Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

rood

/ɹuːd/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.58 in modern English

Syllables: rood
IPA: /ɹuːd/

5

Scrabble Score

4

Letters

1

Syllables

3

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A crucifix, cross, especially in a church.

Archaic

noun

A measure of land area, equal to a quarter of an acre.

noun

An area of sixty-four square yards.

noun

A measure of five and a half yards in length.

British usage; Obsolete

noun

The human face.

Archaic

name

Example Sentences

"The Citizens in their rage, imagining that euery poſt in the Churche had bin one of yᵉ Souldyers, ſhot habbe or nabbe at randon^([sic – meaning random]) uppe to the Roode lofte, and to the Chancell, leauing ſome of theyr arrowes ſticking in the Images."
"Have you forgot me? No, by the rood, not so."
"By holy rood, a royal beard! / How say you? we have slept, my lords. / My beard has grown into my lap."
"Next a marsh, it would seem, and now mere earth / Desperate and done with; (so a fool finds mirth, / Makes a thing and then mars it, till his mood / Changes and off he goes!) within a rood— / Bog, clay and rubble, sand and stark black dearth."
"[…] a bumptious fool whose god was property, not property in vast estates such as a true man might worship, but in paltry roods."
"Perhaps, however, he could ensure against being completely alone by cultivating the few roods of garden wished upon him."

Etymology

From Middle English rode, rood (“cross”), from Old English rōd (“cross”), from Proto-Germanic *rōdō, *rōdǭ (“rod, pole”), from Proto-Indo-European *rōt-, *reh₁t- (“bar, beam, stem”). Cognate with German Rute (“rod, cane, pole”), Norwegian roda (“rod”). Largely displaced by cross. More at rod.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: *reh₁t-, rode, rōd, *rōdō, *rōt-

Usage

Inflected Forms

roods (plural)

Derived Forms

Holyrood Roodmas

Phrases

by the rood holy rood rood beam Rood End rood goose rood-loft rood screen rood-steeple

Synonyms

farthingdale day's work daywork farthing ferling farthingdeal farthingdole farundel yard rod Scottish rood dunam

Homonyms

rude

Rhymes With

food include non-food you'd dude mood viewed rude reviewed renewed crude nude

Questions

How do you pronounce rood?: The recorded pronunciation is /ɹuːd/.
What does rood mean?: A crucifix, cross, especially in a church.
Where does rood come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce rood

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “rood”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ɹuːd/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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Repeat and practice — Say “rood” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.