ruina

Ruina is a noun found in several languages that denotes ruin, decay, or collapse. It traces to Latin ruina, from ruere, meaning to rush or fall, and entered the Romance languages with senses tied to destruction, the remains of structures, or the downfall of fortunes and empires. In general use, ruina can refer to physical ruins, financial ruin, or moral decline, and it may appear in both descriptive and idiomatic contexts.

In Spanish, ruina commonly means ruin or wreck and can describe the remains of a building or a ruinous site, as well as a bankrupt condition. It appears in phrases such as caer en la ruina or estar en ruinas, and the plural ruinas is used for archaeological or historical sites.

In Portuguese, ruína (with an accent) covers similar meanings: ruin, collapse, or a financially ruinous situation. The expression ficar na ruína means to end up ruined financially, and ruínas denotes ruins or ruins sites.

In other languages, the standard term for ruin varies. In Italian, rovina is the common word for ruin, while ruina may occur in historical, legal, or regional usages. In English, ruina is uncommon and generally replaced by ruin, though the form may appear in linguistic discussions or as a loanword in specialized texts.

Culturally, the concept of ruina is used in literature, history, and archaeology to describe the physical remains of once-dominant structures, the decay of cities or civilizations, and the broader idea of decline. The term emphasizes both tangible remnants and metaphorical downfall, reflecting the enduring human interest in decline and recovery.