ROVER

rover, scouter

(noun) an adult member of the Boy Scouts movement

wanderer, roamer, rover, bird of passage

(noun) someone who leads a wandering unsettled life

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology 1

Noun

rover (plural rovers)

(archery, usually, in the plural) A randomly selected target.

One who roves, a wanderer, a nomad.

A vagabond, a tramp, an unsteady, restless person, one who by habit doesn't settle down or marry.

A vehicle for exploring extraterrestrial bodies.

(Australian Rules football) A position that is one of three of a team's followers, who follow the ball around the ground. Formerly a position for short players, rovers in professional leagues are frequently over 183 cm (6').

(American football) A defensive back position whose coverage responsibilities are a hybrid of those of a cornerback, safety and linebacker.

(croquet) A ball which has passed through all the hoops and would go out if it hit the stake but is continued in play; also, the player of such a ball.

(baseball) The tenth defensive player in slow-pitch softball.

(obsolete) A sort of arrow.

Etymology 2

Noun

rover (plural rovers)

A pirate.

A pirate ship.

Etymology

Noun

Rover (plural Rovers)

(sports) someone connected with any number of teams called the Rovers, as a fan, player, coach etc.

(soccer) someone connected with Blackburn Rovers FC, as a fan, player, coach etc.

(Scouting) A member of the senior section of the Boy Scout movement catering for men of age 18 upwards, now disbanded.

Proper noun

Rover

A stereotypical name for a dog.

A former make of British motor car.

Source: Wiktionary


Rov"er, n. Etym: [D. roover a robber. See Rove, v. i.]

1. One who practices robbery on the seas; a pirate. Yet Pompey the Great deserveth honor more justly for scouring the seas, and taking from the rovers 846 sail of ships. Holland.

2. One who wanders about by sea or land; a wanderer; a rambler.

3. Hence, a fickle, inconstant person.

4. (Croquet)

Definition: A ball which has passed through all the hoops and would go out if it hit the stake but is continued in play; also, the player of such a ball.

5. (Archery) (a) Casual marks at uncertain distances. Encyc. Brit. (b) A sort of arrow. [Obs.] All sorts, flights, rovers, and butt shafts. B. Jonson. At rovers, at casual marks; hence, at random; as, shooting at rovers. See def. 5 (a) above. Addison. Bound down on every side with many bands because it shall not run at rovers. Robynson (More's Utopia).

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

23 January 2025

LEFT

(adjective) being or located on or directed toward the side of the body to the west when facing north; “my left hand”; “left center field”; “the left bank of a river is bank on your left side when you are facing downstream”


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Coffee Trivia

The word “coffee” entered the English language in 1582 via the Dutch “koffie,” borrowed from the Ottoman Turkish “kahve,” borrowed in turn from the Arabic “qahwah.” The Arabic word qahwah was traditionally held to refer to a type of wine.

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