road
English
Alternative forms
- rade (obsolete)
Etymology
From Middle English rode, rade (“ride, journey”), from Old English rād (“riding, hostile incursion”), from Proto-West Germanic *raidu, from Proto-Germanic *raidō (“a ride”), from Proto-Indo-European *reydʰ- (“to ride”). Doublet of raid, acquired from Scots, and West Frisian reed (paved trail/road, driveway).
The current primary meaning of "street, way for traveling" originated relatively late—Shakespeare seemed to expect his audiences to find it unfamiliar—and probably arose through reinterpetation of roadway "a way for riding on" as saying "way" twice, in other words as a tautological compound.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) enPR: rōd, IPA(key): /ɹəʊd/
- (General American) enPR: rōd, IPA(key): /ɹoʊd/
Audio (UK) (file) Audio (London) (file) Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -əʊd
- Homophones: Rhode, rode, rowed
Noun
road (plural roads)
- A way used for travelling between places, originally one wide enough to allow foot passengers and horses to travel, now (US) usually one surfaced with asphalt or concrete and designed to accommodate many vehicles travelling in both directions. In the UK both senses are heard: a country road is the same as a country lane. [from 16th c.]
- 1852, Mrs M.A. Thompson, “The Tutor's Daughter”, in Graham's American Monthly Magazine of Literature, Art, and Fashion, page 266:
- In the lightness of my heart I sang catches of songs as my horse gayly bore me along the well-remembered road.
- 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 1, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:
- I stumbled along through the young pines and huckleberry bushes. Pretty soon I struck into a sort of path that, I cal'lated, might lead to the road I was hunting for.
-
- (uncountable) Roads in general as a means of travel, especially by motor vehicle.
- We travelled to the seaside by road.
- A way or route.
- the road to happiness; the road to success.
- 1855 December – 1857 June, Charles Dickens, Little Dorrit, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1857, OCLC 83401042:
- He stirred up his hair with his sprightliest expression, glanced at the little figure again, said ‘Good evening, ma ‘am; don’t come down, Mrs Affery, I know the road to the door,’ and steamed out.
- 1930, Norman Lindsay, Redheap, Sydney: Ure Smith, published 1965, page 131:
- Hetty and Mrs. Piper watched them with a lynx-eyed understanding and before the ancient was well upon his road his way was blocked by Hetty.
- (figuratively) A path chosen in life or career. [from 17th c.]
- 1964, Ronald Reagan: A Time for Choosing
- Where, then, is the road to peace?
- 2012 September 7, Phil McNulty, BBC Sport:
- Hodgson may actually feel England could have scored even more but this was the perfect first step on the road to Rio in 2014 and the ideal platform for the second qualifier against Ukraine at Wembley on Tuesday.
- 1964, Ronald Reagan: A Time for Choosing
- An underground tunnel in a mine. [from 18th c.]
- (US, rail transport) A railway or (UK, rail transport) a single railway track. [from 19th c.]
- 1959 November, “L.T. and E.R. developments in East London”, in Trains Illustrated, page 527:
- The new depot, on which work started in May, 1956, has three reception roads leading to 13 sidings capable of taking 25 trains, a 450 ft.-long car examination shed with nine roads, a lifting shop with two roads and three permanent way sidings.
-
- (obsolete) The act of riding on horseback. [9th–17th c.]
- (obsolete) A hostile ride against a particular area; a raid. [9th–19th c.]
- (nautical, often in the plural) A partly sheltered area of water near a shore in which vessels may ride at anchor; a roadstead. [from 14th c.]
- c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act V, scene i]:
- Antonio: Sweet lady, you have given me life and living; / For here I read for certain that my ships / Are safely come to road.
- 1630, John Smith, True Travels, in Kupperman 1988, page 38:
- There delivering their fraught, they went to Scandaroone; rather to view what ships was in the Roade, than any thing else […].
-
- (obsolete) A journey, or stage of a journey.
- 1613, William Shakespeare; [John Fletcher], “The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):
-
Usage notes
Often used interchangeably with street or other similar words. When usage is distinguished, a road is a route between settlements (reflecting the etymological relation with ride), as in the Great North Road from London to Edinburgh, while a street is a route within a settlement (city or town), strictly speaking, paved.
Hyponyms
- See also Thesaurus:road
Derived terms
Terms derived from road (noun)
- access road
- all roads lead to Rome
- A road, A-road
- back road
- Basque Roads
- Berkeley Road
- B road
- Builth Road
- bump in the road
- Burma Road
- burn up the road
- byroad
- cart road, cartroad
- Cemmaes Road
- Clarbeston Road
- corduroy road
- C road
- crossroad
- dirt road
- down the road
- end of the road
- E-road
- fork in the road
- frontage road
- get this show on the road
- Grampound Road
- granger road
- gravel road
- Great North Road
- Great Roads
- Hampton Roads
- Heads of the Valleys Road
- highroad, high road
- hit the road
- ice road
- iron road
- Lahaina Roads
- low road
- main road
- middle of the road, middle-of-the-road
- Milwaukee Road
- Morchard Road
- New Roads
- Nickel Plate Road
- nonroad
- offroad, off-road
- one for the road
- on the road
- open road
- pay-per-use road
- Persian Royal Road
- railroad
- ring road
- roadability
- road allowance
- road apple
- roadbase
- roadbed
- roadblock
- road bridge, roadbridge
- roadbuilding
- road case
- roader
- road export
- road fund licence
- road game
- road gang
- road hockey
- road hog, road-hog
- roadhouse
- road hump
- roadie
- roadkill
- roadless
- road less traveled
- road map
- road movie
- roadness
- road pricing
- road race
- road rage
- road-rail
- road rash
- road roller
- roadrunner
- roadshow
- roadside
- road sign
- roadstead
- roadster
- road switcher
- road to Damascus
- road train
- road trip
- road user
- road warrior
- roadway
- roadwork
- roadworks
- roadworthy
- rocky road
- Roman road
- royal road
- service road
- side road, sideroad
- Silk Road
- slip road, sliproad
- St Columb Road
- stroad
- take the high road
- Texel Roads
- Tobacco Road
- toll road
- trunk road
- where the rubber meets the road
- winter road
- yellow brick road, Yellow Brick Road
Translations
a way for travel
| ||||||
nautical: partially sheltered waters — see roadstead
a path in life
|
way or route
|
Adjective
road (not comparable)
- (US, Canada, sports, chiefly attributive) At the venue of the opposing team or competitor; on the road.
Synonyms
- (at the venue of the opposing team or competitor): away (UK)
Anagrams
- A-Rod, Dora, Rado, orad, orda
Estonian
Noun
road
- nominative plural of roog
Swedish
Etymology
past participle of roa.
Adjective
road (not comparable)
- amused, entertained
Declension
| Inflection of road | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Indefinite | Positive | Comparative | Superlative2 |
| Common singular | road | — | — |
| Neuter singular | roat | — | — |
| Plural | roade | — | — |
| Masculine plural3 | roade | — | — |
| Definite | Positive | Comparative | Superlative |
| Masculine singular1 | roade | — | — |
| All | roade | — | — |
| 1) Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine. 2) The indefinite superlative forms are only used in the predicative. 3) Dated or archaic | |||
Related terms
- lättroad
- oroad
Anagrams
- orda