rod

synonyms, antonyms, definitions, examples & translations of rod in English

English Online Dictionary. What means rod‎? What does rod mean?

English

Etymology

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”).

Pronunciation

(UK) IPA^(key): /ɹɒd/
(US) IPA^(key): /ɹɑd/
Rhymes: -ɒd

Noun

rod (plural rods)

A straight, round stick, shaft, bar, cane, or staff.
A longitudinal pole used for forming part of a framework such as an awning or tent.
(fishing) A long slender usually tapering pole used for angling; fishing rod.
A stick, pole, or bundle of switches or twigs (such as a birch), used for personal defense or to administer corporal punishment by whipping.
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.
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.
(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).
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.
(archaic) A unit of area equal to a square rod, 30+¹⁄₄ square yards or ¹⁄₁₆₀ acre.
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.
(anatomy) A rod cell: a rod-shaped cell in the eye that is sensitive to light.
(biology) Any of a number of long, slender microorganisms.
(chemistry) 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.
(slang) A pistol; a gun.
(slang, vulgar) The penis.
(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.
(ufology) 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.
Synonym: skyfish
(mathematics) A Cuisenaire rod.
(rail transport) A coupling rod or connecting rod, which links the driving wheels of a steam locomotive, and some diesel shunters and early electric locomotives.

Synonyms

See also Thesaurus:stick
See also Thesaurus:penis

Derived terms

Translations

References

Verb

rod (third-person singular simple present rods, present participle rodding, simple past and past participle rodded)

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

Anagrams

dor, ODR, d'or, Ord, DOR, D. Or., ord, Dor., DRO, Dor, ORD, dro, RDO

Breton

Etymology

From Proto-Brythonic *rrod, from Proto-Celtic *rotos, from Proto-Indo-European *Hróth₂os.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈroːt/

Noun

rod f (plural rodoù)

wheel

Czech

Etymology

Inherited from Old Czech rod, from Proto-Slavic *rȏdъ. By surface analysis, deverbal from rodit.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈrot]

Noun

rod m inan

family, stock, lineage
(botany) genus
(grammar) gender
(grammar) voice

Declension

Derived terms

Danish

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈʁoˀð], [ˈʁoðˀ]

Etymology 1

From Old Norse rót, from Proto-Germanic *wrōts, from Proto-Indo-European *wréh₂ds. English root is borrowed from Old Norse.

Noun

rod c (singular definite roden, plural indefinite rødder)

root
yob
(mathematics) root, zero (element ${displaystyle x}$ in the domain of a function such that ${displaystyle f(x)=0}$ )

Inflection

Synonyms

(mathematics): nulpunkt

Related terms

gulerod
rodbehandling
rodfrugt
tandrod

Etymology 2

From the verb rode.

Noun

rod n (singular definite rodet, not used in plural form)

disorder, mess, muddle

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

rod

imperative of rode

East Franconian

Alternative forms

ruad (Itzgründisch)

Adjective

rod

German Low German

Alternative forms

(Low Prussian) root (rot)

Etymology

From Old Saxon rōd, from Proto-West Germanic *raud, from Proto-Germanic *raudaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rowdʰós < *h₁rewdʰ-. Compare Dutch rood, German rot, West Frisian read, English red, Danish rød.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈɾɔu̯t/

Adjective

rod

(in several dialects) red

Hunsrik

Alternative forms

root (Wiesemann spelling system)

Etymology

From Middle High German rōt (“red, red-haired”), from Old High German rōt (“red, scarlet, purple-red, brown-red, yellow-red”), from Proto-West Germanic *raud, from Proto-Germanic *raudaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rowdʰós, from *h₁rewdʰ-.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈroːt/
Rhymes: -oːt
Syllabification: rod

Adjective

rod (comparative roder, superlative rodest)

Declension

Derived terms

weinrod

Latvian

Verb

rod

third-person singular/plural present indicative of rast
(with the particle lai) third-person singular imperative of rast
(with the particle lai) third-person plural imperative of rast

Lower Sorbian

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *rodъ (“root”), from Proto-Balto-Slavic *radas, from Proto-Indo-European *wréh₂ds (“root”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /rɔt/

