rod

¹

[ rod ]

noun

1. a stick, wand, staff, or the like, of wood, metal, or other material.
2. a straight, slender shoot or stem of any woody plant, whether still growing or cut from the plant.
3. fishing rod.
4. (in plastering or mortaring) a straightedge moved along screeds to even the plaster between them.
5. a stick used for measuring.
6. Archaic. a unit of linear measure, 5.5 yards or 16.5 feet (5.029 meters); linear perch or pole.
7. Archaic. a unit of square measure, 30.25 square yards (25.29 sq. m); square perch or pole.
8. a stick, or a bundle of sticks or switches bound together, used as an instrument of punishment.
9. punishment or discipline:

   Not one to spare the rod, I sent him to bed without dinner.

10. a wand, staff, or scepter carried as a symbol of office, authority, power, etc.
11. authority, sway, or rule, especially when tyrannical.
12. lightning rod.
13. a slender bar or tube for draping towels over, suspending a shower curtain, etc.
14. Bible. a branch of a family; tribe.
15. a pattern, drawn on wood in full size, of one section of a piece of furniture.
16. Slang.
    1. a pistol or revolver.
    2. Vulgar. the penis.
17. Anatomy. one of the rodlike cells in the retina of the eye, sensitive to low intensities of light. Compare cone ( def 5 ).
18. Bacteriology. a rod-shaped microorganism.
19. Also called leveling rod, Surveying. a light pole, conspicuously marked with graduations, held upright and read through a surveying instrument in leveling or stadia surveying.
20. Metallurgy. round metal stock for drawing and cutting into slender bars.

verb (used with object)

, rod·ded, rod·ding.

1. to furnish or equip with a rod or rods, especially lightning rods.
2. to even (plaster or mortar) with a rod.
3. Metallurgy. to reinforce (the core of a mold) with metal rods.

Rod

²

[ rod ]

noun

1. a male given name, form of Roderick or Rodney.

rod

/ rɒd /

noun

1. a slim cylinder of metal, wood, etc; stick or shaft
2. a switch or bundle of switches used to administer corporal punishment
3. any of various staffs of insignia or office
4. power, esp of a tyrannical kind

   a dictator's iron rod

5. a straight slender shoot, stem, or cane of a woody plant
6. See fishing rod
7. Also calledpoleperch
   1. a unit of length equal to 5 1 2 yards
   2. a unit of square measure equal to 30 1 4 square yards
8. a straight narrow board marked with the dimensions of a piece of joinery, as the spacing of steps on a staircase
9. a metal shaft that transmits power in axial reciprocating motion Compare shaft

   piston rod, con(necting) rod

10. surveying another name (esp US) for staff 1
11. Also calledretinal rod any of the elongated cylindrical cells in the retina of the eye, containing the visual purple (rhodopsin), which are sensitive to dim light but not to colour Compare cone
12. any rod-shaped bacterium
13. a slang word for penis
14. slang name for pistol
15. short for hot rod

rod

/ rŏd /

1. One of the rod-shaped cells in the retina of the eye of many vertebrate animals. Rods are more sensitive to light than cones and are responsible for the ability to see in dim light. However, rods are insensitive to red wavelengths of light and do not contribute greatly to the perception of color.
2. Compare cone

Derived Forms

• ˈrodˌlike, adjective

Other Words From

• rodless adjective
• rodlike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of rod¹

before 1150; Middle English rodd, late Old English; akin to Old Norse rudda club

Word History and Origins

Origin of rod¹

Old English rodd ; related to Old Norse rudda club, Norwegian rudda, rydda twig

Idioms and Phrases

see hot rod ; spare the rod .

Example Sentences

He had suffered a double leg break, which required extensive surgery to fit pins and rods.

From BBC

Sadat told the court that Iza’s Nevada-based doctor was the “premier, No. 1 leg-lengthening surgeon in the world,” and submitted a letter from the physician that said the rods needed to be removed.

From Los Angeles Times

Color occurs because our eyes are equipped with rods and cones — specialized light-absorbing cells in the retina at the back of the eye.

From Salon

Foot-long metal rods with serial numbers were shot into the muscles of whales.

From Science Daily

The pain is worst in her thigh, where she had a metal rod inserted after cancer rotted her femur.

From BBC

Related Words

• baton
• cane
• cylinder
• ingot
• shaft
• slab
• stick

About This Word

What else does rod mean?

Rod can refer to a stick, handgun, car, parts of the eye, and even, well, the penis, among many other things. ROD can additionally serve as an acronym for the slang expression ride or die.

Where does rod come from?

Rod is evidenced in Old English when it meant, well, “rod” or “pole.” Over the centuries, rod took on many senses, such as a tool for corporal punishment and a unit of measurement.

We find the word rod used for “penis” in the late 16th century. Rod crept up to the eyes–as in an eyeball’s rods and cones–by 1866.

Rod was recorded in the sense of “gun” by the 1900s and “gunman” by the 1930s. The 1950s saw rod extended to the pistons of cars, as can be found in a hot rod car.

ROD is sometimes used as an acronym for ride or die, an expression of loyalty that was popularized by hip-hop.

How is rod used in real life?

Rod is widespread in the English language, referring to all sorts of pole-like items, from fishing rods to carbon rods. Of course, Rod is a short form of such names as Roderick, Rodney, and Rodriquez, such as Rod Stewart and A-Rod.

For as old as the slang term is, rod remains a colorful euphemism for “penis,” and you’ll occasionally see rod used for “gun” in criminal contexts.

ROD, for ride or die, can be seen as a hashtag #ROD on social media as a convenient proclamation of loyalty, no matter what, to one’s compadres.

It’s a different typa loyalty when yo best friends are yo siblings 💉 #ROD

— FINEFEUIAKI (@amzfine) December 24, 2018

everyone is still hella confused when i mention corn so let me come thru rq. this is corn, he's my ROD, my wingman, my sidekick, my baby pic.twitter.com/x7xLHSF549

— A T O K A D (@kashtwt) June 30, 2017

 

More examples of rod:

“Although this article focuses on how to replace strut rods on C2s and C3s, the procedure is similar for most other generation Corvettes. The parts options are also similar and include rubber polyurethane bushings and adjustable struts rods.”

—John Pfanstiehl, Hod Rod Network, December 2018

Note

This content is not meant to be a formal definition of this term. Rather, it is an informal summary that seeks to provide supplemental information and context important to know or keep in mind about the term’s history, meaning, and usage.