roc

[rok]

noun Arabian Mythology.

a bird of enormous size and strength.

Origin of roc

1570–80; < Arabic rukhkh, probably < Persian rukh; see rook²

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for roc

Contemporary Examples of roc

A Rochester (ROC) passenger approached a ticket counter to check in and stated to the ticket agent that he had a bomb in his bag.
The TSA’s Insane Instagram Feed
Nina Strochlic
July 14, 2014
Roc Nation did not respond to multiple requests to confirm that they had signed the rapper to their label.
Politician Scores Rapper Endorsement, Prostitution Problems Follow
Ben Jacobs
June 12, 2014
Watch Jay-Z's "Roc Boys (And The Winner Is)..." music video.
A Baby Boomer's Guide to Jay-Z
Peter Lauria
November 14, 2010

Historical Examples of roc

There we found a roc's egg, equal in size to the one I had seen before.
Favorite Fairy Tales
Logan Marshall
Times like these, a lump like a roc's egg would rise in the boy's throat.
The Best Short Stories of 1917
Various
They answered, 'By a touch of the gall of the Roc on his forehead.'
The Shaving of Shagpat, Complete
George Meredith
His 2d lady had no child; was poysoned by the hands of Co. of Roc.
Brief Lives (Vol. 1 of 2)
John Aubrey
It signifies 'thirty birds' and is thought to be the roc of the Arabs.
The Fairy Mythology
Thomas Keightley

British Dictionary definitions for roc

roc

noun

(in Arabian legend) a bird of enormous size and power

Word Origin for roc

C16: from Arabic rukhkh, from Persian rukh

ROC

abbreviation for

Royal Observer Corps

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for roc

large, ferocious bird of fable, 1570s, from Arabic rukhkh, from Persian rukh. Mentioned in Marco Polo's account of Madagascar, modern use is mostly from "Arabian Nights." Hence roc's egg "something marvelous or prodigious."