rod

C1 Topic:Materials & Substances

US /ɹɑd/ UK /ɹɒd/ See IPA manual

Freq #5021

Meanings

1

noun
A long, thin, straight bar or stick of wood or metal.

He bent the iron rod with his bare hands.
2

noun
A long, slender pole used for fishing.

She cast her rod and waited for a fish to bite.
3

noun
A bar that connects or transfers movement between parts of a machine.

The engine broke when a connecting rod snapped.

Thesaurus

Word family

Forms rods

Derived forms anglerodaxlerodconroddicker-roddrawrodferrodflatrodfly-rodflyrodforty-rodfuckrodgoldenrod

Related forms crook

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

piston rod
a rod connected to a piston that transmits its movement or force

Noun + noun

Proverbs (1)

See all

Spare the rod, and spoil the child

Simplified etymology

Rod comes from Old English, where it meant both a slender shoot growing on or cut from a tree and a straight stick or bundle of twigs used for punishment. The disciplinary sense underlies several long-standing biblical expressions involving the rod.

Etymology

From Middle English rodde, from Old English *rodd or *rodde (attested in dative plural roddum (“rod, pole”)), of uncertain origin, but probably from Proto-Germanic *rudd- (“stick, club”), from Proto-Indo-European *rewdʰ- (“to clear land”). Compare Old Norse rudda (“club”). For the root, compare English rid. Presumably unrelated to Proto-Germanic *rōdō (“rod, pole”).

rodde Middle English *rodd Old English *rudd- Proto-Germanic *rewdʰ- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Materials & Substances

External links

# rod

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ɹɑd/
**IPA (UK):** /ɹɒd/
**Frequency rank:** 5021

## Meanings
1. A long, thin, straight bar or stick of wood or metal.
2. A long, slender pole used for fishing.
3. A bar that connects or transfers movement between parts of a machine.

## Examples
- He bent the iron rod with his bare hands.
- She cast her rod and waited for a fish to bite.
- The engine broke when a connecting rod snapped.

## Derived Forms
- anglerod
- axlerod
- conrod
- dicker-rod
- drawrod
- ferrod
- flatrod
- fly-rod
- flyrod
- forty-rod
- fuckrod
- goldenrod

## Related Forms
- crook

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: rodde
- Root: *rodd
- Root: *rudd-
- Root: *rewdʰ-

## Etymology
From Middle English rodde, from Old English *rodd or *rodde (attested in dative plural roddum (“rod, pole”)), of uncertain origin, but probably from Proto-Germanic *rudd- (“stick, club”), from Proto-Indo-European *rewdʰ- (“to clear land”). Compare Old Norse rudda (“club”). For the root, compare English rid. Presumably unrelated to Proto-Germanic *rōdō (“rod, pole”).

## AI Etymology
Rod comes from Middle English rodde, from Old English *rodd or *rodde (attested in dative plural roddum (“rod, pole”)), of uncertain origin, but probably from Proto-Germanic *rudd- (“stick, club”), from Proto-Indo-European *rewdʰ- (“to clear land”). Compare Old Norse rudda (“club”). For the root, compare English rid. Presumably unrelated to Proto-Germanic *rōdō (“rod, pole”). The historical chain includes rodde (Middle English), *rodd (Old English), *rudd- (Proto-Germanic), and *rewdʰ- (Proto-Indo-European). The surrounding word family includes derived forms such as anglerod, axlerod, conrod, and dicker-rod and related forms such as crook. In present use it covers a long, thin, straight bar or stick of wood or metal, a long, slender pole used for fishing, and a bar that connects or transfers movement between parts of a machine.

## Topics
- Materials & Substances

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rod