roen.1
/rəʊ/, U.S. /roʊ/α. early Old English raha, Old English hra (rare), Old English (Middle English chiefly northern) ra, Old English (Middle English northern) raa, Old English–early Middle English rah- (in compounds), 1600s rey (northern); Scottish pre-1700 ra, pre-1700 raa, pre-1700 re, pre-1700 rea, pre-1700 rey, pre-1700 rha, pre-1700 1700s 1900s– ray, pre-1700 1700s– rae.
β. early Middle English roa, Middle English roow, Middle English–1500s ro, Middle English–1500s roo, Middle English– roe, 1500s rhoo, 1500s row, 1500s rowe, 1500s roye (northern, perhaps transmission error); Scottish pre-1700 ro, pre-1700 1700s– roe.
Either of two small Eurasian deer of the genus Capreolus, which have no visible tail, and the males of which have short upright antlers with (typically) two or three points; esp. (more fully Western or European roe) C. capreolus of Europe, Asia Minor, and Russia. Cf. roe deer n.The two kinds of roe, C. capreolus and C. pygargus, were formerly regarded as conspecific. Roe were exterminated in England by the 18th cent. and those present there today are derived chiefly from introductions.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > types of deer > [noun] > genus Capreolus (roe deer)
roeeOE
roe deerOE
capret1382
capreol1655
Manchurian roe1898
the world > food and drink > food > animals for food > seafood > [noun] > roes
roea1400
caviar1591
icary1591
seed1653
red caviar1655
coral1768
osetrova1928
α.
β. c1175 Libellus de Nominibus Naturalium Rerum in T. Hunt Teaching & Learning Lat. in 13th-cent. Eng. (1991) I. 22 Caprea, et capreolus, ro, i. cevrol.c1225 ( Ælfric Gloss. (Worcester) in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 543 Caprea, roa [OE St. John's Oxf. ræge].a1300 in R. Morris Old Eng. Misc. (1872) 92 (MED) Ne geyneþ vs..þe ronke racches þat ruskit þe ron.c1330 (?c1300) Guy of Warwick (Auch.) l. 2800 To her wille an hunting hij gos, To chace þe hert & þe ros.a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 311 (MED) In þat londe beeþ many scheep and geet and fewe roos and hertes.c1450 (?c1408) J. Lydgate Reson & Sensuallyte (1901) 3728 (MED) She bad..To chase at hem..At reyndere and the dredful roo.1481 W. Caxton tr. Hist. Reynard Fox (1970) 93 Moche mete of hertes and hyndes, roes,..and moche other venyson.a1500 (c1450) P. Idley Instr. to his Son (Arun.) (1935) i. l. 591 (MED) So longe mysdoers might Riotusly renne..a[s] wilde as a herte or a Roo in the fenne.1535 Bible (Coverdale) 1 Chron. xiii. A Men of armes, which..were as swifte as the Roes vpon ye mountaynes.1575 G. Gascoigne Noble Arte Venerie lxxix. 241 The tayle of Harte, Bucke, Rowe, or any other Deare, is to be called the Syngle.1600 J. Pory tr. J. Leo Africanus Geogr. Hist. Afr. iv. 216 Here are great store of roes, deere, and ostriches.1622 in C. Innes Sketches Early Sc. Hist. (1861) 517 For takinge of sum deir and rois.1685 Acts Parl. Scotl. (1820) VIII. 475/1 For preserving of doe, roe [etc.].1735 W. Somervile Chace ii. 160 Their Coursers, than the Mountain Roe More fleet.1799 J. Robertson Gen. View Agric. Perth 329 The roes travel in single families, seldom more than four together.1803 W. Bingley Animal Biogr. II. 42 The Roe is one of the smallest animals of this genus.1866 C. Kingsley Hereward the Wake I. i. 70 The yellow roes stood and stared at him.1898 R. Lydekker Deer of all Lands 231 (heading) The Manchurian Roe—Capreolus Manchuricus.1927 L. Edwards & H. F. Wallace Hunting & Stalking Deer xlii. 237 I have never yet met a roe-stalker who did not love the roe.1974 W. Condry Woodlands xi. 119 The male roes fight a great deal in July and August, the rutting season.2009 Daily Tel. 9 Mar. 7/1 Roe are the most common of Britain's six species of wild deer, with their numbers estimated to be higher than 800,000.eOE Erfurt Gloss. in W. M. Lindsay Corpus, Épinal, Erfurt & Leyden Glossaries (1921) 82 Capreolus, raa.
eOE Corpus Gloss. (1890) 29/1 Capria, raha.
