rod

Meaning

Noun

1. A straight, round stick, shaft, bar, cane, or staff.
2. A longitudinal pole used for forming part of a framework such as an awning or tent.
3. A long slender usually tapering pole used for angling; fishing rod.
4. A stick, pole, or bundle of switches or twigs (such as a birch), used for personal defense or to administer corporal punishment by whipping.
5. An implement resembling and/or supplanting a rod (particularly a cane) that is used for corporal punishment, and metonymically called the rod, regardless of its actual shape and composition.
6. A stick used to measure distance, by using its established length or task-specific temporary marks along its length, or by dint of specific graduated marks.
7. (archaic) A unit of length equal to 1 pole, a perch, ¹⁄₄ chain, 5+¹⁄₂ yards, 16+¹⁄₂ feet, or exactly 5.0292 meters (these being all equivalent).
8. An implement held vertically and viewed through an optical surveying instrument such as a transit, used to measure distance in land surveying and construction layout; an engineer's rod, surveyor's rod, surveying rod, leveling rod, ranging rod. The modern (US) engineer's or surveyor's rod commonly is eight or ten feet long and often designed to extend higher. In former times a surveyor's rod often was a single wooden pole or composed of multiple sectioned and socketed pieces, and besides serving as a sighting target was used to measure distance on the ground horizontally, hence for convenience was of one rod or pole in length, that is, 5+¹⁄₂ yards.
9. (archaic) A unit of area equal to a square rod, 30+¹⁄₄ square yards or ¹⁄₁₆₀ acre.
10. A straight bar that unites moving parts of a machine, for holding parts together as a connecting rod or for transferring power as a driveshaft.
11. A rod cell: a rod-shaped cell in the eye that is sensitive to light.
12. Any of a number of long, slender microorganisms.
13. A stirring rod: a glass rod, typically about 6 inches to 1 foot long and ¹⁄₈ to ¹⁄₄ inch in diameter that can be used to stir liquids in flasks or beakers.
14. (slang) A pistol; a gun.
15. (slang, vulgar) The penis.
16. (slang) A hot rod, an automobile or other passenger motor vehicle modified to run faster and often with exterior cosmetic alterations, especially one based originally on a pre-1940s model or (currently) denoting any older vehicle thus modified.
17. A rod-shaped object that appears in photographs or videos traveling at high speed, not seen by the person recording the event, often associated with extraterrestrial entities.
18. A Cuisenaire rod.
19. A coupling rod or connecting rod, which links the driving wheels of a steam locomotive, and some diesel shunters and early electric locomotives.
20. A drain rod, being a set of segmented rods with interlocking connectors designed to remain attached even under rotation in use.

Verb

1. To reinforce concrete with metal rods.
2. (transitive) To furnish with rods, especially lightning rods.
3. (slang, transitive, vulgar) To penetrate sexually.
4. (slang) To hot rod.

Synonyms

pole

stick

staff

bar

cane

shaft

perch

switch

club

baton

wand

stave

spar

whip

rod cell

cudgel

shank

stake

truncheon

pivot

mace

post

beam

walking stick

twig

gat

fishing-rod

birch

sceptre

wood

🪵

walking-stick

cock

prodder

verge

tube

ingot

hand probe

gun

🔫

stalk

fishing rod

shuttle

spindle

stem

rail

pistol

handle

pipe

scepter

mast

lash

Translations

Stab

Stange

roede

bacchetta

Rute

barra

barra

vara

vara

barre

bâton

verge

bastone

ράβδος

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ɹɒd/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: rodde

Inherited from Old English: *rodd

Cognate with Old Norse: rudda

Cognate with English: rid

In summary

From Middle English rodde, from Old English *rodd or *rodde (attested in dative plural roddum (“rod, pole”)), of uncertain origin, but probably from Proto-Germanic *rudd- (“stick, club”), from Proto-Indo-European *rewdʰ- (“to clear land”). Compare Old Norse rudda (“club”). For the root, compare English rid. Presumably unrelated to Proto-Germanic *rōdō (“rod, pole”).