rod English · revision 7376

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=inherited|attested=before 1150|origins=ang rodd}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɹɒd/ ''(UK)''; /ɹɑd/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English rodde, [[inh|ang|rodd|t=a rod, pole]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) probably cognate with Old Norse [[m|non|rudda|t=club]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) from Proto-Germanic *rudd-, perhaps from PIE [[ine-pro|*rewdʰ-|alt=*reudh-|t=to clear land]].^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) Others formerly linked it with the continental words under [[rood]].^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A straight slender shoot growing on or cut from a tree; an instrument of punishment: before 1150 in the OED, the mid-12th century in Etymonline.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Word Origins notes that phrases with rod tend to evoke traditional, severe punishment, as ''spare the rod''.^(Cresswell 2021) Figuratively, any punishment is from the 14th century,^(Etymonline) and an offshoot, in the Bible a scion or tribe, from the mid-15th century.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) A fishing rod is from the mid-15th century.^(Etymonline) As a unit of length, 5½ yards, also called a perch or pole, it is from the late 14th century.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) In mechanics, any slender bar is from 1728,^(Etymonline) and a light-sensitive cell in the retina by 1837.^(Etymonline) A handgun is slang by 1903,^(Etymonline) and ''hot rod'', a modified car, is 20th-century.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1150 – a shoot; a rod for punishment.^(OED 1989)

+ * late 14th century – a unit of length.^(Etymonline)

+ * mid-15th century – a fishing rod.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1728 – a bar in a machine.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1837 – a retinal cell.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1903 – a handgun (slang).^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A thin, straight bar of wood or metal.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A stick or bundle of twigs used for beating someone, or punishment generally.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A [[fishing rod]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A unit of length equal to 5½ yards; a [[perch]] or pole.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # One of the light-sensitive cells in the retina that respond to dim light.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(US slang)'' A pistol.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[rodless]]

+ * [[rodlike]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[rood]]

+ * [[ramrod]]

+ * [[lightning rod]]

+ * [[hot rod]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}