rock

Webster's Dictionary (1913)

See Roc.

Origin: OE. rocke; akin to D. rok, rokken, G. rocken, OHG. roccho, Dan. rok, Icel. rokkr. Cf. Rocket a firework.

A distaff used in spinning; the staff or frame about which flax is arranged, and from which the thread is drawn in spinning. George Chapman

Sad Clotho held the rocke, the whiles the thread By grisly Lachesis was spun with pain, That cruel Atropos eftsoon undid.— Edmund Spenser

Origin: OF. roke, F. roche; cf. Armor. roc'h, and AS. rocc.

1. A large concreted mass of stony material; a large fixed stone or crag. See Stone.

Come one, come all! this rock shall fly From its firm base as soon as I.— Sir Walter Scott

2. Geology Any natural deposit forming a part of the earth's crust, whether consolidated or not, including sand, earth, clay, etc., when in natural beds.

3. That which resembles a rock in firmness; a defense; a support; a refuge.

The Lord is my rock, and my fortress.— 2 Sam. xxii. 2.

4. Fig.: Anything which causes a disaster or wreck resembling the wreck of a vessel upon a rock.

5. Zoology The striped bass. See under Bass.

☞ This word is frequently used in the formation of self-explaining compounds; as, rock-bound, rock-built, rock-ribbed, rock-roofed, and the like.

Rock alum. Same as Roche alum. — Rock barnacle Zoology, a barnacle (Balanus balanoides) very abundant on rocks washed by tides. — Rock bass. Zoology (a) The stripped bass. See under Bass. (b) The goggle-eye. (c) The cabrilla. Other species are also locally called rock bass. — Rock builder Zoology, any species of animal whose remains contribute to the formation of rocks, especially the corals and Foraminifera. — Rock butter Mineralogy, native alum mixed with clay and oxide of iron, usually in soft masses of a yellowish white color, occuring in cavities and fissures in argillaceous slate. — Rock candy, a form of candy consisting of crystals of pure sugar which are very hard, whence the name. — Rock cavy. Zoology See Moco. — Rock cod Zoology (a) A small, often reddish or brown, variety of the cod found about rocks andledges. (b) A California rockfish. — Rock cook. Zoology (a) A European wrasse (Centrolabrus exoletus). (b) A rockling. — Rock cork Mineralogy, a variety of asbestus the fibers of which are loosely interlaced. It resembles cork in its texture. — Rock crab Zoology, any one of several species of large crabs of the genus C, as the two species of the New England coast (Cancer irroratus and Cancer borealis). See Illust. under Cancer. — Rock cress Botany, a name of several plants of the cress kind found on rocks, as Arabis petraea, Arabis lyrata, etc. — Rock crystal Mineralogy, limpid quartz. See Quartz, and under Crystal. — Rock dove Zoology, the rock pigeon; — called also rock doo. — Rock drill, an implement for drilling holes in rock; esp., a machine impelled by steam or compressed air, for drilling holes for blasting, etc. — Rock duck Zoology, the harlequin duck. — Rock eel. Zoology See Gunnel. — Rock goat Zoology, a wild goat, or ibex. — Rock hopper Zoology, a penguin of the genus Catarractes. See under Penguin. — Rock kangaroo. Zoology See Kangaroo, and Petrogale. — Rock lobster Zoology, any one of several species of large spinose lobsters of the genera Panulirus and Palinurus. They have no large claws. Called also spiny lobster, and sea crayfish. — Rock meal Mineralogy, a light powdery variety of calcite occuring as an efflorescence. — Rock milk. Mineralogy See Agaric mineral, under Agaric. — Rock moss, a kind of lichen; the cudbear. See Cudbear. — Rock oil. See Petroleum. — Rock parrakeet Zoology, a small Australian parrakeet (Euphema petrophila), which nests in holes among the rocks of high cliffs. Its general color is yellowish olive green; a frontal band and the outer edge of the wing quills are deep blue, and the central tail feathers bluish green. — Rock pigeon Zoology, the wild pigeon (Columba livia) Of Europe and Asia, from which the domestic pigeon was derived. See Illust. under Pigeon. — Rock pipit. Zoology See the Note under Pipit. — Rock plover. Zoology (a) The black-bellied, or whistling, plover. (b) The rock snipe. — Rock ptarmigan Zoology, an arctic American ptarmigan (Lagopus rupestris), which in winter is white, with the tail and lores black. In summer the males are grayish brown, coarsely vermiculated with black, and have black patches on the back. — Rock rabbit Zoology, the hyrax. See Cony, and Daman. — Rock ruby Mineralogy, a fine reddish variety of garnet. — Rock salt Mineralogy, cloride of sodium (common salt) occuring in rocklike masses in mines; mineral salt; salt dug from the earth. In the United States this name is sometimes given to salt in large crystals, formed by evaporation from sea water in large basins or cavities. — Rock seal Zoology, the harbor seal. See Seal. — Rock shell Zoology, any species of Murex, Purpura, and allied genera. — Rock snake Zoology, any one of several large pythons; as, the royal rock snake (Python regia) of Africa, and the rock snake of India (Python molurus). The Australian rock snakes mostly belong to the allied genus Morelia. — Rock snipe Zoology, the purple sandpiper (Tringa maritima); — called also rock bird, rock plover, winter snipe. — Rock soap Mineralogy, a kind of clay having a smooth, greasy feel, and adhering to the tongue. — Rock sparrow. Zoology (a) Any one of several species of Old World sparrows of the genus Petronia, as Petronia stulla, of Europe. (b) A North American sparrow (Pucaea ruficeps). — Rock tar, petroleum. — Rock thrush Zoology, any Old World thrush of the genus Monticola, or Petrocossyphus; as, the European rock thrush (Monticola saxatilis), and the blue rock thrush of India (Monticola cyaneus), in which the male is blue throughout. — Rock tripe Botany, a kind of lichen (Umbilicaria Dillenii) growing on rocks in the northen parts of America, and forming broad, flat, coriaceous, dark fuscous or blackish expansions. It has been used as food in cases of extremity. — Rock trout Zoology, any one of several species of marine food fishes of the genus Hexagrammus, family Chiradae, native of the North Pacific coasts; — called also sea trout, boregat, bodieron, and starling. — Rock warbler Zoology, a small Australian singing bird (Origma rubricata) which frequents rocky ravines and water courses; — called also cataract bird. — Rock wren Zoology, any one of several species of wrens of the genus Salpinctes, native of the arid plains of Lower California and Mexico.

Origin: AS. roccian; akin to Dan. rokke to move, to snake; cf. Icel. rukkja to pull, move, G. rücken to move, push, pull.

1. To cause to sway backward and forward, as a body resting on a support beneath; as, to rock a cradle or chair; to cause to vibrate; to cause to reel or totter.

A rising earthquake rocked the ground.— John Dryden

2. To move as in a cradle; hence, to put to sleep by rocking; to still; to quiet. “Sleep rock thy brain.” William Shakespeare

☞ Rock differs from shake, as denoting a slower, less violent, and more uniform motion, or larger movements. It differs from swing, which expresses a vibratory motion of something suspended.

1. To move or be moved backward and forward; to be violently agitated; to reel; to totter.

The rocking town Supplants their footsteps.— John Philips

2. To roll or saway backward and forward upon a support; as, to rock in a rocking-chair.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54