33 Long U Sounds in Famous Literary Works

Have you ever noticed how certain words in literature resonate more deeply?

Long U sounds often create this effect, adding depth and musicality to prose and poetry.

Many readers overlook these subtle linguistic choices, missing out on a richer literary experience.

In this article, we’ll explore 33 examples of long U sounds in famous works, revealing how authors use this technique to enhance their writing.

You’ll discover these words’ origins, meanings, and impactful excerpts, gaining a new appreciation for the artistry behind great literature.

List of Long U Sounds in Literary Works

1. Brute

Origin: From the Latin “brutus,” meaning heavy, stupid, or unreasoning.
Meaning: A savagely violent person or animal.
Excerpts: “Et tu, Brute?” – William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar

2. Plume

Origin: From the Latin “pluma,” meaning feather.
Meaning: A feather or a large, showy feather used as decoration.
Excerpts: “Quoth the Raven, ‘Nevermore.'” – Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven

3. Rude

Origin: From the Latin “rudis,” meaning rough or unformed.
Meaning: Offensively impolite or ill-mannered.
Excerpts: “Oliver was badged and ticketed, and fell into his place at once – a parish child – the orphan of a workhouse – the humble, half-starved drudge – to be cuffed and buffeted through the world – despised by all, and pitied by none.” – Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist

4. Crude

Origin: From the Latin “crudus,” meaning raw or unripe.
Meaning: In a natural or raw state; not processed or refined.
Excerpts: “The land is so much more than its analysis.” – John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath

5. Prude

Origin: From French, “prude” means excessively proper or modest.
Meaning: A person who is excessively or priggishly proper or modest in speech, conduct, dress, etc.
Excerpts: “The only way to behave to a woman is to make love to her, if she is pretty, and to someone else, if she is plain.” – Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest

6. Allude

Origin: From Latin “alludere” meaning to play with or refer to.
Meaning: To refer to something indirectly or by suggestion.
Excerpts: “These fragments I have shored against my ruins” – T.S. Eliot, The Waste Land

7. Lucid

Origin: From the Latin “lucidus,” meaning bright or clear.
Meaning: Easily understood; completely intelligible or comprehensible.
Excerpts: “She had a perpetual sense, as she watched the taxi cabs, of being out, out, far out to sea and alone; she always had the feeling that it was very, very dangerous to live even one day.” – Virginia Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway

8. Fume

Origin: From the Latin “fumus,” meaning smoke.
Meaning: To emit smoke or vapor.
Excerpts: “His voice rose under the black smoke before the burning wreckage of the island; and infected by that emotion, the other little boys began to shake and sob too.” – William Golding, Lord of the Flies

9. Shrewd

Origin: From Middle English, “shrewd” means to curse.
Meaning: Astute or sharp in practical matters.
Excerpts: “For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbors, and laugh at them in our turn?” – Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

10. Deuce

Origin: From Old French “deus” meaning two.
Meaning: A card or die with two spots.
Excerpts: “‘And who are THESE?’ said the Queen, pointing to the three gardeners who were lying round the rosetree; for, you see, as they were lying on their faces, and the pattern on their backs was the same as the rest of the pack, she could not tell whether they were gardeners, or soldiers, or courtiers, or three of her own children.” – Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

11. Muse

Origin: From Greek, “mousa” refers to any of the nine sister goddesses in Greek mythology presiding over song, poetry, and the arts and sciences.
Meaning: To think or meditate in silence.
Excerpts: “Sing in me, Muse, and through me tell the story of that man skilled in all ways of contending, the wanderer, harried for years on end” – Homer, The Odyssey (translated by Robert Fitzgerald)

12. Lute

Origin: From Arabic “al-‘ud” meaning the wood.
Meaning: A stringed musical instrument with a long neck and a pear-shaped body.
Excerpts: “If music be the food of love, play on; Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting, The appetite may sicken, and so die.” – William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night

13. Flute

Origin: From Old French “flaute.”
Meaning: A musical wind instrument consisting of a tube with fingerholes or keys.
Excerpts: “The flute of the Infinite is played without ceasing, and its sound is love” – Kabir, as translated by Rabindranath Tagore

14. Ruse

Origin: From Old French, “reuser” means to dodge or retreat.
Meaning: A trick, stratagem, or artifice.
Excerpts: “All warfare is based on deception.” – Sun Tzu, The Art of War

15. Dune

Origin: From Middle Dutch “dūne” meaning sand hill.
Meaning: A ridge or hill of sand created by the wind, typically on the sea coast or in a desert.
Excerpts: “I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer.” – Frank Herbert, Dune.

