roke

roke · noun¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*rewg-“to erupt, vomit, burp”
2. Proto-Germanic · derived from*raukiz“smoke”
3. Old Dutch · derived fromrouc“steam, vapour”
4. Middle Dutch · derived fromroke
5. Old Norse · derived fromroka
6. Middle English · inherited fromroke“fog, vapour, cloud”
7. English todayroke

From Middle English roke (“fog, vapour, cloud”), probably from Old Norse roka ("whirlwind, fine spray"; compare Old Norse særoka (“seaspray”)), reinforced later by Middle Dutch roke, rooc (“smoke”), from Old Dutch rouc (“steam, vapour”), from Proto-Germanic *raukiz (“smoke”), from Proto-Indo-European *rewg- (“to erupt, vomit, burp”), from *rew- (“to roar, growl, grumble”). Cognate with Scots rok, roik, rouk (“mist, fog, cloud”), Dutch rook (“smoke, fog”), German Rauch (“smoke, fume”), Swedish rök (“smoke, fume, steam, reek”), West Frisian reek, riik (“smoke, fume”). More at reek. Compare dialectal rawk, which is related, and rag (“fog”) (see raggy (“foggy”)), which may or may not be.

roke · noun²

Unclear; perhaps related to dialect rauk, rawk, a northern English dialectal word for a mark, including e.g. a defect on cloth.

Words from the same roots