OE tr. Pseudo-Apuleius Herbarium (Vitell.) (1984) lxiii. 106 Gyf man on huntuþe ran oððe rægean mid flane..gewæceþ.
OE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Cambr. Univ. Libr.) i. i. 30 Hit [sc. Ireland] is fiscwylle & fugolwylle, & mære on huntunge heorta & rana.
c1225 (?c1200) St. Margaret (Bodl.) (1934) 8 (MED) Ich iseo me, lauerd, bistepped..ase fisc a-hon on hoke, ase ra [Royal þe roa] inumen i nette.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 19080 (MED) Þe propheci was þan fild sua, þat said þat halt suld scep as ra.
c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Reeve's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 166 I is ful wight, god waat as is a ra.
?a1425 Mandeville's Trav. (Egerton) (1889) 143 (MED) In þat cuntree also er many cameliouns, þe whilk es a lytill beste of þe mykilnes of a raa.
a1500 R. Henryson tr. Æsop Fables: Wolf & Wether l. 2519 in Poems (1981) 94 Went neuer hound mair haistelie fra the hand Quhen he wes rynnand maist raklie at the ra.
a1522 G. Douglas in tr. Virgil Æneid (1960) xii. Prol. l. 182 Kyddis skippand throw ronnys efter rays.
a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid (1957) iv. iv. l. 49 Lo! thar the rays, rynnyng swyft as fyre.
1597 A. Montgomerie Cherrie & Slae 21 The Hairt the Hynd, the Dae the Rae,..Were skippand all frae bray to bray.
1612 in G. Ornsby Select. from Househ. Bks. Naworth Castle (1878) 28 H. Geldart's son bringing a rey.
1662 in R. Pitcairn Criminal Trials Scotl. (1833) III. 603 He [sc. the Devil] vold be somtymes with ws lyk a dear, or a rae.
1728 A. Ramsay Epist. to W. Starrat 32 Blythly wald I..stend o'er burns as light as ony rae.
1794 W. Marshall Agric. Central Highlands 43 A variety of other game are also inhabitants of these wilds: among the rest, the roe, provincially ‘ray’.
1818 J. Hogg Tales (1874) 224 I like that way o' turnin' fock into deers and raes, and worrying them, warst ava.
1881 Berwick Nat. Club Proc. 9 454 ‘As wild as the rae’ is a well-known Border phrase.
1894 D. MacLeod Past Worthies 205 He could wrestle a bull, he could run like a rae.
1988 G. Lamb Orkney Wordbk. Ray, as mad as a ray, completely mad.
Compounds
C1. General attributive and objective. † roe net n. Obsolete† roe pie n. Obsolete
roe doe n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > types of deer > [noun] > genus Capreolus (roe deer) > female
roe doe1570
1570 P. Levens Manipulus Vocabulorum sig. Ni/2 A Roe doe, capræa.
1721 N. Cox Gentleman' Recreation (ed. 6) i. 72 Some Roe-Does have been killed with five Fawns in their Belly.
1999 Behavioural Ecol. & Sociobiol. 45 345/2 When a roe doe is in poorer than average condition, she produces a higher proportion of male offspring.
roe head n.
ΚΠ
c1460 Bk. Arms in Ancestor (1903) Apr. 185 (MED) [Nine pieces gold and azure with four] roo hedys all gold.
1496 in Tonge's Heraldic Visitation 1530 (1863) p. xxxix And to their and each of their timber upon the helme a roe-head silver, sett on a wreathe.
1577 Inventory in H. Hall Society in Elizabethan Age (1886) (modernized text) 154 18 roeheads, £4.
1863 Zoologist 21 8521 There are..one or two much larger than any roe heads of Scotland: I believe they are mostly of great age.
1954 Times 24 July 8/6 The roe heads will be an outstanding feature of the British section.
roe hunt n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > hunting specific animals > [noun] > deer
roe huntc1381
roe hunting1486
buck-hunting1664
stag-hunting1722
stag-chase1725
deer-stalking1816
stag-hunt1842
roe stalking1850
c1381 ( in W. Greenwell Boldon Bk. (1852) 25 (MED) Elzibrid..vadit in legationibus Episcopi, et in rahunt.
