Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

rop.

Noun.

(Anc. geog.)

A small river which separated Italy from Cisalpine Gaul, the province alloted to

Julius Caesar

☞ By leading an army across this river, contrary to the prohibition of the civil government at Rome,

Caesar

precipitated the civil war which resulted in the death of P

ompey

and the overthrow of the senate; hence, the phrase

to pass the Rubicon

cross the Rubicon

signifies to take the decisive step by which one is committed to a hazardous enterprise from which there is no retreat.

See also: rubicon

Rubicon

An ancient Latin name for a small river in northern Italy which flows into the Adriatic Sea. It marked the boundary between the Roman province of Gaul and the Roman heartland. Its crossing by Julius Caesar in 49 BC began a civil war.

See also: Rubicon

rubicon ‎(plural rubicons)