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ross

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Ross¹

  • /ɹɔs/ US
  • /ɹɑs/ cot caught merger
  • /ɹɒs/ UK

Rhymes with -ɒs

Where it comes from

* As a Scottish surname, from several places such as Roose in Cumbria or Roos in Yorkshire, both from Scottish Gaelic ros (“promontory”) or a Brythonic parallel of its source such as Welsh rhos (“moor, heath”). There were also several Norman families in Scotland who took their name from Rots in Calvados. Compare Rose, Rhodes.

* As an English surname, from Wrose in Shipley, with loss of initial w.

* As an English and German surname, from derivatives of the old Germanic root common in names *hrōþi (“fame”). Compare Rossell.

* As a Cornish surname, from several places in Cornwall deriving from ros (“heathland”), related to the above Celtic word meaning "heath" or "promontory." See Rouse.

* As a Jewish and German occupational surname for a breeder of horses, from the regional/poetic noun Ross (“horse”). Doublet of horse.

* Also as a Jewish surname, Americanized from Rose.

proper noun Rosses · Rosse

  1. countable, uncountable An English and Scottish habitational surname from Scottish Gaelic derived from any of several places of that name, from Scottish Gaelic ros (“headland”).
  2. countable, uncountable A surname from Cornish
  3. countable, uncountable A surname from German
  4. countable, uncountable A male given name transferred from the surname, of early 19th century and later usage. In addition to many other things he has promised to do on his first day in office, Donald Trump has said he will free Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, who is serving a life sentence in federal prison for connecting drug consumers with drug sellers.
  5. countable, uncountable An unincorporated community in Pope County, Arkansas.
  6. countable, uncountable A town in Marin County, California.
  7. countable, uncountable An unincorporated community in Calumet Township, Lake County, Indiana.
  8. countable, uncountable An unincorporated community in Audubon County, Iowa.
  9. countable, uncountable An unincorporated community in Dieter Township, Roseau County, Minnesota.
  10. countable, uncountable A minor city in Mountrail County, North Dakota.
  11. countable, uncountable A township and census-designated place therein, in Butler County, Ohio.
  12. countable, uncountable A minor city in McLennan County, Texas.
  13. countable, uncountable A town in Forest County, Wisconsin.
  14. countable, uncountable An unincorporated community in the town of Liberty, Vernon County, Wisconsin.
  15. countable, uncountable A number of other townships in the United States, listed under Ross Township.
  16. countable, uncountable A hamlet in Middleton parish, Northumberland, England (OS grid ref NU1336).
  17. countable, uncountable A coastal hamlet south of Kirkcudbright, Dumfries and Galloway council area, Scotland (OS grid ref NX6444).
  18. countable, uncountable A coastal locality near Burnmouth, Scottish Borders council area, Scotland (OS grid ref NT9660).
  19. countable, uncountable A village in Northern Midlands council area, Tasmania, Australia.
  20. countable, uncountable A small town in the West Coast region, South Island, New Zealand.
  21. abbreviation, countable, ellipsis, uncountable Ellipsis of Ross Township
  22. abbreviation, countable, ellipsis, uncountable Ellipsis of Ross County

ross²

noun

  1. US, dialectal, uncountable The rough, scaly surface on the bark of trees.

verb rosses · rossing · rossed

  1. US, dialectal, transitive To divest of the ross, or rough, scaly surface. to ross bark

ross³

Where it comes from

From Welsh rhos.

noun rosses

  1. Wales A swamp.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: betsy ross, macdonald, gaylord, russ, haldane, boutros, carne, ros, roth, sprague, joss, rus, russian, belarus, honey, roux

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Cite this
MLA

"ross." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/ross. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

ross. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/ross

Chicago

"ross." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/ross.

BibTeX
@misc{ross_2026,
  title = {ross},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/ross},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}