Adjacent Words

Rod definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

ROD, n. [L. radius, ray, radix, root.]
1. The shoot or long twig of any woody plant; a branch, or the stem of a shrub; as a rod of hazle, of birch, of oak or hickory. Hence,
2. An instrument of punishment or correction; chastisement.
I will chasten him with the rod of men. 1 Samuel 7. Proverbs 10.
3. Discipline; ecclesiastical censures. 1 Corinthians 4.
4. A king of scepter.
The rod and bird of peace.
5. A pole for angling; something long and slender.
6. An instrument for measuring; but more generally, a measure of length containing five yards, or sixteen feet and a half; a pole; a perch. In many parts of the United States, rod is universally used for pole or perch.
7. In Scripture, a staff or wand. 2 Samuel 14.
8. Support.
Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Psalms 23.
9. A shepherd's crook. Leviticus 27.
10. An instrument for threshing. Isaiah 28.
11. Power; authority. Psalms 125.
12. A tribe or race. Psalms 74.
Rod of iron, the mighty power of Christ. Revelation 19. Psalms 2.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a long thin implement made of metal or wood
2: any rod-shaped bacterium
3: a linear measure of 16.5 feet [syn: perch, rod, pole]
4: a square rod of land [syn: perch, rod, pole]
5: a visual receptor cell that is sensitive to dim light [syn: rod, rod cell, retinal rod]
6: a gangster's pistol [syn: gat, rod]

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English rodd; akin to Old Norse rudda club Date: before 12th century 1. a. (1) a straight slender stick growing on or cut from a tree or bush (2) osier (3) a stick or bundle of twigs used to punish; also punishment (4) a shepherd's cudgel (5) a pole with a line and usually a reel attached for fishing b. (1) a slender bar (as of wood or metal) (2) a bar or staff for measuring (3) scepter; also a wand or staff carried as a badge of office (as of marshal) 2. a. a unit of length — see weight table b. a square rod 3. any of the long rod-shaped photosensitive receptors in the retina responsive to faint light — compare cone 3a 4. a rod-shaped bacterium 5. slang handgun • rodless adjective • rodlike adjective

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 a slender straight bar esp. of wood or metal. 2 this as a symbol of office. 3 a a stick or bundle of twigs used in caning or flogging. b (prec. by the) the use of this. 4 a = fishing-rod. b an angler using a rod. 5 a a slender straight round stick growing as a shoot on a tree. b this when cut. 6 (as a measure) a perch or square perch (see PERCH(1)). 7 US sl. = hot rod. 8 US sl. a pistol or revolver. 9 Anat. any of numerous rod-shaped structures in the eye, detecting dim light. Phrases and idioms: make a rod for one's own back act in a way that will bring one trouble later. Derivatives: rodless adj. rodlet n. rodlike adj. Etymology: OE rodd, prob. rel. to ON rudda club

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rod Rod, n. [The same word as rood. See Rood.] 1. A straight and slender stick; a wand; hence, any slender bar, as of wood or metal (applied to various purposes). Specifically: (a) An instrument of punishment or correction; figuratively, chastisement. He that spareth his rod hateth his son. --Prov. xiii. 24. (b) A kind of sceptor, or badge of office; hence, figuratively, power; authority; tyranny; oppression. ``The rod, and bird of peace.'' --Shak. (c) A support for a fishing line; a fish pole. --Gay. (d) (Mach. & Structure) A member used in tension, as for sustaining a suspended weight, or in tension and compression, as for transmitting reciprocating motion, etc.; a connecting bar. (e) An instrument for measuring. 2. A measure of length containing sixteen and a half feet; -- called also perch, and pole. Black rod. See in the Vocabulary. Rods and cones (Anat.), the elongated cells or elements of the sensory layer of the retina, some of which are cylindrical, others somewhat conical.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(rods) A rod is a long, thin metal or wooden bar. ...a 15-foot thick roof that was reinforced with steel rods. N-COUNT see also fishing rod, lightning rod

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

(maqqel, maTTeh, shebheT; rhabdos): Little distinction can be drawn between the Hebrew words used for "rod" and "staff." Maqqel is the word used in Ge 30:37 ff for the twigs of poplar put by Jacob before his sheep, and in Jer 1:11 of the "rod of an almond-tree." MaTTeh is used of a rod in the hand, as the "rods" of Moses and of Aaron (Ex 4:2 ff; 7:9 , etc.). ShebheT is used, but sometimes also maTTeh, of the rod used for correction (Ex 21:20; 2Sa 7:14; Pr 10:13; 13:24; Isa 10:5, etc.). In Ps 23:4 ("Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me"), however, shebheT is the shepherd's rod, figurative of divine guidance and care. In Eze 21:10,13, the word stands for the royal scepter. In the New Testament "rod" is used of a rod of correction (1Co 4:21), Aaron's rod (Heb 9:4), a ruler's rod "of iron" (severity, as in Re 2:27; 12:5; 19:15), a measuring rod (Re 11:1).

See also ARMOR, ARMS.

James Orr

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Twig, shoot, slender stem. 2. Wand, slender stick, cane. 3. Switch, scourge, birch, cudgel. 4. Pole, perch. 5. Shoot, branch (of a family), tribe, race. 6. Wand, sceptre.

Moby Thesaurus

Maypole, atomic pile, automatic, bar, baton, billet, birch, blowgun, blowpipe, breeder reactor, bricks, caduceus, cane, cap of dignity, cap of maintenance, castigation, chain of office, chain reactor, chain-reacting pile, chastisement, club, coronet, correction, crook, crosier, cross-staff, crown, diadem, discipline, ermine, fasces, fast pile, ferule, firearm, flagstaff, flamethrower, furnace, gat, gavel, great seal, gun, handgun, heater, heterogeneous reactor, homogeneous reactor, ingot, intermediate pile, lattice, mace, mantle, musket, neutron factory, nuclear furnace, orb, paddle, pandybat, peashooter, piece, pile, pistol, plutonium reactor, pole, portfolio, power reactor, power-breeder reactor, privy seal, province, punition, purple, purple pall, radioactive waste, rattan, reactor, reactor pile, regalia, repeater, revolver, rifle, robe of state, rod of empire, rod of office, rods, royal crown, ruler, sawed-off shotgun, scape, scepter, seal, shaft, shooting iron, shotgun, signet, six-gun, six-shooter, slab, slow pile, staff, stalk, stellarator, stem, stick, strip, switch, tiara, tongue, totem pole, triple plume, truncheon, uraeus, uranium reactor, wand, wand of office