Where does “rookery” come from?
Rookery comes from English rook plus the suffix -ery, with rook deriving from Middle English rok, Middle Dutch roke, and ultimately Proto-Indo-European roots related to Sanskrit रमते.
rookery (English): A colony of breeding birds or other animals; A...
Definitions
- A colony of breeding birds or other animals; A...
Ancestry of “rookery”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | rook | A European bird, "Corvus frugilegus", of the crow... |
| 2 | Middle English | rook | — |
| 3 | Old French | roc | rook |
| 4 | Arabic | رُخّ | — |
| 5 | Persian | رخ | rook; cheek; face |
| 6 | Middle Persian | lhw' | rook, castle |
| 7 | Sanskrit | रथ | chariot, car, especially a two-wheeled... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-Iranian | Hrátʰas | chariot |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | Hrót-h₂-os | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | Hret- | to roll; wheel; to run, roll |