roke

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Etymology

From Middle English roke (“fog, vapour, cloud”), probably from Old Norse roka ("whirlwind, fine spray"; compare Old Norse særoka (“seaspray”)), reinforced later by Middle Dutch roke, rooc (“smoke”), from Old Dutch rouc (“steam, vapour”), from Proto-Germanic *raukiz (“smoke”), from Proto-Indo-European *rewg- (“to erupt, vomit, burp”), from *rew- (“to roar, growl, grumble”). Cognate with Scots rok, roik, rouk (“mist, fog, cloud”), Dutch rook (“smoke, fog”), German Rauch (“smoke, fume”), Swedish rök (“smoke, fume, steam, reek”), West Frisian reek, riik (“smoke, fume”). More at reek. Compare dialectal rawk, which is related, and rag (“fog”) (see raggy (“foggy”)), which may or may not be.

A single word — an entire dictionary opens.

Type a word, a sentence, a book title, or a link to an English article. WordNet and the Classics answer.

Try

A library of classics · a vault of words · instant etymology & meaning

Continue reading