What does rood mean?
A rood is chiefly a historical unit of length equal to 5.5 yards, or 16.5 feet, once useful for describing small areas of land. It was one quarter of a furlong and was especially associated with property surveys and older legal documents. In religious and architectural contexts, a rood is a cross, often a large crucifix or the cross formerly displayed above an altar. The related term rood screen refers to the partition or screen associated with such a cross. Today, the word is uncommon in ordinary speech but remains useful in historical reading, architecture, local history, and the study of old land measurements. Its survival in phrases such as “by the Holy Rood” gives it a distinctive archaic and devotional atmosphere.
nounA unit of length equal to 5.5 yards or 16.5 feet, formerly used in measuring land. By extension and in older religious usage, the word can also mean a large cross, especially a crucifix.
- A historical unit of length equal to 5.5 yards, 16.5 feet, or one quarter of a furlong, formerly used especially in measuring land.
- A large cross, especially a crucifix, particularly in older religious, architectural, and literary contexts.
- A church feature associated with a rood, especially a rood screen or loft.
"The old survey described the property as containing several acres and a small strip of woodland measuring half a rood."
"The deed records a small orchard of just over one rood."
"The medieval rood screen separates the nave from the chancel."
"In the old poem, the pilgrim pauses before the Rood."
Plural forms are rare in modern usage because the unit is historical; “roods” is standard when the noun refers to separate areas of land or multiple crosses.
"The old map divides the garden into several narrow roods."
Before metres and acres became standard, a rood was a practical way to measure land: one rood was 5.5 yards, or about a quarter of a furlong.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does rood come from?
The word comes from Old English rōd, meaning “cross,” and its earliest religious sense was especially associated with the crucifix. The separate measurement sense developed through historical associations between a cross and the surveying rod used to measure land, while related forms appear in the Germanic vocabulary. The word was already established in Middle English, and in the phrase “Holy Rood” it referred particularly to the cross of Christ.
How rood is actually used
The measurement sense is now mainly historical, though it survives in legal, antiquarian, and place-name contexts. The religious and architectural senses are especially associated with Britain, but the word is also found in older English writing generally.
Easily confused with rood
A rood is a traditional unit of length or an old term for a cross, whereas a rod is a straight measuring stick and is also commonly used for a pole or bar.