RUBICON
Rubicon, point of no return
(noun) a line that when crossed permits of no return and typically results in irrevocable commitment
Rubicon
(noun) the boundary in ancient times between Italy and Gaul; Caesar’s crossing it with his army in 49 BC was an act of war
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
rubicon (plural rubicons)
A limit that when surpassed cannot be returned from, or an action that when taken cannot be reversed.
Synonym: point of no return
(card games) Especially in bezique and piquet: a score which, if not achieved by a losing player, increases the player's penalty.
Verb
rubicon (third-person singular simple present rubicons, present participle rubiconing, simple past and past participle rubiconed)
(transitive, card games) Especially in bezique and piquet: to defeat a player who has not achieved the rubicon.
Etymology
Proper noun
Rubicon
(historical) A small river in northeastern Italy which flowed into the Adriatic Sea marking the boundary between the Roman province of Gaul and the Roman heartland. Its crossing by Julius Caesar in 49 B.C.E. began a civil war.
Noun
Rubicon (plural Rubicons)
Alternative letter-case form of rubicon (“a limit that when exceeded, or an action that when taken, cannot be reversed; especially in bezique and piquet: a score which, if not achieved by a losing player, increases the player's penalty”)
Source: Wiktionary
Ru"bi*con, n. (Anc. geog.)
Definition: A small river which separated Italy from Cisalpine Gaul, the
province alloted to Julius Cæsar.
Note: By leading an army across this river, contrary to the
prohibition of the civil government at Rome, Cæsar precipitated the
civil war which resulted in the death of Pompey and the overthrow of
the senate; hence, the phrase to pass or cross the Rubicon signifies
to take the decisive step by which one is committed to a hazardous
enterprise from which there is no retreat.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition