rook
EnglishEdit
PronunciationEdit
- IPA(key): /ɹʊk/
- (sometimes in Northern England; otherwise obsolete) IPA(key): /ɹuːk/[1]
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ʊk
Etymology 1Edit
- From Middle English rok, roke, from Old English hrōc, from Proto-West Germanic *hrōk, from Proto-Germanic *hrōkaz (compare Old Norse hrókr, Saterland Frisian Rouk, Dutch roek, obsolete German Ruch), from Proto-Indo-European *kerk- (“crow, raven”) (compare Old Irish cerc (“hen”), Old Prussian kerko (“loon, diver”), dialectal Bulgarian кро́кон (krókon, “raven”), Ancient Greek κόραξ (kórax, “crow”), Old Armenian ագռաւ (agṙaw), Avestan 𐬐𐬀𐬵𐬭𐬐𐬀𐬙𐬀𐬝 (kahrkatat̰, “rooster”), Sanskrit कृकर (kṛkara, “rooster”)), Ukrainian крук (kruk, “raven”).
- (parson): Probably from the resemblance in plumage to a parson's garments.
NounEdit
rook (countable and uncountable, plural rooks)
- A European bird, Corvus frugilegus, of the crow family.
- 1768, Thomas Pennant, British Zoology, 168:
- But what distinguishes the rook from the crow is the bill; the nostrils, chin, and sides of that and the mouth being in old birds white and bared of feathers, by often thrusting the bill into the ground in search of the erucæ of the Dor-beetle*; the rook then, instead of being proscribed, should be treated as the farmer's friend; as it clears his ground from caterpillars, that do incredible damage by eating the roots of the corn.
- 1768, Thomas Pennant, British Zoology, 168:
- A cheat or swindler; someone who betrays.
- Synonyms: see Thesaurus:deceiver, Thesaurus:fraudster
- 7 April 1705, William Wycherley, Letter to Alexander Pope in The Works of Alexander Pope 36:
- So I am (like an old rook, who is ruined by gaming) forced to live on the good fortune of the pushing young men, whose fancies are so vigorous that they ensure their success in their adventures with Muses, by their strength and imagination.
- A bad deal; a rip-off.
- (Britain) A type of firecracker used by farmers to scare birds of the same name.
- (uncountable) A trick-taking game, usually played with a specialized deck of cards.
- 2007, Malcolm Bull and Keith Lockhart, Seeking a Sanctuary: Seventh-day Adventism and the American Dream, 174:
- Adventists still do not really know how to play cards, apart from the sanitized version of bridge, Rook.
- 2007, Malcolm Bull and Keith Lockhart, Seeking a Sanctuary: Seventh-day Adventism and the American Dream, 174:
- (slang, archaic) A parson.
Derived termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
bird
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swindler
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card game
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See alsoEdit
VerbEdit
rook (third-person singular simple present rooks, present participle rooking, simple past and past participle rooked)
- (transitive) To cheat or swindle.
- 1974, GB Edwards, The Book of Ebenezer Le Page, New York 2007, p. 311:
- Some had spent a week in Jersey before coming to Guernsey; and, from what Paddy had heard, they really do know how to rook the visitors over there.
- 1974, GB Edwards, The Book of Ebenezer Le Page, New York 2007, p. 311:
SynonymsEdit
HyponymsEdit
- (cheat): Greek (at cards)
TranslationsEdit
cheat, swindle
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Etymology 2Edit
From Middle English rook, roke, rok, from Old French roc, ultimately from Persian رخ (rox), from Middle Persian lhw' (rox, “rook, castle (chess)”). Compare roc.
NounEdit
rook (plural rooks)
- (chess) A piece shaped like a castle tower, that can be moved only up, down, left or right (but not diagonally) or in castling.
- (rare) A castle or other fortification.
SynonymsEdit
TranslationsEdit
chesspiece
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fortification
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
See alsoEdit
| Chess pieces in English · chess pieces, chessmen (see also: chess) (layout · text) | |||||
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| king | queen | rook, castle | bishop | knight | pawn |
Etymology 3Edit
From rookie.
NounEdit
rook (plural rooks)
Etymology 4Edit
From Middle English roke, rock, rok (“mist; vapour; drizzle; smoke; fumes”), from Old Norse *rauk, related to Icelandic rok, roka (“whirlwind; seafoam; seaspray”), Middle Dutch rooc, rok, Modern Dutch rook (“smoke; fog”).
NounEdit
rook (uncountable)
Etymology 5Edit
VerbEdit
rook (third-person singular simple present rooks, present participle rooking, simple past and past participle rooked)
- (obsolete) To squat; to ruck.
- c. 1591–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene vi]:
- The raven rook'd her on the chimney's top
Etymology 6Edit
VerbEdit
rook (third-person singular simple present rooks, present participle rooking, simple past and past participle rooked)
- Pronunciation spelling of look. (mimicking Asian speech)
ReferencesEdit
- ^ “Rook” in John Walker, A Critical Pronouncing Dictionary […] , London: Sold by G. G. J. and J. Robinſon, Paternoſter Row; and T. Cadell, in the Strand, 1791, →OCLC, page 439, column 3.
AnagramsEdit
AfrikaansEdit
PronunciationEdit
Etymology 1Edit
From Dutch rook (“smoke”), from Middle Dutch rôoc, from Old Dutch *rōk, from Proto-Germanic *raukiz.
NounEdit
rook (uncountable)
Derived termsEdit
Etymology 2Edit
From Dutch roken (“to smoke”).
VerbEdit
rook (present rook, present participle rokende, past participle gerook)
- (intransitive, transitive) to smoke (a tobacco product or surrogate)
DutchEdit
PronunciationEdit
Etymology 1Edit
From Middle Dutch rôoc, from Old Dutch *rōk, from Proto-Germanic *raukiz.
NounEdit
rook m (uncountable)
Derived termsEdit
DescendantsEdit
Etymology 2Edit
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
VerbEdit
rook
VerbEdit
rook