- Corvus frugilegus
- Rook Rook, n. [AS. hr[=o]c; akin to OHG. hruoh, ruoh, ruoho,
Icel. hr[=o]kr, Sw. roka, Dan. raage; cf. Goth. hrukjan to
crow.]
1. (Zo["o]l.) A European bird ({Corvus frugilegus})
resembling the crow, but smaller. It is black, with purple
and violet reflections. The base of the beak and the
region around it are covered with a rough, scabrous skin,
which in old birds is whitish. It is gregarious in its
habits. The name is also applied to related Asiatic
species.
[1913 Webster]
The rook . . . should be treated as the farmer's friend. --Pennant. [1913 Webster]
2. A trickish, rapacious fellow; a cheat; a sharper. --Wycherley. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
