|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries: |
Research categories | Follow us on Twitter |
Research categories
View all topics in the newsView all reference sources at Encyclopedia.com |
|||
rook
rook1 / roŏk/ • n. a gregarious Eurasian crow (Corvus frugilegus) with black plumage and a bare face, nesting in colonies in treetops. • v. [tr.] inf. take money from (someone) by cheating, defrauding, or overcharging them. rook2 • n. a chess piece, typically with its top in the shape of a battlement, that can move in any direction along a rank or file on which it stands. Each player starts the game with two rooks at opposite ends of the first rank. See also castle. |
|
|
Cite this article
"rook." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "rook." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-rook.html "rook." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-rook.html |
|
rook
rook term used for a common Eurasian bird (genus Corvus ) of the family Corvidae ( Crow family), smaller than the American crow. The jackdaw is a European species of the genus. Rooks nest in large colonies, whence the term rookery. They are classified in the phylum Chordata , subphylum Vertebrata, class Aves, order Passeriformes, family Corvidae. |
|
|
Cite this article
"rook." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "rook." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-rook.html "rook." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-rook.html |
|
rook
rook1 in traditional belief, this black crow is associated with death. From the mid 16th century, rook also denoted a cheat or swindler, especially in gaming.
The term rookery, literally meaning a breeding colony of rooks, typically seen as a collection of nests high in a clump of trees, is used for a dense collection of housing, especially in a slum area. |
|
|
Cite this article
ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "rook." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "rook." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-rook.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "rook." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-rook.html |
|
rook
rook2 a chess piece, typically with its top in the shape of a battlement, that can move in any direction along a rank or file on which it stands; a castle.
The word is recorded from Middle English and comes from Old French rock, based on an Arabic word of which the sense remains uncertain. |
|
|
Cite this article
ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "rook." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "rook." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-rook1.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "rook." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-rook1.html |
|
rook
rook1 harsh-voiced crow. OE. hrōc = (M)LG. rōk, MDu. roec (Du. roek), OHG. hruoch, ON. hrókr :- Gmc. *chirōkaz, prob. of imit. orig. In the sense ‘cheat, swindler, sharper’, with corr. vb., a gaming sl. use of late XVI.
Hence rookery XVIII. |
|
|
Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "rook." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "rook." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-rook.html T. F. HOAD. "rook." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-rook.html |
|
rook
rook Large gregarious European bird of the crow family. It has glossy black plumage, but commonly loses the feathers from about its face. It feeds on grain and insects, and has a characteristic raucous cry. Family Corvidae; species Corvus frugilegus.
|
|
|
Cite this article
"rook." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "rook." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-rook.html "rook." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-rook.html |
|
rook
rook2 piece at chess also called castle. XIV. ME. rok(e) — OF. roc(k), rok, corr. to Sp., Pg. roque, It. rocco, and various Gmc. forms of the same ult. origin. Arab.-Pers. ruḵḵ.
|
|
|
Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "rook." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "rook." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-rook1.html T. F. HOAD. "rook." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-rook1.html |
|
rook
rook (Corvus frugilegus) See CORVIDAE.
|
|
|
Cite this article
MICHAEL ALLABY. "rook." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL ALLABY. "rook." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-rook.html MICHAEL ALLABY. "rook." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-rook.html |
|
rook
rook •betook, book, brook, Brooke, Chinook, chook, Coke, cook, Cooke, crook, forsook, Gluck, hook, look, mistook, nook, partook, rook, schnook, schtuck, Shilluk, shook, Tobruk, took, undercook, undertook
•handbook
•chapbook, scrapbook
•cash book • passbook • sketchbook
•chequebook • textbook
•daybook, playbook
•casebook • phrase book • dybbuk
•pocketbook • copybook • storybook
•guidebook • logbook • songbook
•scorebook • hornbook • sourcebook
•notebook • cookbook • yearbook
•picture book • wordbook • workbook
•caoutchouc • Windhoek • billhook
•fishhook • skyhook • buttonhook
•tenterhook • wet look • outlook
•Inuk • inglenook • Sihanouk
•Pembroke • Innsbruck • donnybrook
•Uruk • Osnabrück • Beaverbrook
•nainsook
|
|
|
Cite this article
"rook." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "rook." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-rook.html "rook." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-rook.html |
|