roost

Etymology 1

From Middle English roste (“chicken's roost; perch”), from Old English hrōst (“wooden framework of a roof; roost”), from Proto-Germanic *hrōstaz (“wooden framework; grill”); see *raustijan. Cognate with Dutch roest (“roost”), German Low German Rust (“roost”), German Rost (“grate; gridiron; grill”).

noun

1. The place where a bird sleeps (usually its nest or a branch).
2. A group of birds roosting together.
3. A bedroom
4. (Scotland) The inner roof of a cottage.

verb

1. (intransitive, of birds or bats) To settle on a perch in order to sleep or rest
2. (figurative) to spend the night
   The UPS package centre for central London, a brief walk from Kentish Town tube station, holds a below-ground bay in which 170 vans roost every night. November 21 2019, Samanth Subramanian, “How our home delivery habit reshaped the world”, in The Guardian

Etymology 2

From Old Norse róst.

noun

1. (Shetland and Orkney) A tidal race.

Etymology 3

verb

1. Alternative form of roust