16. Mute

Origin: From the Latin “mutus,” meaning silent.
Meaning: Silent; not speaking.
Excerpts: “I have been a multitude of shapes, Before I assumed a consistent form.” – from “The Battle of the Trees” in The Book of Taliesin

17. June

Origin: From the Latin “Junius,” named after the Roman goddess Juno.
Meaning: The sixth month of the year in the Gregorian calendar.
Excerpts: “And what is so rare as a day in June? Then, if ever, come perfect days;” – James Russell Lowell, The Vision of Sir Launfal.

18. Tune

Origin: From Old French “ton,” meaning tone or melody.
Meaning: A melody, especially a simple and easily remembered one.
Excerpts: “Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard Are sweeter;” – John Keats, Ode on a Grecian Urn

19. Prune

Origin: From Old French, “proignier” means trim.
Meaning: To trim by cutting away dead or overgrown branches or stems.
Excerpts: “A man should learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within,” – Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance

20. Plume

Origin: From the Latin “pluma,” meaning feather.
Meaning: A feather or group of feathers.
Excerpts: “Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul,” – Emily Dickinson, “Hope” is the thing with feathers

21. Lude

Origin: From the Latin “ludere,” meaning to play.
Meaning: To play or mock (often used in words like “elude” or “allude”).
Excerpts: “Life is a game, boy. Life is a game one plays according to the rules.” – J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye.

22. Lure

Origin: From Old French “loirre” meaning bait or decoy.
Meaning: Something that tempts or attracts with the promise of pleasure or reward.
Excerpts: “Beauty is nature’s brag, and must be shown In courts, at feasts, and high solemnities,” – John Milton, Comus

23. Flume

Origin: From Old French, “flum” means river.
Meaning: An artificial channel for conducting water.
Excerpts: “The river was cut by the world’s great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time.” – Norman Maclean, A River Runs Through It

24. Fuse

Origin: From Latin, “fusus” means spindle.
Meaning: To join or blend to form a single entity.
Excerpts: “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by,” – Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken

25. Nude

Origin: From the Latin “nudus,” meaning naked.
Meaning: Wearing no clothes; naked.
Excerpts: “To be naked is to be deprived of our clothes, and the word implies some of the embarrassment most of us feel in that condition.” – C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves

26. Cube

Origin: The Latin “cubus” means a solid square figure.
Meaning: A symmetrical three-dimensional shape with six square or rectangular sides.
Excerpts: “To see a World in a Grain of Sand And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,” – William Blake, Auguries of Innocence

27. Dude

Origin: American English, possibly from the German “Dude,” meaning fool.
Meaning: A man; a guy (informal).
Excerpts: “The Dude abides.” – Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, The Big Lebowski

28. Rude

Origin: From the Latin “rudis,” meaning rough or unformed.
Meaning: Offensively impolite or ill-mannered.
Excerpts: “Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have that awareness, you have good manners, no matter what fork you use.” – Emily Post.

29. Feud

Origin: From Old High German “fehida” meaning enmity.
Meaning: A bitter, long-lasting argument or disagreement.
Excerpts: “Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,” – William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

30. Crude

Origin: From the Latin “crudus,” meaning raw.
Meaning: In a natural or raw state; not processed or refined.
Excerpts: “All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost;” – J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

31. Tube

Origin: From the Latin “tubus,” meaning pipe.
Meaning: A long, hollow cylinder for holding or transporting something.
Excerpts: “It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.” – George Orwell, 1984

32. Mule

Origin: From the Latin “mulus,” meaning mule.
Meaning: The offspring of a male donkey and a female horse.
Excerpts: “He was an old man who fished alone in a skiff in the Gulf Stream and he had gone eighty-four days now without taking a fish.” – Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea

33. Puke

Origin: Likely from the German “spucken,” meaning to spit.
Meaning: To vomit.
Excerpts: “I will not eat oysters. I want my food dead. Not sick, not wounded, dead.” – Woody Allen

Summing Up

As we conclude our exploration of long U sounds in literature, we’ve uncovered the subtle power these words hold in shaping memorable prose and poetry.

From Shakespeare’s “brute” to Wilde’s “prude,” these 33 examples demonstrate how skilled authors harness language to create depth and resonance in their work.

Understanding these words’ origins, meanings, and contexts can help us gain a deeper appreciation for the craft of writing.

Next time you encounter a long U sound in your reading, pause to consider its impact on the overall tone and rhythm of the piece.

How might it enhance the author’s message or evoke a specific emotion?

In the comments below, we invite you to share your favorite examples of long U sounds in literature.

Let’s continue to celebrate the artistry of language together.