to cross the Rubicon" now means to take an irrevocable step. 
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004, Columbia University Press.
Licensed from Columbia University Press




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