rook

CEFRB2

/ɹʊk/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A black bird related to the crow, or a chess piece.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    A bad deal; a rip-off.

Examples

  • The word "rook" comes from Sanskrit and means "chariot".

  • A rook is a chess piece.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • /ɹuːk/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. A cheat or swindler; someone who betrays.

  2. A European bird, Corvus frugilegus, of the crow family.

  3. A trick-taking game, usually played with a specialized deck of cards.

More examples

In context

  • So I am (like an old rook, who is ruined by gaming) forced to live on the good fortune of the pushing young men, whose fancies are so vigorous that they ensure their success in their adventures with Muses, by their strength and imagination.

  • To-night the winds begin to rise ⁠And roar from yonder dropping day: ⁠The last red leaf is whirl’d away, The rooks are blown about the skies; […]

  • Adventists still do not really know how to play cards, apart from the sanitized version of bridge, Rook.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The black bird with a bare face, called a blank, is common in European fields.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

* Inherited from Middle English rok, roke, from Old English hrōc, from Proto-West Germanic *hrōk, 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, “crow”), Old Armenian ագռաւ (agṙaw), Avestan 𐬐𐬀𐬵𐬭𐬐𐬀𐬙𐬀𐬝 (kahrkatat̰, “rooster”), Sanskrit कृकर (kṛkara, “rooster”)), Ukrainian крук (kruk, “raven”). * (parson): Probably from the resemblance in plumage to a parson's garments.