Meaning and Origin
What does the name Rook mean? Keep reading to find the user submitted meanings, dictionary definitions, and more.
User Submitted Origins
User Submitted Meanings
- According to a user from Illinois, U.S., the name Rook is of Dutch origin and means "Smoke".
Etymology: F. roccf. Sp. roque), fr. Per. & Ar. rokh, or rukh, the rook or castle at chess, also the bird rocin this sense perhaps a different word); cf. Hind. rath a war chariot, the castle at chess, Skr. ratha a car, a war car. Cf. Roll
- [Zoöl] A European bird (Corvus frugilegus) resembling the crow, but smaller. It is black, with purple and violet reflections. The base of the beak and the region around it are covered with a rough, scabrous skin, which in old birds is whitish. It is gregarious in its habits. The name is also applied to related Asiatic species." The rook . . . should be treated as the farmer's friend." [Pennant.]
- A trickish, rapacious fellow; a cheat; a sharper.
Etymology: AS. hrōc; akin to OHG. hruoh ruoh ruoho, Icel. hrōkr, Sw. roka, Dan. raage; cf. Goth. hrukjan to crow
- Common gregarious Old World bird about the size and color of the American crow
- (chess) the piece that can move any number of unoccupied squares in a direction parallel to the sides of the chessboard
- Deprive of by deceit
- A European bird, Corvus frugilegus, of the crow family.
- A cheat or swindler; someone who betrays.
- (Britain) a type of firecracker used by farmers to scare birds of the same name.
- A trick-taking game, usually played with a specialized deck of cards.
From Middle English rok, roke, from Old English hrōc, from Proto-Germanic *hrōkaz (compare 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”).
- A European bird, Corvus frugilegus, of the crow family.
- A cheat or swindler; someone who betrays.
- (Britain) a type of firecracker used by farmers to scare birds of the same name.
- A trick-taking game, usually played with a specialized deck of cards.
- (chess) A piece shaped like a castle tower, that can be moved only up, down, left or right (but not diagonally) or in castling.
- (rare) A castle or other fortification.
From Old French roc, ultimately from Persian رخ (rox), from Middle Persian lhw' (rox, “rook, castle (chess)”), of unknown origin. Compare roc.
- (chess) A piece shaped like a castle tower, that can be moved only up, down, left or right (but not diagonally) or in castling.
- (rare) A castle or other fortification.
From rookie.
- (baseball, slang) A rookie.
rook was also found in the following language(s): Dutch