Meaning and Origin
What does the name Rock mean? Keep reading to find the user submitted meanings, dictionary definitions, and more.
User Submitted Origins
User Submitted Meanings
- A submission from Virginia, U.S. says the name Rock means "A hard stone" and is of English origin.
Etymology: OE. rocke; akin to D. rok rokken, G. rocken, OHG. roccho, Dan. rok, Icel. rokkr. Cf. Rocket a firework
- A large concreted mass of stony material; a large fixed stone or crag. See Stone."Come one, come all! this rock shall fly From its firm base as soon as I." [Sir W. Scott.]
- [Geol] Any natural deposit forming a part of the earth's crust, whether consolidated or not, including sand, earth, clay, etc., when in natural beds.
- That which resembles a rock in firmness; a defense; a support; a refuge."The Lord is my rock, and my fortress." [2 Sam. xxii. 2.]
- Fig.: Anything which causes a disaster or wreck resembling the wreck of a vessel upon a rock.
- [Zoöl] The striped bass. See under Bass.
Note: ☞ This word is frequently used in the formation of self-explaining compounds; as, rock-bound, rock-built, rock-ribbed, rock-roofed, and the like.
Etymology: OF. roke, F. roche; cf. Armor. roc'h, and AS. rocc
- To cause to sway backward and forward, as a body resting on a support beneath; as, to rock a cradle or chair; to cause to vibrate; to cause to reel or totter."A rising earthquake rocked the ground." [Dryden.]
- To move as in a cradle; hence, to put to sleep by rocking; to still; to quiet."Sleep rockthy brain." [Shak.]
Note: ☞ Rock differs from shake, as denoting a slower, less violent, and more uniform motion, or larger movements. It differs from swing, which expresses a vibratory motion of something suspended.
Etymology: AS. roccian; akin to Dan. rokke to move, to snake; cf. Icel. rukkja to pull, move, G. rücken to move, push, pull
- To move or be moved backward and forward; to be violently agitated; to reel; to totter."The rocking town Supplants their footsteps." [J. Philips .]
- To roll or saway backward and forward upon a support; as, to rock in a rocking-chair.
- Pitching dangerously to one side
- A genre of popular music originating in the 1950s; a blend of black rhythm-and-blues with white country-and-western ("rock is a generic term for the range of styles that evolved out of rock'n'roll.")
- Hard bright-colored stick candy (typically flavored with peppermint)
- A lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter ("he threw a rock at me")
- (figurative) someone who is strong and stable and dependable ("he was her rock during the crisis" and "Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church")
- United States gynecologist and devout Catholic who conducted the first clinical trials of the oral contraceptive pill (1890-1984)
- Material consisting of the aggregate of minerals like those making up the Earth's crust ("that mountain is solid rock")
- Move back and forth or sideways ("the ship was rocking" and "She rocked back and forth on her feet")
- Cause to move back and forth ("rock the cradle" and "rock the baby")
From Middle English rocke, rokke (“rock formation”), from Old English *rocc (“rock”), as in Old English stānrocc (“high stone rock, peak, obelisk”), and also later from Anglo-Norman, Old Northern French roc, roce, roque (compare Modern French roc, roche, rocher), from Medieval Latin rocca (attested 767), from Vulgar Latin *rocca, of uncertain origin, sometimes said to be of Celtic (Gaulish) origin (compare Breton roc'h).
- Some formations of minerals.
- (uncountable) The naturally occurring aggregate of solid mineral matter that constitutes a significant part of the earth's crust.
- The face of the cliff is solid .
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- A mass of stone projecting out of the ground or water.
- The ship crashed on the .
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- (Britain) A boulder or large stone; or (US, Canada) a smaller stone; a pebble.
- Some fool has thrown a through my window.
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- (geology) Any natural material with a distinctive composition of minerals.
- (slang) A precious stone or gem, especially a diamond.
- Look at the size of that on her finger!
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- (uncountable) The naturally occurring aggregate of solid mineral matter that constitutes a significant part of the earth's crust.
- A large hill or island having no vegetation.
- Pearl near Cape Cod is so named because the morning sun makes it gleam like a pearl.
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- (figuratively) Something that is strong, stable, and dependable; a person who provides security or support to another.
- A lump or cube of ice.
- I'll have a whisky on the , please.
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- (Britain, uncountable) A type of confectionery made from sugar in the shape of a stick, traditionally having some text running through its length.
- While we're in Brighton, let's get a stick of !
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- (US, slang) A crystallized lump of crack cocaine.
- Some people.
- (US, slang) An unintelligent person, especially one who repeats mistakes.
- (South Africa, slang, derogatory) An Afrikaner.
- (US poker slang) An extremely conservative player who is willing to play only the very strongest hands.
- Some fish.
- The striped bass.
- The huss or rock salmon.
- We ordered and chips to take away.
- (basketball, slang) A basketball.
- (rock paper scissors) A closed hand (a handshape resembling a rock), that beats scissors and loses to paper. It loses to lizard and Spock in rock-paper-scissors-lizard-Spock.
From Middle English rokken, from Old English roccian, from Proto-Germanic *rukkōną (compare obsolete Dutch (Holland) rokken, Middle High German rocken (“to drag, jerk”), Modern German rücken ("to move, shift"), Icelandic rukka (“to yank”)), from *rugnōną, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃ruk-néh₂-, from *h₃runk- (compare Latin runcāre (“to weed”), Latvian rũķēt (“to toss, dig”)).
- An act of rocking; a rocking motion; a sway.
Shortened from rock and roll. Since the meaning of rock has adapted to mean a simpler, more modern, metal-like genre, rock and roll has generally been left referring to earlier forms such as that of the 1950s, notably more swing-oriented style.
- A style of music characterized by basic drum-beat, generally 4/4 riffs, based on (usually electric) guitar, bass guitar, drums, and vocals.
From Middle English rok, rocke, rokke, perhaps from Middle Dutch rocke (whence Dutch rok), Middle Low German rocken, or Old Norse rokkr (whence Icelandic / Faroese rokkur, Danish rok, Swedish spinnrock (“spinning wheel”)). Cognate with Old High German rocko (“distaff”).
- (countable) distaff
- (uncountable) The flax or wool on a distaff.
rock was also found in the following language(s): Catalan, Czech, Dutch, Finnish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, and Swedish