ROOK (4)

Rook, n. [[AS. hrōc; akin to OHG. hruoh, ruoh, ruoho, Icel. hrōkr, Sw. roka, Dan. raage; cf. Goth. hrukjan to crow.]] 1. 1. (Zoöl.) A European bird (Corvus frugilegus) resembling the crow, but smaller. It is black, with purple and violet reflections. The base of the beak and the region around it are covered with a rough, scabrous skin, which in old birds is whitish. It is gregarious in its habits. The name is also applied to related Asiatic species.
The rook . . . should be treated as the farmer's friend. Pennant. 2. 2. A trickish, rapacious fellow; a cheat; a sharper. Wycherley.