From Middle English ruddy, rody, rudi, from Old English rudiġ, from rudu ("redness"), equivalent to rud + -y.

The British slang sense expressing irritation is presumably a euphemism for bloody.

• (British, America) IPA: /ˈɹʌdi/

ruddy (comparative ruddier, superlative ruddiest)

1. Reddish in color, especially of the face, fire, or sky.
2. (British, Australian, slang, not comparable) A mild intensifier, expressing irritation.
   • 1960, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, “XVIII AND XX”, in Jeeves in the Offing, London: Herbert Jenkins, →OCLC ↗:

     “Of all the damn silly fatheaded things!” she vociferated, if that's the word. “With a million ruddy names to choose from, these ruddy Creams call one ruddy son Wilbert and the other ruddy son Wilfred, and both these ruddy sons are known as Willie. Just going out of their way to mislead the innocent bystander. You'd think people would have more consideration.”

   • 2017, David Walliams [pseudonym; David Edward Williams], Bad Dad, London: HarperCollins Children's Books, →ISBN:

     If he moved a muscle, they would both be in DEEP TROUBLE.
     “It must have been a bird, Mr Big,” said Dad.
     “Ruddy big bird,” muttered the little man. “Now we have to get out of here before the fuzz start sniffing around. Fingers, get the Rolls resprayed and change the number plates in case they trace it.”
     “Yes, guv’nor.”

• (reddish in color) rosy
• (intensifier) bally, bleeding, blimming, bloody, blooming
• See also Thesaurus:damned

• French: rougeâtre
• German: rot, rötlich
• Italian: rubicondo
• Portuguese: avermelhado
• Russian: краснова́тый
• Spanish: rubicundo

• German: verdammt, verflixt
• Russian: чёртов

ruddy (not comparable)

1. (British, slang) A mild intensifier, expressing irritation.
   • 2009 October 29, David Walliams [pseudonym; David Edward Williams], Mr Stink, London: HarperCollins Children's Books, →ISBN:

     “So, you made quite a splash on Question Time, my homeless pal,” he continued. “Ruddy hilarious. Ha ha ha!”

ruddy (plural ruddies)

1. (informal) A ruddy duck.
2. (informal) A ruddy ground dove.
   • 1994, Birding, page 298:

     Understandably, birders in the U.S. are advised to carefully distinguish Ruddies from the usually more-expected Common Ground-Doves [...]. (Brightly-colored, pinkish adult male Common Ground-Doves have been misidentified as male Ruddies on several occasions, however.) Unless the fortunate birder happens upon a Ruddy Ground-Dove amongst a flock of sparrows, it will often be necessary to sort through innumerable Inca Doves.

   • 2005, Richard Cachor Taylor, A Birder's Guide to Southeastern Arizona, page 237:

     Common Ground-Dove — Fairly common permanent resident of better-watered valleys at lower elevations. Avoids town [...] Ironically, Ruddies often ignore the little flocks of closely related Commons, and choose to associate with Inca Doves.

ruddy (ruddies, present participle ruddying; simple past and past participle ruddied)

1. (transitive) To make reddish in colour.

   The sunset ruddied our faces.

   • 1805, Walter Scott, “(please specify the page)”, in The Lay of the Last Minstrel: A Poem, London: […] [James Ballantyne] for Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, […], and A[rchibald] Constable and Co., […], →OCLC ↗:

     It ruddied all the copse-wood glen

1. Surname.