Rock

rok, n. a large ma of stone: ( geol. ) a natural deposit of sand, earth, or clay: that which has the firmne of a rock, foundation, support, defence: ( Scot. ) a distaff: a hard sweetmeat.— v.t. to throw stones at.— ns. Rock′-al′um , alum stone; Rock′-away , a four-wheeled North American pleasure-carriage; Rock′-bad′ger , a ground-squirrel of North America; Rock′-bās′in , a lacustrine hollow in a rock, excavated by glacier-ice; Rock′-ba , a centrarchoid fish, the goggle-eye; Rock′-bird , a cock of the rock.— adj. Rock′-bound , hemmed in by rocks.— ns. Rock′-break′er , a machine for breaking stones for road-metal; Rock′-butt′er , an impure alum efflorescence of a butter-like consistency found oozing from some alum slates; Rock′-can′dy , pure sugar in large crystals: candy-sugar; Rock′-cist , a plant of the genus Helianthemum ; Rock′-cook , the small-mouthed wra e; Rock′-cork , mountain cork, a variety of asbestos; Rock′-crab , a crab found at rocky sea-bottoms.— adj. Rock′-crowned , surmounted with rocks.— ns. Rock′-crys′tal , the finest and purest quartz, the name being generally applied, however, only to crystals in which the six-sided prism is well developed; Rock′-dol′phin , the sea-scorpion; Rock′-dove , the rock-pigeon or blue-rock; Rock′-drill , a machine-drill worked by steam, .; Rock′-eel , a fish of the family Xiphidiontidæ ; Rock′-elm , an American elm; Rock′er , the rock-dove; Rock′ery , Rock′work , a mound made with pieces of rock, earth, . for the cultivation of ferns, .; Rock′-fē′ver , intermittent fever; Rock′-fire , in pyrotechny, a composition of resin, sulphur, nitre, regulus of antimony, and turpentine, burning slowly; Rock′-fish , a name applied to various different varieties of wra e, the striped ba , black goby, .; Rock′-goat , an ibex; Rock′-hawk , the merlin; Rock′-head , bed-rock; Rock′-hop′per , a curl-crested penguin; Rock′ie ( Scot. ), the rock-lintie or twite; Rock′ine ; Rock′-leath′er , rock-cork; Rock′-lil′y , a tropical American cryptogamous plant: a white-flowered Australian orchid; Rock′-lim′pet , a limpet which adheres to rocks; Rock′ling , a genus of fishes of the cod family Gadidæ , of which several species frequent the British seas; Rock′-lin′tie ( Scot. ), the twite: the Rock′-lark ; Rock′-man′ikin , a rock-bird; Rock′-mo , lichen which yields archil; Rock′-oil , petroleum; Rock′-ou′sel , the ring-ousel; Rock′-oys′ter , an oyster-like bivalve; Rock′-pi′geon , a pigeon inhabiting rocks and caves: the sand-pigeon; Rock′-pip′it , the British tit-lark.— n.pl. Rock′-plants , a term applied in gardening to a very miscellaneous group of plants which by their habit of growth are adapted to adorn rockeries.— ns. Rock′-plov′er , the rock-snipe; Rock′-rabb′it , a hyrax; Rock′-rose , a plant of either of the genera Cistus and Helianthemum of the rock-rose family ( Cistaceæ ); Rock′-ru′by , a ruby-red garnet; Rock′-salm′on , the coal-fish: an amber-fish; Rock′-salt , salt in solid form; Rock′-ser′pent , a venomous Indian serpent, allied to the cobra; Rock′-slāt′er , a wood-louse; Rock′-snake , a python or anaconda; Rock′-snipe , the purple sandpiper; Rock′-soap , a deep-black mineral used for crayons, consisting of silica, alumina, peroxide of iron, and water; Rock′-sparr′ow , a finch: the ring-sparrow; Rock′-star′ling , the rock-ousel; Rock′-swift , the white-throated rock-swift of North America; Rock′-tar , petroleum; Rock′-tem′ple , a temple hewn out of the solid rock; Rock′-thrush , any bird of the genus Monticola or Petrocincla ; Rock′-tripe , lichens of the genus Umbilicaria ; Rock′-trout , the common American brook-trout: sea-trout; Rock′-vī′olet , an alga growing on moist rocks in the Alps; Rock′-war′bler , a small Australian bird; Rock′-win′kle , a periwinkle; Rock′-wood , ligniform asbestos; Rock′work ( arch it. ), masonry in imitation of ma es of rock: a rockery; Rock′-wren , a wren which frequents rocks.— adj. Rock′y , full of rocks: resembling a rock: hard: unfeeling. [O. Fr. roke , roc he; prob. Celt., as in Gael. roc , W. rhwg , a projection.]