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rood

[rood]
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noun
  1. a crucifix, especially a large one at the entrance to the choir or chancel of a medieval church, often supported on a rood beam or rood screen.
  2. a cross as used in crucifixion.
  3. a unit of length varying locally from 5½ to 8 yards (5 to 7 meters).
  4. a unit of land measure equal to 40 square rods or ¼ acre (0.10117 hectare).
  5. a unit of 1 square rod (25.29 sq. m).
  6. Archaic. the cross on which Christ died.
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Origin of rood

before 900; Middle English; Old English rōd pole, crucifix; cognate with German Rute rod, twig
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for rood

Historical Examples

  • Awhile after she suddenly demanded, "Don't you think Miss Rood looks like me?"

    A Summer Evening's Dream

    Edward Bellamy

  • Every rood of this region had been in possession of that humming army over there.

    The Long Roll

    Mary Johnston

  • Then lifting again the rood, he turned away, and with him went the Norman.

    Harold, Complete

    Edward Bulwer-Lytton

  • The night of Good Friday, three weeks past, he had a vision of the Rood.

    Long Will

    Florence Converse

  • One of the most famous of these relics was the rood of Dovercourt.

British Dictionary definitions for rood

rood

noun
    1. a crucifix, esp one set on a beam or screen at the entrance to the chancel of a church
    2. (as modifier)rood beam; rood arch; rood screen
  2. the Cross on which Christ was crucified
  3. a unit of area equal to one quarter of an acre or 0.10117 hectares
  4. a unit of area equal to 40 square rods
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Word Origin

Old English rōd; related to Old Saxon rōda, Old Norse rōtha
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 rood

n.

Old English rod "pole," varying from 6 to 8 yards; also "cross," especially that upon which Christ suffered; "crucifix," especially a large one; also a measure of land, properly 40 square poles or perches, from Proto-Germanic *rod- (cf. Old Saxon ruoda "stake, pile, cross," Old Frisian rode, Middle Dutch roede, Old High German ruota, German Rute "rod"), from PIE *ret- "post" (cf. Latin ratis "raft," retae "trees standing on the bank of a stream;" Old Church Slavonic ratiste "spear, staff;" Lithuanian rekles "scaffolding"). Probably not connected with rod.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper