rock
English has two main words spelled rock: the mass of stone, from Old North French, and the verb “to sway”, from Old English, which also gave the music.[1][2][3]
Pronunciation
- IPA: UK /rɒk/, US /rɑːk/[4]
rock1 stone
Etymology
The stone is inherited from Middle English rokke, also roc and roche,[5][2] found in Old English rocc, as in stānrocc “stone rock, obelisk”, and partly developed from it,[5][2] but more directly borrowed from Old French roque, Old North French, a variant of Old French roche,[5][2][1][6] from Vulgar Latin *rocca,[5][1][3] of uncertain origin.[5][2][6] Klein suggests a Celtic source, comparing Breton roch,[7][5] Merriam-Webster calls it probably non-Indo-European,[3] and Word Origins notes that the classical Latin word was petra, the source of petrify.[8]
Earliest recorded meaning
A cliff, an outcrop of rock: about 1250, and in the surname Stanrok in 1241.[2] The OED's first quotation for a large rugged mass of stone forming a cliff or crag is from the 14th century.[9]
Semantic evolution
Figurative senses from the Bible are from 1526: a source of danger, as of shipwreck, and something that gives a sure foundation or shelter.[9] A detached stone of any size is a rock, originally in the United States, from 1709.[9] On the rocks, “destitute”, is from the 18th century,[9] and as a drink “on ice” is American, first recorded in 1946.[8] The slang rock for a precious stone is from the late 19th century.[8] In Canada a curling stone is a rock, from 1911.[9] People have been caught between a rock and a hard place since the 1920s, first in Arizona and California.[8]
Timeline
- 1241 – in the surname Stanrok.[2]
- c. 1250 – a cliff, outcrop.[2]
- 1526 – a danger; a sure foundation.[9]
- 1709 – a stone of any size.[9]
- late 19th century – a precious stone.[8]
- 1920s – between a rock and a hard place.[8]
- 1946 – on the rocks, on ice.[8]
Modern meaning
Noun
- The hard mineral matter of the earth's crust; stone.
- A large mass of stone forming a cliff or outcrop.
- (chiefly US) A stone of any size.
- A person or thing that is firm and dependable.
- (British) A hard stick of sweet: a stick of rock.
- (slang) A diamond or other gem.
Word family
- rocky
- rockery
- bedrock
- rock salt
- rock bottom
- rock garden
rock2 sway; music
Etymology
The verb is inherited from Middle English rokken, inherited from Old English roccian (“to move a child gently to and fro”),[5][2][1] probably from a Germanic base meaning “to move, remove”,[6][10][11] represented also by Middle Dutch rucken (“to sway”), Old High German rucchan (“to cause to move”), German rücken (“to move, push”) and Old Norse rykkja (“to pull, tug”).[5][2][3] Barnhart calls this base of unknown origin.[2] The noun is from the verb.[2][5]
Earliest recorded meaning
Late Old English roccian: before 1100.[2] Middle English rocken, of rocking a cradle, is probably before 1200, in the Ancrene Riwle.[2][5]
Semantic evolution
The intransitive sense “to sway back and forth unstably” is from the late 14th century.[5] The noun, a rocking movement, is from 1823.[5][2] In blues slang rock meant “to cause to move with musical rhythm” by 1922, often with sexual overtones,[5] and a musical rhythm with a strong beat is first recorded in 1946.[2][5] The verb “to dance to popular music with a strong beat” is from 1948.[5] Rock and roll is from 1954,[2] usually rock'n'roll from 1955, and shortened to rock by 1957.[2][5] Rock star is by 1956.[5] Rocker was one who rocks a cradle before 1325.[2]
Timeline
- before 1100 – to rock a child.[2]
- late 14th century – to sway unstably.[5]
- 1823 – noun, a rocking movement.[5][2]
- 1922 – blues slang, to move with rhythm.[5]
- 1946 – a strong musical beat.[2]
- 1954 – rock and roll.[2]
- 1957 – rock, the music.[2][5]
Modern meaning
Verb
- To move gently back and forth or from side to side.
- To shake or disturb violently: rocked by scandal.
- To play or dance to rock music.
Noun
- A rocking movement.
- Rock and roll, or popular music developed from it.
Word family
- rocker
- rocking chair
- rocking horse
- rock and roll
- punk rock
Related words
- rococo
- petrify
Usage notes
An archaic rock, “a distaff”, is from Middle Dutch rocke or Old Norse rokkr, from about 1310.[6][9][3]
References
- ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
- ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
- ^ a b c d e f g Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press