rock

Etymology 1

From Middle English rocke, rokke (“rock formation”), from Old English *rocc (“rock”), as in Old English stānrocc (“high stone rock, peak, obelisk”), and also later from Anglo-Norman roque, (compare Modern French roc, roche, rocher), from Medieval Latin rocca (attested 767), of uncertain origin, sometimes said to be of Celtic (in particular, perhaps Gaulish) origin (compare Breton roc'h).

noun

1. A formation of minerals, specifically:
   1. (uncountable) The naturally occurring aggregate of solid mineral matter that constitutes a significant part of the earth's crust.
      Floods in northern India, mostly in the small state of Uttarakhand, have wrought disaster on an enormous scale.[…]Rock-filled torrents smashed vehicles and homes, burying victims under rubble and sludge. 2013-06-29, “High and wet”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, page 28
      The face of the cliff is solid rock.
   2. A mass of stone projecting out of the ground or water.
      The ship crashed on the rocks.
   3. (chiefly British) A boulder or large stone; or (US, Canada) a smaller stone; a pebble.
      Some fool has thrown a rock through my window.
   4. (geology) Any natural material with a distinctive composition of minerals.
   5. (slang) A precious stone or gem, especially a diamond.
      Look at the size of that rock on her finger!
      I call all the shots, rip all the spots / Rock all the rocks, cop all the drops 1997, “Mo Money Mo Problems”, in Life After Death, performed by The Notorious B.I.G. ft. Ma$e & Diddy
2. A large hill or island having no vegetation.
   Pearl Rock near Cape Cod is so named because the morning sun makes it gleam like a pearl.
3. (figurative) Something that is strong, stable, and dependable; a person who provides security or support to another.
   1991, Robert Harling and Andrew Bergman, Soapdish, Paramount Pictures, Celeste Talbert: She is my rock, my right hand.
4. A lump or cube of ice.
   I'll have a whisky on the rocks, please.
5. (Britain, uncountable) A type of confectionery made from sugar in the shape of a stick, traditionally having some text running through its length.
   While we're in Brighton, let's get a stick of rock!
6. (US, slang) A crystallized lump of crack cocaine.
   I ain't guilty, ‘cause even though I sell rocks / It feels good puttin' money in your mailbox 1995, “Dear Mama”, in Me Against the World, performed by 2Pac
   When I necked five-quid bottles of vodka, I did not read the label. When I scored rocks and bags off tumbleweed hobos blowing through the no-man's-land of Hackney estates, I conducted no litmus test. 2014, Russell Brand, “Prologue”, in Revolution, page xiii
7. (US, slang) An unintelligent person, especially one who repeats mistakes.
8. (South Africa, slang, derogatory) An Afrikaner.
9. (US poker slang) An extremely conservative player who is willing to play only the very strongest hands.
10. Any of several fish:
    1. The striped bass.
    2. The huss or rock salmon.
       We ordered rock and chips to take away.
11. (US, basketball, slang) A basketball.
    Yo homie, pass the rock!
    It [the original Space Jam limped to 88 minutes with detours into Jordan’s swanky mansion and forced its cartoon cavalry to compete for screen time against Wayne Knight and a bunch of basketball players who delivered their lines much less confidently than they put the rock through the net. 14 July 2021, A. A. Dowd, “Space Jam: A New Legacy is one big, witless commercial for Warner Bros. properties”, in The A.V. Club
12. (US, baseball, slang) A mistake.
    Now, you should never make the last out of an inning at third, and when a player does it, everyone knows he pulled a rock. 2014, Joe Morgan, Richard Lally, Baseball For Dummies, page 227
13. (curling) Synonym of stone.
14. (rock paper scissors) A closed hand (a handshape resembling a rock), that beats scissors and loses to paper. It beats lizard and loses to Spock in rock-paper-scissors-lizard-Spock.
15. (informal, cricket) A cricket ball, especially a new one that has not been softened by use
16. (CB radio slang) A crystal used to control the radio frequency.
    It was easily possible to double the cost of a CB rig just by adding all of the "rocks" necessary to do the job. 1980, Joseph J. Carr, The Complete Handbook of Radio Receivers, page 199

Etymology 2

From Middle English rokken, from Old English roccian, from Proto-West Germanic *rokkōn, from Proto-Germanic *rukkōną (compare obsolete Dutch rokken, Middle High German rocken (“to drag, jerk”), Modern German rücken (“to move, shift”), Icelandic rukka (“to yank”)), from Proto-Germanic *rugnōną, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃ruk-néh₂, from *h₃rewk-, *h₃runk- (compare Latin runcāre (“to weed”), Latvian rũķēt (“to toss, dig”)).