1823 T. Carlyle Let. 17 Sept. in Coll. Lett. T. & J. W. Carlyle (1970) II. 428 On returning from a roe-hunt, which we had all been assisting at in the wood on the hill beside us.
1897 Badminton Mag. Apr. 474 For a roe-hunt I prefer an express, as one may have to fire long shots at uncertain ranges.
1999 Northern Echo (Nexis) 1 Sept. Loyal helpers travelled up to 40 miles from all over the county for an annual roe hunt grand enough to be noted in the Boldon Book.
roe-hunter n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > hunter > hunter of specific animal > [noun] > of deer
huer1530
harbourer1651
deerstalker1830
roe-hunter1840
1840 J. Colquhoun Moor & Loch 35 One or two experienced roe-hunters had the whole sport to themselves.
1907 Celtic Mag. Nov. 38/2 A better illustration of the power to compel success which knowledge of the sport gives the roe-hunter, I have seldom had the pleasure to record.
roe hunting n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > hunting specific animals > [noun] > deer
roe huntc1381
roe hunting1486
buck-hunting1664
stag-hunting1722
stag-chase1725
deer-stalking1816
stag-hunt1842
roe stalking1850
1486 Bk. St. Albans sig. eijv (heading) Of the Roo huntyng, brekyng, and dressyng.
1686 N. Cox Gentleman's Recreation (ed. 3) i. 86 For what might be said farther concerning Roe-Hunting, I shall refer you to the Chapters of Hart and Buck-Hunting.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Hunting Roe Hunting begins at Michaelmas, and ends at Candlemas.
1840 J. Colquhoun Moor & Loch 39 I had not then much knowledge of roe-hunting.
1905 Fores's Sporting Notes & Sketches 22 139 Roe-hunting was a recognised Dorsetshire sport during a good part of the last century.
1957 Times 31 Aug. 9/2 Roe hunting goes on from the middle of July until about the middle of September.
roe kid n.
ΚΠ
1501 in J. B. Paul Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1900) II. 110 That brocht tua ra kiddis quik to the king.
1618 in H. A. Macpherson Vertebrate Fauna Lakeland (1892) 73 Making a pannell..for carrying iij rey kidds to London, xxd.
1634 in H. A. Macpherson Vertebrate Fauna Lakeland (1892) 72 Goinge with a roe kidd to Judge Cawlye, xijd.
1862 Chambers's Jrnl. 15 Feb. 107/1 He had, with a dexterity equal to his cunning, flung sideways to his offspring a roe-kid which he held in his talons.
2007 R. Smorczewski Bridging the Gap 58 One day, in the early thirties, our foresters brought us a young roe kid with a broken leg.
roe leather n.
ΚΠ
1346 in H. T. Riley Memorials London (1868) 234 (MED) [The hundred of] rolether [16 s.].
1398 in H. T. Riley Memorials London (1868) 547 That no manner of shepeslether or calveslether..be dyed after the manner of rolether.
1444 in W. H. Black Hist. & Antiq. Worshipful Company of Leathersellers (1871) 27 (MED) Roolether.
1860 E. Domenech Seven Years' Resid. Deserts N. Amer. II. 279 The chief material of their clothing is tanned and smoked roe leather.
1910 Monthly Consular & Trade Rep. (U.S. Dept. Commerce & Labor) July 117 The latter [sc. dressed leather], particularly roe leather, has reached a higher price than at any time during the last 40 years.
ΚΠ
1354–5 in J. T. Fowler Extracts Acct. Rolls Abbey of Durham (1899) II. 555 Will'o de Bruntoftes pro Rauecces [read Ranettes] et cordulis pro eisdem.
1383–4 in J. T. Fowler Extracts Acct. Rolls Abbey of Durham (1901) III. 593 In cordis emp. pro le Raanet.
roe pasty n.
ΚΠ
1840 J. Colquhoun Moor & Loch 35 Their love of a roe-pasty prevailing over their love of the chase.
1902 A. I. Shand Shooting xiv. 325 Roe pasty is at least as good as that of the red deer.
ΚΠ
1620 in G. Ornsby Select. from Househ. Bks. Naworth Castle (1878) 147 For careing roe pyes to my Lord Chancler's, xviijd.
1623 G. Markham Countrey Contentments (ed. 2) i. 127 Cold bak't-meates, as Red-deere, Hare-pie, Gammon of Bacon-pie, wild Bore, Roe-pie, and such like.
