"R" Word Origins

rookie

Origin

Likely an alteration of "recruit," possibly influenced by "rook" in the sense of an easy target for a con.

room

Old English

From Old English rūm, meaning open space, related to a very old root meaning "to tear open" — the same idea behind clearing space for something.

room and board

English

Room in the sense of lodging, plus board meaning meals — from the old use of board for a dining table, as in boarding house.

roomer

Origin

From room + -er (agent noun suffix) or + -er (measurement suffix) (sense 2).

roomful

Origin

From room plus the suffix -ful, meaning "enough to fill."

roomie

Origin

A casual shortening of "roommate" with the informal -ie ending.

roomlet

Origin

From room + -let.

roommate

Origin

A straightforward compound of room and mate, first used for people who shared living quarters, such as students or soldiers.

roomy

Origin

Formed from room plus -y, the common adjective-forming suffix meaning "having a lot of."

Rooney

Irish

Anglicised from Irish Ó Ruanaidh, meaning "descendant of the champion".

roop

Old English

From Old English hrōpan ("to shout, cry out"), related to the Dutch roepen and German rufen — all meaning "to call."

Roosevelt

Dutch

From a Dutch farm name, either Rozenveld or Ruiseveld, from Middle Dutch elements meaning "rose field" or "rush field".

roost

Old English

From Old English hrōst, meaning the wooden framework of a roof or perch — related to Dutch roest and German Rost ("grate").

rooster

Origin

Formed from roost plus -er, originally meaning "one that roosts." It became the polite American alternative to "cock" once that word picked up other slang meanings.

root

Latin

From Old Norse rót, going back to a Proto-Germanic word for "root" that is also the ancestor of "wort" and a distant relative of Latin radix (source of "radish" and "radical").

rootable

Origin

From root + -able.

rootage

Origin

root + -age

rooting

Middle English

From Middle English rotynge (“rooting”); equivalent to root + -ing.

rooting for you

English

From the verb root "to cheer or support", used of sports crowds in American English; its earlier origin is uncertain.

rope

Old English

From Old English rāp, part of a large Germanic family of words for cord or strap, related to Dutch reep and German Reif.

Roper

Origin

From the noun rope plus the agent suffix "-er" — literally, one who ropes.

Ropes

Origin

In the sense of skills, a now figurative use that originally referred to literal ropes. The phrase “he knows the ropes” written on a seaman’s discharge meant that he was inexperienced and only familiar with a ship’s principal ropes.

ropeway

Origin

From rope + way.

ropy

Origin

From Middle English ropy, from Middle English rop + -y, equivalent to rope + -y.

roque

Origin · 1899

Coined in 1899 simply by dropping the first and last letters of "croquet."

Rorschach

Origin · 1921

Named after Hermann Rorschach, the Swiss psychiatrist who developed the inkblot test in 1921.

rorty

Origin

19th century UK. Unknown etymology. Farmer (1903) categorises the term as costermongers' slang.

Rory

Scottish Gaelic

As a given name, an anglicised form of the Irish and Scottish Gaelic Ruairí/Ruairidh, meaning roughly "red-haired king." The adjective senses (dewy; gaudy) come from an unrelated dialect word.

Rosa

Latin

Borrowed from Latin rosa ("rose").

rosacea

Latin

From Latin rosaceus, meaning rose-coloured, from rosa, a rose.

Rosalee

Origin

A re-spelling of Rosalie.

Rosalia

Latin

Learned borrowing from Latin Rosālia. Doublet of Rosalie.

Rosalie

Latin

From French Rosalie, from the Latin saints' name Rosālia, from rosa ("rose").

Rosalind

Proto-Germanic

From Proto-Germanic elements meaning "horse" and "soft, tender"; later folk-associated with Spanish rosa linda, "lovely rose".

Rosaline

Origin

An elaborate form of Rosalie, or a simplified form of Rosalind.

Rosamund

Latin

Of Germanic origin, from elements meaning "horse" and "protection"; later folk-associated with Latin rosa munda ("pure rose").

Rosanna

Origin

Blend of Rose and Anna, possibly also influenced by Roxana.

Rosario

Spanish

From Spanish rosario ("rosary"); a doublet of rosary.

rosary

Latin

From Latin rosarium, "rose garden," reused in church Latin for a garland of prayers — the same root that gives us "rosarium."

roscoe

Origin · 1900

Origin unclear; it appears to come from the personal name Roscoe and was popular in early 20th-century American slang, especially in crime fiction.

rose

Latin

From Old English rose, reinforced by Old French rose, both ultimately from Latin rosa — a word that may trace back through Greek to a very old Persian root for "flower."

Roseanna

Origin

From Rose + Anna.

Roseanne

Origin

From Rose + Anne.

rosebud

Origin

A simple compound of rose and bud.

rosehip

Origin

From rose + hip.

roselle

Origin

Uncertain. Perhaps an alteration or misapprehension of French oseille denoting this plant, specific use of oseille sorrel; perhaps compare also sorrel.

rosemary

Latin

From Latin rōs marīnus, literally "dew of the sea" — later reshaped in English under the influence of the names "rose" and "Mary."

rosemond

Origin

A variant of Rosamund.