See Also: rook(medicine)
rook(1)(dictionary)
rook(2)(dictionary)
rook(3)(dictionary)
rook(4)(dictionary)
rook(5)(dictionary)
rook(encyclopedia)
rook(dictionary)

rook(1) (iou)



rook noun1.
[Old English hroc = Middle & mod. Low German rok, Middle Dutch roec (Dutch roek), Old High German hruoh, Old Norse hrokr, from Germanic, prob. of imit. origin.]
A black raucous-voiced Eurasian bird of the crow family, Corvus frugilegus, which nests in colonies. OE.
a. A greedy or grasping person. derog. E16.
b. A cheat, a swindler, esp. at gambling. slang. L16.
c. A foolish person, a gull. L16-M17.
A crowbar. slang & dial. L18.
Comb.: rook-pie: made with (young) rooks; rook rifle (chiefly Hist.) a small-bore rifle for shooting rooks; rook-worm a worm eaten by rooks; esp. the larva of the cockchafer.
rookish adjective of, pertaining to, or resembling a rook or rooks M18.