Origin: 1790–1800; < F, n. use of ptp. of rouer to break on the wheel (deriv. of roue wheel ≪ L rota); name first applied to the profligate companions of the Duc d'Orléans (c1720)
[French, from past participle of rouer, to break on a wheel (from the feeling that such a person deserves that punishment), from Old French, from Latin rotāre, to rotate; see rotate.]