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rook

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rook¹

  • /ɹʊk/ Australia, US, UK
  • /ɹɵk/ British, Southern, Standard
  • /ɹuːk/
  • /ɾʉk/ Scotland
  • /ɻʉk/ Northern Ireland

Sounds like ruck (most accents without the foot-strut split) · Rhymes with -ʊk

Where it comes from

* Inherited 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 rooks

  1. countable, uncountable A European bird, Corvus frugilegus, of the crow family. 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
  2. countable, uncountable A cheat or swindler; someone who betrays. 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.
  3. countable, uncountable A bad deal; a rip-off.
  4. UK, countable, uncountable A type of firecracker used by farmers to scare birds of the same name.
  5. uncountable A trick-taking game, usually played with a specialized deck of cards. Adventists still do not really know how to play cards, apart from the sanitized version of bridge, Rook.
  6. archaic, countable, slang, uncountable A parson.

verb rooks · rooking · rooked

  1. transitive To cheat or swindle. They rook one shockingly at these places.

rook²

  • /ɹʊk/ Australia, US, UK
  • /ɹɵk/ British, Southern, Standard
  • /ɹuːk/
  • /ɾʉk/ Scotland
  • /ɻʉk/ Northern Ireland

Sounds like ruck (most accents without the foot-strut split) · Rhymes with -ʊk

Where it comes from

Inherited from Middle English rook, rooke, roke, rok, from Old French roc, ultimately from Persian رخ (rox), from Middle Persian lhw' (rox, “rook, castle (chess)”). Compare roc.

noun rooks

  1. 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.

Similar: castle, fortress

rook³

  • /ɹʊk/ Australia, US, UK
  • /ɹɵk/ British, Southern, Standard
  • /ɹuːk/
  • /ɾʉk/ Scotland
  • /ɻʉk/ Northern Ireland

Sounds like ruck (most accents without the foot-strut split) · Rhymes with -ʊk

Where it comes from

From rookie.

noun rooks

  1. slang A rookie.

rook⁴

  • /ɹʊk/ Australia, US, UK
  • /ɹɵk/ British, Southern, Standard
  • /ɹuːk/
  • /ɾʉk/ Scotland
  • /ɻʉk/ Northern Ireland

Sounds like ruck (most accents without the foot-strut split) · Rhymes with -ʊk

Where it comes from

Inherited 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

  1. uncountable mist; fog; roke

rook⁵

  • /ɹʊk/ Australia, US, UK
  • /ɹɵk/ British, Southern, Standard
  • /ɹuːk/
  • /ɾʉk/ Scotland
  • /ɻʉk/ Northern Ireland

Sounds like ruck (most accents without the foot-strut split) · Rhymes with -ʊk

verb rooks · rooking · rooked

  1. obsolete To squat; to ruck. The raven rook'd her on the chimney's top

rook⁶

  • /ɹʊk/ Australia, US, UK
  • /ɹɵk/ British, Southern, Standard
  • /ɹuːk/
  • /ɾʉk/ Scotland
  • /ɻʉk/ Northern Ireland

Sounds like ruck (most accents without the foot-strut split) · Rhymes with -ʊk

verb rooks · rooking · rooked

  1. pronunciation spelling Pronunciation spelling of look, mimicking Asian speech.look

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