Rook (?), n.
Mist; fog. See Roke.
[Obs.]
© Webster 1913.
Rook, v. i.
To squat; to ruck.
[Obs.]
Shak.
© Webster 1913.
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 pehaps 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.
© Webster 1913.
Rook, n. [AS. hrc; akin to OHG. hruoh, ruoh, ruoho, Icel. hrkr, Sw. roka, Dan. raage; cf. Goth. hrukjan to crow.]
1. Zool.
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.
© Webster 1913.
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.
© Webster 1913.