rook

Meaning

Noun

1. (countable, uncountable) A European bird, Corvus frugilegus, of the crow family.
2. (countable, uncountable) A cheat or swindler; someone who betrays.
3. (countable, uncountable) A bad deal; a rip-off.
4. (British, countable, uncountable) A type of firecracker used by farmers to scare birds of the same name.
5. (uncountable) A trick-taking game, usually played with a specialized deck of cards.
6. (archaic, countable, slang, uncountable) A parson.

Verb

To cheat or swindle.

Verb

To squat; to ruck.

Verb

Pronunciation spelling of look, mimicking Asian speech.

Synonyms

castle

🏰

cheat

swindle

crow

defraud

gyp

raven

swindler

bilk

fleece

gip

goldbrick

trick

deceive

short-change

rip off

bamboozle

embezzle

mulct

crook

con

jackdaw

jockey

hornswoggle

scam

Corvus frugilegus

diddle

bunco

fool

fraud

nobble

gouge

chisel

gull

shark

🦈

hoax

hoodwink

victimize

dupe

welch

welcher

welsher

whipsaw

play tricks

shammer

flim-flam

cozener

circumventor

adventurer

circumventer

Translations

Saatkrähe

Turm

tour

roek

torre

corbeau freux

torre

kale

torre

toren

torre

grajo

πύργος

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ɹʊk/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: rok

Inherited from Old English: hrōc

Cognate with Old Norse: hrókr

Cognate with Saterland Frisian: Rouk

Cognate with Dutch: roek

Cognate with German: Ruch

Cognate with Old Irish: cerc

Cognate with Prussian: kerko

Cognate with Bulgarian: кро́кон

Cognate with Ancient Greek: κόραξ

Cognate with Classical Armenian: ագռաւ

Cognate with Avestan: 𐬐𐬀𐬵𐬭𐬐𐬀𐬙𐬀𐬝

Cognate with Sanskrit: कृकर

Cognate with Ukrainian: крук

Inherited from Middle English: rook

Inherited from Middle English: roke

Cognate with Icelandic: rok

Cognate with Middle Dutch: rooc

Cognate with Dutch: rook

In summary

* Inherited from Middle English rok, roke, from Old English hrōc, from Proto-West Germanic *hrōk, from Proto-Germanic *hrōkaz (compare Old Norse hrókr, Saterland Frisian Rouk, Dutch roek, obsolete German Ruch), from Proto-Indo-European *kerk- (“crow, raven”) (compare Old Irish cerc (“hen”), Old Prussian kerko (“loon, diver”), dialectal Bulgarian кро́кон (krókon, “raven”), Ancient Greek κόραξ (kórax, “crow”), Old Armenian ագռաւ (agṙaw), Avestan 𐬐𐬀𐬵𐬭𐬐𐬀𐬙𐬀𐬝 (kahrkatat̰, “rooster”), Sanskrit कृकर (kṛkara, “rooster”)), Ukrainian крук (kruk, “raven”).
* (parson): Probably from the resemblance in plumage to a parson's garments.