Rood

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ruːd/

Origin

From Middle English rood, from Old English rōd ("a rod, pole, rood (land measure), plot of land of a square rod, a cross, rood (as in Holy-rood), gallows, a cross on which a person is executed, death on a cross, crucifix"), from Proto-Germanic *rōdō, *rōdōn ("rod, pole"), from Proto-Indo-European *rōt-, *rāt- ("bar, beam, stem"). Cognate with German Rute ("rod, cane, pole"), Norwegian roda ("rod"). Largely displaced by cross. More at rod.

Full definition of rood

Noun

1. (archaic) A crucifix, cross.
• Shakespeare Hamlet act III scene 4Have you forgot me?No, by the rood, not so.
2. A measure of land area, equal to a quarter of an acre.
3. (UK, dialect, obsolete) A measure of five and a half yards in length.

Synonyms

• (quarter of an acre) farthingdale

Derived terms

• rood beam
• rood loft
• rood screen

Anagrams

• door, odor, ordo