verb

1. (transitive and intransitive) To move gently back and forth.
   Rock the baby to sleep.
   The empty swing rocked back and forth in the wind.
2. (transitive) To cause to shake or sway violently.
   Don't rock the boat.
3. (intransitive) To sway or tilt violently back and forth.
   The boat rocked at anchor.
4. (transitive and intransitive, of ore etc.) To be washed and panned in a cradle or in a rocker.
   The ores had been rocked and laid out for inspection.
5. (transitive) To disturb the emotional equilibrium of; to distress; to greatly impact (most often positively).
   Downing Street has been rocked by yet another sex scandal.
   She rocked my world.
6. (intransitive) To do well or to be operating at high efficiency.
   The Blues' challenge had been rocking at that point, with Terry's centre-back partner Gary Cahill lost to injury and Barca having just levelled the tie through Busquets's neat, close-range finish from Isaac Cuenca's pull-back. April 24, 2012, Phil Dawkes, “Barcelona 2-2 Chelsea”, in BBC Sport
7. (intransitive, stative) to be cool.
   That band rocks!
8. (slang, transitive, euphemistic) to make love to or have sex with.
   Cum on feel the noize, girls, rock your boys. 1973, Noddy Holder, Jim Lea (lyrics and music), “Cum On Feel the Noize”, performed by Slade
   Rock me gently, rock me slowly, take it easy, don't you know, that I have never been loved like this before. 1974, Andy Kim (lyrics and music), “Rock Me Gently”
   Open up your heart / And let the loving start / Oh, woman, take me in your arms / Rock your baby. 1974, Harry Wayne Casey, Richard Finch (lyrics and music), “Rock Your Baby”, performed by George McCrae
   I just wanna rock you, all night long. 1980, Jonah Ellis, Alisa Peoples, Cavin Yarbrough (lyrics and music), “Don't Stop the Music”, in The Two of Us, performed by Yarbrough and Peoples
9. (intransitive) To sway one's body as a stim.
   Tends to tap fingers on desk or spin ring on finger, especially when stressed. Sucks thumb in private. Loves to rock. May 4, 2019, C. L. Lynch, “"Autism is a Spectrum" Doesn’t Mean What You Think”, in NeuroClastic

noun

1. An act of rocking; a rocking motion; a sway.

Etymology 3

Shortened from rock and roll. Since the meaning of rock has adapted to mean a simpler, more modern, metal-like genre, rock and roll has generally been left referring to earlier forms such as that of the 1950s, notably more swing-oriented style.

noun

1. A style of music characterized by basic drum-beat, generally 4/4 riffs, based on (usually electric) guitar, bass guitar, drums, and vocals.

verb

1. (intransitive) To play, perform, or enjoy rock music, especially with a lot of skill or energy.
   Let's rock!
2. (intransitive, slang) To be very favourable or skilful; excel; be fantastic.
   Chocolate rocks.
   My holidays in Ibiza rocked! I can't wait to go back.
3. (transitive) To thrill or excite, especially with rock music.
   Let's rock this joint!
4. (transitive) To do something with excitement yet skillfully.
   I need to rock a piss.
5. (transitive) To wear (a piece of clothing, outfit etc.) successfully or with style; to carry off (a particular look, style).
   I call all the shots, rip all the spots / Rock all the rocks, cop all the drops 1997, “Mo Money Mo Problems”, in Life After Death, performed by The Notorious B.I.G. ft. Ma$e & Diddy
   Take today, where she's rocking that well-known fashion combo – a Tory Burch outfit offset with a whacking great bruise attained by smacking her head on a plane's overhead lockers. 2011-04-29, Tim Jonze, “Nerdy but nice”, in The Guardian
   Rihanna was the pick of the best bunch, rocking a black backless crocodile dress from Tom Ford’s Autumn 2012 collection May 8, 2012, “Rhianna dazzles at the Met Gala”, in The Sun newspaper

Etymology 4

From Middle English rok, rocke, rokke, perhaps from Middle Dutch rocke (whence Dutch rokken), Middle Low German rocken, or Old Norse rokkr (whence Icelandic / Faroese rokkur, Danish rok, Swedish spinnrock (“spinning wheel”)). Cognate with Old High German rocko (“distaff”).

noun

1. (countable) Distaff.
   By order of the General Court in 1642, the "prudentiall" men of each town were instructed "to take care of such [children] as are sett to keep cattle be set to some other employment withal, as spinning upon the rock, knitting, weaving tape, etc., and that boys and girls be not suffered to converse together so as may occasion any wanton, dishonest or immodest behavior. 1899, T Frank Waters, The Development of Our Town Government
   A prepared end of yarn being fixed into the notch, the spinster, by a smart rolling motion of the spindle with the right hand against the right leg, threw it out from her, spinning in the air, while, with the left hand, she drew from the rock an additional supply of fibre which was formed into a uniform and equal strand with the right. 1902, Day Otis Kellogg, Thomas Spencer Baynes, William Robertson Smith, The Encyclopaedia Britannica, page 664
   It is true that in Ireland, even in recent years, the flax, before being placed on the rock or distaff, was tangled into a mass, or, as Cormmelin expresses it, “drawn out in a flat cake.” 1920, John Horner, The Linen Trade of Europe During the Spinning-wheel Period, page 32
2. (uncountable) The flax or wool on a distaff.

Etymology 5

noun

1. Archaic form of roc (mythical bird)