rook
See also: Rook and röök
English
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɹʊk/
- (sometimes in Northern England; otherwise obsolete) IPA(key): /ɹuːk/[1]
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ʊk
Etymology 1
A rook (bird)
- 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.
Noun
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 terms
- rookery
Translations
bird
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swindler
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card game
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See also
- squab
Verb
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:
Synonyms
- (cheat): cheat, con, do, dupe, have, swindle, trick
Hyponyms
- (cheat): Greek (at cards)
Translations
cheat, swindle
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Etymology 2
A rook (chess)
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.
Noun
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.
Synonyms
- (chesspiece): castle
- (castle): castle, fortress
Translations
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
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See also
- ♖, ♜
| Chess pieces in English · chess pieces, chessmen (see also: chess) (layout · text) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |  |  |
| king | queen | rook, castle | bishop | knight | pawn |
Etymology 3
From rookie.
Noun
rook (plural rooks)
- (baseball, slang) A rookie.
Etymology 4
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”).
Noun
rook (uncountable)
- mist; fog; roke
Verb
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 606515358, [Act V, scene vi]:
- The raven rook'd her on the chimney's top
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Verb
rook (third-person singular simple present rooks, present participle rooking, simple past and past participle rooked)
- Pronunciation spelling of look. (mimicking Asian speech)
References
- “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.
Anagrams
- Koro, Kroo, Orok, koro, kroo, roko
Afrikaans
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /rʊə̯k/
Etymology 1
From Dutch rook (“smoke”), from Middle Dutch rôoc, from Old Dutch *rōk, from Proto-Germanic *raukiz.
Noun
rook (uncountable)
- smoke
Derived terms
- rookwolk
Etymology 2
From Dutch roken (“to smoke”).
Verb
rook (present rook, present participle rokende, past participle gerook)
- (intransitive, transitive) to smoke (a tobacco product or surrogate)
Dutch
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /roːk/
audio (file) - Hyphenation: rook
- Rhymes: -oːk
Etymology 1
From Middle Dutch rôoc, from Old Dutch *rōk, from Proto-Germanic *raukiz.
Noun
rook m (uncountable)
- smoke
Derived terms
- roken
- rookontwikkeling
- rooksignaal
- rookwolk
Descendants
- Afrikaans: rook
- Negerhollands: rook
Etymology 2
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Verb
rook
- first-person singular present indicative of roken
- imperative of roken
Verb
rook
- singular past indicative of ruiken
- singular past indicative of rieken
Anagrams
- koor