# roe

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈɹəʊ/ · frequency rank #16,334

## Definitions
1. Eggs of fish.
2. Sperm of certain fish.
3. Ovaries of certain crustaceans.

## Etymology
From Middle English rowe, rowne, roun, rawne, from Old English *hrogn (“spawn, fish eggs, roe”), from Proto-Germanic *hrugnaz, *hrugną (“spawn, roe”), from Proto-Indo-European *krek- (“(frog) spawn”).
Cognate with Dutch roge (“roe”), German Low German Rögen (“roe”), German Rogen (“roe”), Danish rogn, ravn (“roe”), Swedish rom (“roe”), Icelandic hrogn (“roe”), Lithuanian kurkulai̇̃ (“frog spawn”), Russian кряк (krjak, “frog spawn”).

## Easily confused with
- **RS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/roe-vs-rs)
- **RT** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/roe-vs-rt)
- **RP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/roe-vs-rp)
- **RV** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/roe-vs-rv)
- **RR** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/roe-vs-rr)
- **RW** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/roe-vs-rw)
- **run** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/roe-vs-run)
- **row** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/roe-vs-row)
- **Roy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/roe-vs-roy)
- **Ron** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/roe-vs-ron)
- **rub** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/roe-vs-rub)
- **ROM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/roe-vs-rom)
- **rug** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/roe-vs-rug)
- **rot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/roe-vs-rot)
- **rum** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/roe-vs-rum)
- **rue** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/roe-vs-rue)
- **RPG** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/roe-vs-rpg)
- **rye** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/roe-vs-rye)
- **rpm** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/roe-vs-rpm)
- **RSS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/roe-vs-rss)

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/roe