rook

• IPA^(key): /ɹʊk/
• (obsolete) IPA^(key): /ɹuːk/[1]

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʊk

A rook (bird)

From Middle English rok, roke, from Old English hrōc, 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, “falcon”), Old Armenian ագռաւ (agṙaw), Avestan 𐬐𐬀𐬵𐬭𐬐𐬀𐬙𐬀𐬝‎ (kahrkatat̰, “rooster”), Sanskrit कृकर (kṛkara, “rooster”)), Ukrainian крук (kruk, “raven”).

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.
   • Wycherley

     I am, like an old rook, who is ruined by gaming, forced to live on the good fortune of the pushing young men.

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 bad deal, a rip-off.

• (swindler): swindler, cheat

• (bird): bird
• (firecracker): firecracker

• squab

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.

• (cheat, swindle): cheat, con, do, dupe, have, swindle

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)”), possibly from Sanskrit रथ (ratha, “chariot”). Compare roc.

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.

• (chesspiece): castle

From rookie.

rook (plural rooks)

1. (baseball, slang) A rookie.

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”).

rook (uncountable)

1. mist; fog; roke

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?)

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

1. Eye dialect spelling of look.

• Koro, Kroo, koro, kroo, roko

From Dutch rook (“smoke”)

rook (uncountable)

1. smoke

• rookwolk

• IPA^(key): /roːk/
• Rhymes: -oːk

• audio

  (file)

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

rook m (uncountable)

1. smoke

• roken
• rookontwikkeling
• rooksignaal
• rookwolk

See the etymology of the main entry.

rook

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

rook

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

• koor