rood

[ rood ]

/ rud /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR rood ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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.

a cross as used in crucifixion.

a unit of length varying locally from 5½ to 8 yards (5 to 7 meters).

a unit of land measure equal to 40 square rods or ¼ acre (0.10117 hectare).

a unit of 1 square rod (25.29 sq. m).

Archaic. the cross on which Christ died.

RELATED WORDS

X, cruciate

Nearby words

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for rood

The pulpit, approached by the rood staircase, is of the same date.
Somerset|G.W. Wade and J.H. Wade
Rood loft, the place in the church where the images were set up.
Reliques of Ancient English Poetry, Volume III (of 3)|Thomas Percy
A memorandum in the churchwardens' accounts speak of him setting up a pair of organs on the rood loft.
Bell's Cathedrals: Wimborne Minster and Christchurch Priory|Thomas Perkins
Every statement which Rood made, as Bartlett knows, is a lie.
My Attainment of the Pole|Frederick A. Cook

Every rood of this region had been in possession of that humming army over there.
The Long Roll|Mary Johnston

British Dictionary definitions for rood

rood

/ (ruːd) /

noun

a crucifix, esp one set on a beam or screen at the entrance to the chancel of a church
(as modifier)rood beam; rood arch; rood screen

the Cross on which Christ was crucified

a unit of area equal to one quarter of an acre or 0.10117 hectares

a unit of area equal to 40 square rods

Word Origin for rood

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

rood

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.