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Webster 1913 Edition

Rook

Rook

(roŏk)
,
Noun.
Mist; fog. See
Roke
.
[Obs.]

Rook

,
Verb.
I.
To squat; to ruck.
[Obs.]
Shak.

Rook

,
Noun.
[F.
roc
(cf. Sp.
roque
), fr. Per. & Ar.
rokh
, or
rukh
, the rook or castle at chess, also the bird
roc
(in this sense perhaps a different word); cf. Hind.
rath
a war chariot, the castle at chess, Skr.
ratha
a car, a war car. Cf.
Roll
.]
(Chess)
One of the four pieces placed on the corner squares of the board; a castle.

Rook

,
Noun.
[AS.
hrōc
; akin to OHG.
hruoh
,
ruoh
,
ruoho
, Icel.
hrōkr
, Sw.
roka
, Dan. raage; cf. Goth.
hrukjan
to crow.]
1.
(Zool.)
A European bird (
Corvus frugilegus
) resembling the crow, but smaller. It is black, with purple and violet reflections. The base of the beak and the region around it are covered with a rough, scabrous skin, which in old birds is whitish. It is gregarious in its habits. The name is also applied to related Asiatic species.
The rook
. . . should be treated as the farmer’s friend.
Pennant.
2.
A trickish, rapacious fellow; a cheat; a sharper.
Wycherley.

Rook

,
Verb.
T.
&
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Rooked
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Rooking
.]
To cheat; to defraud by cheating.
“A band of rooking officials.”
Milton.

Webster 1828 Edition

Rook

ROOK

,
Noun.
[L. graculus; probably from its voice. See Crow and Croak.]
1.
A fowl of the genus Corvus, the fowl mentioned by Virgil under this name. This fowl resembles the crow, but differs from it in not feeding on carrion, but on insects and grain. In crows also the nostrils and root of the bill are clothed with feathers, but in rooks the same parts are naked, or have only a few bristly hairs. The rook is gregarious.
2.
A cheat; a trickish, rapacious fellow.

ROOK

,
Noun.
A common man at chess.

ROOK

,
Verb.
I.
To cheat; to defraud.

ROOK

,
Verb.
T.
To cheat; to defraud by cheating.

Definition 2024

Rook

Rook

See also: rook

German Low German

Noun

Rook m (plural Roken)

  1. raven (bird)

Etymology 2

From Middle Low German rôk, from Old Saxon rōk, from Proto-Germanic *raukiz.

Noun

Rook m (no plural)

  1. smoke

rook

rook

See also: Rook and röök

English

Noun

rook ‎(plural rooks)

  1. A European bird, Corvus frugilegus, of the crow family.
    • Pennant
      The rook […] should be treated as the farmer's friend.
  2. A cheat or swindler; someone who betrays.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Wycherley to this entry?)
  3. (Britain) a type of firecracker used by farmers to scare birds of the same name.
  4. A trick-taking game, usually played with a specialized deck of cards.
  5. A chess playing piece. Each side starts with two.
Synonyms
Hypernyms
Translations
See also

Verb

rook ‎(third-person singular simple present rooks, present participle rooking, simple past and past participle rooked)

  1. (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.
Synonyms
Translations

Etymology 2

A rook (chess)

From Old French roc, ultimately from Persian رخ ‎(rox), from Middle Persian lhw' ‎(rox, “rook, castle (chess)”), of unknown origin. Compare roc.

Noun

rook ‎(plural rooks)

  1. (chess) A piece shaped like a castle tower, that can be moved only up, down, left or right (but not diagonally) or in castling.
  2. (rare) A castle or other fortification.
Synonyms
See also
Chess pieces in English · chess pieces, chessmen (see also: chess) (layout · text)
♚ ♛ ♜ ♝ ♞ ♟
king queen castle, rook bishop knight pawn
Translations

Etymology 3

From rookie.

Noun

rook ‎(plural rooks)

  1. (baseball, slang) A rookie.

Etymology 4

Noun

rook ‎(uncountable)

  1. mist; fog; roke

Etymology 5

Verb

rook ‎(third-person singular simple present rooks, present participle rooking, simple past and past participle rooked)

  1. (obsolete) To squat; to ruck.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Shakespeare to this entry?)

Etymology 6

Verb

rook ‎(third-person singular simple present rooks, present participle rooking, simple past and past participle rooked)

  1. Eye dialect spelling of look.

Anagrams

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /roːk/
  • Rhymes: -oːk

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch rooc, from Old Dutch *rōk, rouc, from Proto-Germanic *raukiz.

Noun

rook m ‎(uncountable)

  1. smoke
Derived terms

Etymology 2

Non-lemma forms.

Verb

rook

  1. first-person singular present indicative of roken
  2. imperative of roken

Verb

rook

  1. singular past indicative of ruiken
  2. singular past indicative of rieken

Anagrams

Etymology

From Middle Low German rôk, from Old Saxon hrōk, from Proto-Germanic *hrōkaz. More at rook.

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