Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Rook?

\Rook\ (r[oo^]k), n. Mist; fog. See {Roke}. [Obs.]
\Rook\, v. i. To squat; to ruck. [Obs.] --Shak.
\Rook\, n. [F. roc (cf. Sp. roque), fr. Per. & Ar. rokh, or rukh, the rook or castle at chess, also the bird roc (in 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}.] (Chess) One of the four pieces placed on the corner squares of the board; a castle.
\Rook\, n. [AS. hr[=o]c; akin to OHG. hruoh, ruoh, ruoho, Icel. hr[=o]kr, Sw. roka, Dan. raage; cf. Goth. hrukjan to crow.] 1. (Zo["o]l.) 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. 2. A trickish, rapacious fellow; a cheat; a sharper. --Wycherley.
\Rook\, v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. {Rooked}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Rooking}.] To cheat; to defraud by cheating. ``A band of rooking officials.'' --Milton.