Quote:
Originally Posted by Eway  What is a "rude circle" as in:
"Graves, or rather pits—as the aborigines always bury their dead either erect or sitting down, and not extended—had been dug, the number of which described a rude circle"
"He leaned forward and breathed on the rude circle he had implied with his hands."
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The original meaning of 'rude' was simply 'crude, rough or unfinished', applied as a general adjective to anything. This general meaning has suffered in modern English at the expense of the derived specific meaning of 'rude (rough or crude) behaviour', which has come to imply 'offensive' behaviour.
So, a 'rude circle' is not a foul-mouthed geometrical object, but a 'rough' or 'approximate' circle.