Noun

rod m inan

sex (gender (male or female))
lineage, family
(grammar) gender

Declension

Middle English

Noun

rod

alternative form of rode

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

From Old Norse roð.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /roː/
Hyphenation: ròd

Noun

rod n (definite singular rodet, indefinite plural rod, definite plural roda)

fish skin
Synonym: fiskeskinn

Etymology 2

From Old Norse hróðr, from Proto-Germanic *hrōþiz.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ruː/
Hyphenation: ród

Noun

rod m (definite singular roden, indefinite plural rodar, definite plural rodane)

praise, fame, honour (only used in given names)

Related terms

Male given names:

Female given names:

References

Eivind Vågslid (1988), Norderlendske fyrenamn (in Norwegian Nynorsk), →ISBN, page 291

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *rōdō. Cognate with Old Frisian rōd, Old Saxon rōda, Dutch roede (“rod”), Old High German ruota (German Rute), Old Norse róða (“rod, cross”) (Danish rode (“gauge, rod”)).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /roːd/

Noun

rōd f

cross (method of execution)
1. (Christianity) The cross on which Christ was crucified
  1. (metonymical) Christlike suffering or tribulation
a measure of land length, equal to a perch
a measure of land area, equal to a quarter of an acre

Usage notes

An archaic locative singular form, ᚱᚩᛞᛁ, appears on the Ruthwell Cross inscription.

Declension

Strong ō-stem:

Related terms

rōdfæstnian

Descendants

Middle English: rod, roode, rood
- Scots: rude, ruid
- English: rood, rod (length)

Old Saxon

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *raud, from Proto-Germanic *raudaz, whence also Old English rēad, Old Frisian rād, Old High German rōt, Old Norse rauðr, Gothic 𐍂𐌰𐌿𐌸𐍃 (rauþs). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rowdʰós < *h₁rewdʰ-.

Adjective

rōd (comparative rōdoro, superlative rōdost)

Declension

Descendants

Middle Low German: rōt
- Low German: rod
  - German Low German: root
    Hamburgisch: rod
    
    Westphalian
    Sauerländisch: räod, raud, reyet, rout, rōet
  Westmünsterländisch: root
- Plautdietsch: root

Polish

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin rhodium.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈrɔt/
Rhymes: -ɔt
Syllabification: rod
Homophone: rot

Noun

rod m inan

rhodium (chemical element, Rh, atomic number 45)

Declension

Romanian

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Old Church Slavonic родъ (rodŭ), from Proto-Slavic *rodъ.

Noun

rod n (plural roade)

fruit
(figuratively) fruit (advantageous result)

Declension

Synonyms

fruct n
poamă f

Etymology 2

Verb

rod

inflection of roade:
1. first-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
2. third-person plural present indicative

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *rodъ, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *radás.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /rôːd/

Noun

rȏd m inan (Cyrillic spelling ро̑д)

gender
(botany) genus
relative, relation
fruit, crop, extraction (rarely used in these senses)
family, stock, lineage, kin, race

Declension

Derived terms

References

“rod”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2025

Veps

Etymology 1

From Proto-Finnic *rootu.

Noun

rod

fishbone

Declension

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Old Church Slavonic родъ (rodŭ) (compare Finnish rotu with the same etymology).

Noun

rod

kind, race, breed

Declension

Welsh

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /roːd/

Noun

rod

soft mutation of rhod

rod

rod

English

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

See also

References

Further reading

Verb

Anagrams

Breton

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Czech

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Declension

Derived terms

Further reading

Danish

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Noun

Inflection

Synonyms

Related terms

Etymology 2

Noun

Etymology 3

Verb

East Franconian

Alternative forms

Adjective

German Low German

Alternative forms

Etymology

Pronunciation

Adjective

Hunsrik

Alternative forms

Etymology

Pronunciation

Adjective

Declension

Derived terms

See also

Further reading

Latvian

Verb

Lower Sorbian

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Declension

Further reading

Middle English

Noun

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

Noun

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

Noun

Related terms

References

Old English

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Usage notes

Declension

Related terms

Descendants