Rock, n. [OF. roke, F.
roche; cf. Armor. roc'h, and AS. rocc.]
1. A large concreted mass of stony material; a
large fixed stone or crag. See Stone.
Come one, come all! this rock shall fly
From its firm base as soon as I.
Sir W. Scott.
2. (Geol.) Any natural deposit forming
a part of the earth's crust, whether consolidated or not, including
sand, earth, clay, etc., when in natural beds.
3. That which resembles a rock in firmness; a
defense; a support; a refuge.
The Lord is my rock, and my
fortress.
2 Sam. xxii. 2.
4. Fig.: Anything which causes a disaster or
wreck resembling the wreck of a vessel upon a rock.
5. (Zoöl.) The striped bass. See
under Bass.
☞ This word is frequently used in the formation of self-
explaining compounds; as, rock-bound, rock-built,
rock-ribbed, rock-roofed, and the like.
Rock alum. [Probably so called by confusion with
F. roche a rock.] Same as Roche alum. --
Rock barnacle (Zoöl.), a barnacle
(Balanus balanoides) very abundant on rocks washed by
tides. -- Rock bass. (Zoöl.)
(a) The stripped bass. See under Bass.
(b) The goggle-eye. (c)
The cabrilla. Other species are also locally called rock
bass. -- Rock builder (Zoöl.),
any species of animal whose remains contribute to the formation of
rocks, especially the corals and Foraminifera. -- Rock
butter (Min.), native alum mixed with clay and
oxide of iron, usually in soft masses of a yellowish white color,
occuring in cavities and fissures in argillaceous slate. --
Rock candy, a form of candy consisting of
crystals of pure sugar which are very hard, whence the name. --
Rock cavy. (Zoöl.) See
Moco. -- Rock cod (Zoöl.)
(a) A small, often reddish or brown, variety of
the cod found about rocks andledges. (b) A
California rockfish. -- Rock cook.
(Zoöl.) (a) A European wrasse
(Centrolabrus exoletus). (b) A
rockling. -- Rock cork (Min.), a
variety of asbestus the fibers of which are loosely interlaced. It
resembles cork in its texture. -- Rock crab
(Zoöl.), any one of several species of large crabs of
the genus Cancer, as the two species of the New England coast
(C. irroratus and C. borealis). See Illust. under
Cancer. -- Rock cress (Bot.),
a name of several plants of the cress kind found on rocks, as
Arabis petræa, A. lyrata, etc. --
Rock crystal (Min.), limpid quartz. See
Quartz, and under Crystal. -- Rock
dove (Zoöl.), the rock pigeon; -- called
also rock doo. -- Rock drill, an
implement for drilling holes in rock; esp., a machine impelled by
steam or compressed air, for drilling holes for blasting, etc. --
Rock duck (Zoöl.), the harlequin
duck. -- Rock eel. (Zoöl.) See
Gunnel. -- Rock goat
(Zoöl.), a wild goat, or ibex. -- Rock
hopper (Zoöl.), a penguin of the genus
Catarractes. See under Penguin. -- Rock
kangaroo. (Zoöl.) See Kangaroo, and
Petrogale. -- Rock lobster
(Zoöl.), any one of several species of large spinose
lobsters of the genera Panulirus and Palinurus. They
have no large claws. Called also spiny lobster, and sea
crayfish. -- Rock meal (Min.), a
light powdery variety of calcite occuring as an efflorescence. --
Rock milk. (Min.) See Agaric
mineral, under Agaric. -- Rock moss,
a kind of lichen; the cudbear. See Cudbear. --
Rock oil. See Petroleum. --
Rock parrakeet (Zoöl.), a small
Australian parrakeet (Euphema petrophila), which nests in holes
among the rocks of high cliffs. Its general color is yellowish olive
green; a frontal band and the outer edge of the wing quills are deep
blue, and the central tail feathers bluish green. -- Rock
pigeon (Zoöl.), the wild pigeon (Columba
livia) Of Europe and Asia, from which the domestic pigeon was
derived. See Illust. under Pigeon. -- Rock
pipit. (Zoöl.) See the Note under
Pipit. -- Rock plover.
(Zoöl.) (a) The black-bellied, or
whistling, plover. (b) The rock snipe. -
- Rock ptarmigan (Zoöl.), an arctic
American ptarmigan (Lagopus rupestris), which in winter is
white, with the tail and lores black. In summer the males are grayish
brown, coarsely vermiculated with black, and have black patches on the
back. -- Rock rabbit (Zoöl.),
the hyrax. See Cony, and Daman. -- Rock
ruby (Min.), a fine reddish variety of
garnet. -- Rock salt (Min.), cloride
of sodium (common salt) occuring in rocklike masses in mines; mineral
salt; salt dug from the earth. In the United States this name is
sometimes given to salt in large crystals, formed by evaporation from
sea water in large basins or cavities. -- Rock
seal (Zoöl.), the harbor seal. See
Seal. -- Rock shell (Zoöl.),
any species of Murex, Purpura, and allied genera. --
Rock snake (Zoöl.), any one of
several large pythons; as, the royal rock snake (Python
regia) of Africa, and the rock snake of India (P.
molurus). The Australian rock snakes mostly belong to the allied
genus Morelia. -- Rock snipe
(Zoöl.), the purple sandpiper (Tringa
maritima); -- called also rock bird, rock plover,
winter snipe. -- Rock soap
(Min.), a kind of clay having a smooth, greasy feel, and
adhering to the tongue. -- Rock sparrow.
(Zoöl.) (a) Any one of several species
of Old World sparrows of the genus Petronia, as P.
stulla, of Europe. (b) A North American
sparrow (Pucæa ruficeps). -- Rock
tar, petroleum. -- Rock thrush
(Zoöl.), any Old World thrush of the genus
Monticola, or Petrocossyphus; as, the European rock
thrush (M. saxatilis), and the blue rock thrush of
India (M. cyaneus), in which the male is blue throughout.
-- Rock tripe (Bot.), a kind of lichen
(Umbilicaria Dillenii) growing on rocks in the northen parts of
America, and forming broad, flat, coriaceous, dark fuscous or blackish
expansions. It has been used as food in cases of extremity. --
Rock trout (Zoöl.), any one of
several species of marine food fishes of the genus Hexagrammus,
family Chiradæ, native of the North Pacific coasts; --
called also sea trout, boregat, bodieron, and
starling. -- Rock warbler
(Zoöl.), a small Australian singing bird (Origma
rubricata) which frequents rocky ravines and water courses; --
called also cataract bird. -- Rock wren
(Zoöl.), any one of several species of wrens of the
genus Salpinctes, native of the arid plains of Lower California
and Mexico.
Rock (?), v. t. [imp. & p.
p. Rocked (?);p. pr. & vb. n.
Rocking.] [AS. roccian; akin to Dan. rokke to
move, to snake; cf. Icel. rukkja to pull, move, G.
rücken to move, push, pull.] 1. To
cause to sway backward and forward, as a body resting on a support
beneath; as, to rock a cradle or chair; to cause to vibrate; to
cause to reel or totter.
A rising earthquake rocked the
ground.
Dryden.
2. To move as in a cradle; hence, to put to
sleep by rocking; to still; to quiet. "Sleep rock thy
brain." Shak.
☞ Rock differs from shake, as denoting a slower,
less violent, and more uniform motion, or larger movements. It differs
from swing, which expresses a vibratory motion of something
suspended.