corvus frugilegus

Noun

WordNet 3.0

Noun (1)

common gregarious Old World bird about the size and color of the American crowSynonyms: rook Corvus frugilegus

Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

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.(Zool.) 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]