## Etymology
From Old English hrōc ('rook, the bird'), of imitative origin (echoing its harsh cry), from Proto-Germanic *hrōkaz. The 'castle' chess sense is separate, from Old French roc, from Persian rukh.

## AI Etymology
Rook comes from Old English hrōc ('rook, the bird'), of imitative origin (echoing its harsh cry), from Proto-Germanic *hrōkaz. The 'castle' chess sense is separate, from Old French roc, from Persian rukh. The historical chain includes Old English hrōc and Proto-Germanic *hrōkaz. Older glosses in the chain include "rook, the bird" and "castle", which help explain the semantic range of the modern word. Morphologically, rook is best read as borrowing and imitative formation, yielding an English noun and verb shaped by both form history and later usage. In current English it functions as a noun and verb, with the sense "a black crow-like bird; a chess castle; to cheat or swindle". English derivatives include rookery and rooked; related forms include rookie. The result is an English noun and verb whose etymology preserves the older forms while supporting the word's specialized modern meaning.

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