# rook

> English word · Noun · IPA /ɹʊk/ · frequency rank #25,558

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

## Etymology
* 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.

## Easily confused with
- **row** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rook-vs-row)
- **Roy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rook-vs-roy)
- **rot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rook-vs-rot)
- **ROS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rook-vs-ros)
- **room** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rook-vs-room)
- **rose** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rook-vs-rose)
- **root** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rook-vs-root)
- **Ross** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rook-vs-ross)
- **rope** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rook-vs-rope)
- **rows** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rook-vs-rows)
- **Rosa** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rook-vs-rosa)
- **Rory** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rook-vs-rory)
- **Roth** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rook-vs-roth)
- **Rowe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rook-vs-rowe)
- **rosy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rook-vs-rosy)
- **Roxy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rook-vs-roxy)
- **rout** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rook-vs-rout)
- **roux** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rook-vs-roux)
- **ROTC** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rook-vs-rotc)
- **rote** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rook-vs-rote)

## Common misspellings (5)
`orok`, `rok`, `roko`, `rookk`, `rrook`

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