ancient province of south central France, corresponding to much of the modern départements of Aveyron and Tarn-et-Garonne. It was bounded on the north by Auvergne, on the south and southwest by Languedoc, on the east by Gévaudan and the Cévennes mountains, and on the west by Quercy. It derived its name from the Gallic tribe of Rutheni. Administratively it formed first a sénéchaussée, dependent on Languedoc (capital Villefranche), and later it was attached to the military governments of Guyenne and Gascony. It disappeared as a separate entity when départements were established in the French Revolution (1790).