Main Entry:: rod
Pronunciation:: \ˈräd\
Function:: noun
Etymology:: Middle English, from Old English rodd; akin to Old Norse rudda club
Date:: before 12th century

1 a (1): a straight slender stick growing on or cut from a tree or bush (2): osier (3): a stick or bundle of twigs used to punish; also : punishment (4): a shepherd's cudgel (5): a pole with a line and usually a reel attached for fishing b (1): a slender bar (as of wood or metal) (2): a bar or staff for measuring (3): scepter; also : a wand or staff carried as a badge of office (as of marshal)2 a: a unit of length — see weight table b: a square rod3: any of the long rod-shaped photosensitive receptors in the retina responsive to faint light — compare cone 3a4: a rod-shaped bacterium5slang : handgun

— rod·less

\-ləs\ adjective

— rod·like

\-ˌlīk\ adjective

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