Rook | Webster's Dictionary (1865)

Rōōk, n.

noun

n. [Fr. & Pr. roc, Sp. & Pg. roque, It. rocco, M. H. Ger. roch, N. H. Ger. roche, from Per. & Ar. rokh, or rukh, a fabulous bird of enormous size and strength, and the rook or tower at chess, Hind. rukh, the castle at chess, Hind. rath, Bengal. roth, a war-chariot, the castle at chess, Skr. ratha, a car, a war-car.] (Chess.) One of the four pieces placed on the corner squares of the board; a castle.

¶ The rook moves the whole extent of the board, in lines parallel to its sides, unless impeded by some other piece. Hoyle.

Rōōk, n.

noun

(27), n. [A-S. hrōc, O. H. Ger. hruoh, ruoh, ruoho, Prov. Ger. rōche, ruch, rauch, L. Ger. rōk, rōke, rak, Fries. rōck, D. rock, rock, Icel. hraukr, hrōkr, Sw. roka, rāka, Dan. raage, roye, rogn. Cf. O. Sax. ronca, chattering, Gr. κόραξ, Lat. graculus, Ger. krähe, Eng. crow, and Goth. hrukjan, to croak, Icel. krānkr, crow krānka, to croak.]

(Ornith.) A gregarious bird of the genus Corvus (C. frugilegus), resembling the crow, but differing from it in feeding chiefly on insects and grain, instead of carrion, and the like. In crows, also, the nostrils and root of the bill are clothed with feathers; but in rooks the same parts are covered with a rough, scabrous skin, which in old birds is white.
A trickish, rapacious fellow; a cheat; a trickster. [Obs.] Wycherley.

An illustration of a rook standing on the ground. — Rook.

Rōōk, v. i.

verbintransitive

v. i. 1. To cheat; to defraud. “A band of rooking officials.” Milton. 2. To squat or sit close; to ruck.

Rōōk, v. t.

verbtransitive

[imp. & p. p. ROOKED (rōōkt); p. pr. & vb. n. ROOKING.] To cheat; to defraud by cheating. Aubrey.

Rōōk, n.

noun

n. See ROKE.