Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Rock?

\Rock\, n. See {Roc}.
\Rock\, n. [OE. rocke; akin to D. rok, rokken, G. rocken, OHG. roccho, Dan. rok, Icel. rokkr. Cf. {Rocket} a firework.] A distaff used in spinning; the staff or frame about which flax is arranged, and from which the thread is drawn in spinning. --Chapman. Sad Clotho held the rocke, the whiles the thread By grisly Lachesis was spun with pain, That cruel Atropos eftsoon undid. --Spenser.
\Rock\, n. [OF. roke, F. roche; cf. Armor. roc'h, and AS. rocc.] 1. 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. 2. (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. 3. 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. 4. Fig.: Anything which causes a disaster or wreck resembling the wreck of a vessel upon a rock. 5. (Zo["o]l.) 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. {Rock alum}. [Probably so called by confusion with F. roche a rock.] Same as {Roche alum}. {Rock barnacle} (Zo["o]l.), a barnacle ({Balanus balanoides}) very abundant on rocks washed by tides. {Rock bass}. (Zo["o]l.) (a) The stripped bass. See under {Bass}. (b) The goggle-eye. (c) The cabrilla. Other species are also locally called rock bass. {Rock builder} (Zo["o]l.), any species of animal whose remains contribute to the formation of rocks, especially the corals and Foraminifera. {Rock butter} (Min.), native alum mixed with clay and oxide of iron, usually in soft masses of a yellowish white color, occuring in cavities and fissures in argillaceous slate. {Rock candy}, a form of candy consisting of crystals of pure sugar which are very hard, whence the name. {Rock cavy}. (Zo["o]l.) See {Moco}. {Rock cod} (Zo["o]l.) (a) A small, often reddish or brown, variety of the cod found about rocks andledges. (b) A California rockfish. {Rock cook}. (Zo["o]l.) (a) A European wrasse ({Centrolabrus exoletus}). (b) A rockling. {Rock cork} (Min.), a variety of asbestus the fibers of which are loosely interlaced. It resembles cork in its texture. {Rock crab} (Zo["o]l.), any one of several species of large crabs of the genus {Cancer}, as the two species of the New England coast ({C. irroratus} and {C. borealis}). See Illust. under {Cancer}. {Rock cress} (Bot.), a name of several plants of the cress kind found on rocks, as {Arabis petr[ae]a}, {A. lyrata}, etc. {Rock crystal} (Min.), limpid quartz. See {Quartz}, and under {Crystal}. {Rock dove} (Zo["o]l.), the rock pigeon; -- called also {rock doo}. {Rock drill}, an implement for drilling holes in rock; esp., a machine impelled by steam or compressed air, for drilling holes for blasting, etc. {Rock duck} (Zo["o]l.), the harlequin duck. {Rock eel}. (Zo["o]l.) See {Gunnel}. {Rock goat} (Zo["o]l.), a wild goat, or ibex. {Rock hopper} (Zo["o]l.), a penguin of the genus {Catarractes}. See under {Penguin}. {Rock kangaroo}. (Zo["o]l.) See {Kangaroo}, and {Petrogale}. {Rock lobster} (Zo["o]l.), any one of several species of large spinose lobsters of the genera {Panulirus} and {Palinurus}. They have no large claws. Called also {spiny lobster}, and {sea crayfish}. {Rock meal} (Min.), a light powdery variety of calcite occuring as an efflorescence. {Rock milk}. (Min.) See {Agaric mineral}, under {Agaric}. {Rock moss}, a kind of lichen; the cudbear. See {Cudbear}. {Rock oil}. See {Petroleum}. {Rock parrakeet} (Zo["o]l.), a small Australian parrakeet ({Euphema petrophila}), which nests in holes among the rocks of high cliffs. Its general color is yellowish olive green; a frontal band and the outer edge of the wing quills are deep blue, and the central tail feathers bluish green. {Rock pigeon} (Zo["o]l.), the wild pigeon ({Columba livia}) Of Europe and Asia, from which the domestic pigeon was derived. See Illust. under {Pigeon}. {Rock pipit}. (Zo["o]l.) See the Note under {Pipit}. {Rock plover}. (Zo["o]l.) (a) The black-bellied, or whistling, plover. (b) The rock snipe. {Rock ptarmigan} (Zo["o]l.), an arctic American ptarmigan ({Lagopus rupestris}), which in winter is white, with the tail and lores black. In summer the males are grayish brown, coarsely vermiculated with black, and have black patches on the back. {Rock rabbit} (Zo["o]l.), the hyrax. See {Cony}, and {Daman}. {Rock ruby} (Min.), a fine reddish variety of garnet. {Rock salt} (Min.), cloride of sodium (common salt) occuring in rocklike masses in mines; mineral salt; salt dug from the earth. In the United States this name is sometimes given to salt in large crystals, formed by evaporation from sea water in large basins or cavities. {Rock seal} (Zo["o]l.), the harbor seal. See {Seal}. {Rock shell} (Zo["o]l.), any species of Murex, Purpura, and allied genera. {Rock snake} (Zo["o]l.), any one of several large pythons; as, the royal rock snake ({Python regia}) of Africa, and the rock snake of India ({P. molurus}). The Australian rock snakes mostly belong to the allied genus {Morelia}. {Rock snipe} (Zo["o]l.), the purple sandpiper ({Tringa maritima}); -- called also {rock bird}, {rock plover}, {winter snipe}. {Rock soap} (Min.), a kind of clay having a smooth, greasy feel, and adhering to the tongue. {Rock sparrow}. (Zo["o]l.) (a) Any one of several species of Old World sparrows of the genus {Petronia}, as {P. stulla}, of Europe. (b) A North American sparrow ({Puc[ae]a ruficeps}). {Rock tar}, petroleum. {Rock thrush} (Zo["o]l.), any Old World thrush of the genus {Monticola}, or {Petrocossyphus}; as, the European rock thrush ({M. saxatilis}), and the blue rock thrush of India ({M. cyaneus}), in which the male is blue throughout. {Rock tripe} (Bot.), a kind of lichen ({Umbilicaria Dillenii}) growing on rocks in the northen parts of America, and forming broad, flat, coriaceous, dark fuscous or blackish expansions. It has been used as food in cases of extremity. {Rock trout} (Zo["o]l.), any one of several species of marine food fishes of the genus {Hexagrammus}, family {Chirad[ae]}, native of the North Pacific coasts; -- called also {sea trout}, {boregat}, {bodieron}, and {starling}. {Rock warbler} (Zo["o]l.), a small Australian singing bird ({Origma rubricata}) which frequents rocky ravines and water courses; -- called also {cataract bird}. {Rock wren} (Zo["o]l.), any one of several species of wrens of the genus {Salpinctes}, native of the arid plains of Lower California and Mexico.
\Rock\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Rocked};p. pr. & vb. n. {Rocking}.] [AS. roccian; akin to Dan. rokke to move, to snake; cf. Icel. rukkja to pull, move, G. r["u]cken to move, push, pull.] 1. 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. 2. To move as in a cradle; hence, to put to sleep by rocking; to still; to quiet. ``Sleep rock thy 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.
\Rock\, v. i. 1. To move or be moved backward and forward; to be violently agitated; to reel; to totter. The rocking town Supplants their footsteps. --J. Philips . 2. To roll or saway backward and forward upon a support; as, to rock in a rocking-chair.