1861 W. H. Ainsworth Constable of Tower II. 153 Cold viands there were in abundance..baked suckling-pig, gammon of bacon pie, wild boar pie, roe pie.
roe shooting n.
ΚΠ
1806 G. Hutcheson Treat. Offices Justice of Peace II. Index p. xl/1 Roe shooting.
1840 J. Colquhoun Moor & Loch 38 In recommending the above manner of roe-shooting, it must be remembered that I do not say it is easy.
1904 Fores's Sporting Notes & Sketches 21 304 The book is one which should appeal to all sportsmen, as the bulk of it relates to roe-hunting and roe-shooting.
roe skin n.
ΚΠ
1424 Acts Parl. Scotl. (1814) II. 6/1 Hert and hynde skynnis xij d...of ilke x dais and rais skynnis iiij d.]
1508 in J. B. Paul Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1902) IV. 140 For foure raa skinnis to covir the kingis jak.
1571 in J. Raine Wills & Inventories N. Counties Eng. (1835) I. 352 Item I gyue to Edward Archibald iij Roye [? read raye] skinnes.
1661 in Acts Parl. Scotl. (1820) VII. 253/2 Rae skines.
1775 B. Romans Conc. Nat. Hist. E. & W. Florida 96 The women are employed..in dressing the victuals, preparing, scraping, braining, rubbing and smoaking the Roe skins.
1850 R. W. Mackay Progress of Intellect I. 58 Dionysus-Hyes clad in a roe skin.
1914 D. Carruthers Unknown Mongolia I. viii. 219 In cold weather this garment would be replaced by a heavy coat of sheep or roe skin.
1994 T. Vennum Amer. Indian Lacrosse v. 74 The softer, smaller balls were stuffed with ‘roe-skins’, punk, fungus, bear sinews, tightly wound yarn, and woolen rags.
roe venison n.
ΚΠ
a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) (1891) l. 7048 Or but we [read he] wole do come in haste Roo venysoun bake in paste.
1829 W. Scott Waverley (new ed.) I. xii. 122 (note) The learned in cookery..hold the roe venison dry and indifferent food.
1904 A. I. Shand Old-time Trav. iv. 65 Eggs and roe-venison were precisely on the same footing.
2004 H. Fearnley-Whittingstall River Cottage Meat Bk. viii. 175 The best butchers in Dorset regularly have roe venison in stock.
C2.
roe drive n. now historical and rare a driving of roe deer into a particular area in order to shoot them; (also) a course over which roe deer are driven for this purpose.
ΚΠ
1858 J. Colquhoun Salmon Casts & Stray Shots 101 On the morning of one of the roe-drives above mentioned, I had directed a strong company of beaters to the far end of our largest wood.
1897 Daily News 17 Nov. 9/6 There are roe-drives in the woods.
1902 A. I. Shand Shooting ix. 233 Unless it is a roe drive pure and simple, the first shots at other game will give them the alarm.
1968 P. Gaskell Morvern Transformed iii. 63 Roe deer were relatively frequent in the old woodlands and new plantations, and the Smiths sometimes organised roe drives.
roe-footed adj. rare quick-footed, swift.
ΚΠ
a1607 H. Chettle Trag. Hoffman (1631) sig. C2 I, my good Lord, being roefooted, outstript him in running.
1865 H. Major Poems 56 With pensive step, and slow of heart,—how changed From the roe-footed trip with which I ranged In days gone by!
1905 F. W. Rolfe Don Tarquinio iv. 17 Roe-footed runners from Utter Britain.
roe ring n. a track in the form of a circle or figure of eight around a bush, tree, etc., worn by a roebuck chasing a doe prior to mating.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > types of deer > [noun] > genus Capreolus (roe deer) > track made by
roe ring1908
1908 C. J. Cornish Standard Libr. Nat. Hist. II. 294 Roe-rings in the woods near Cawdor Castle.
1974 F. Holmes Following Roe i. 10 Roe rings, well-trodden runs in the shape of a circle or a figure-of-eight, are evidence of roe residence.
2006 P. Baker Walking in Ochils 13/2 A useful indicator of this elusive animal's presence is the tell-tale ‘roe ring’.
roe stalking n. the hunting of roe deer by pursuing them stealthily on foot to within shooting distance; cf. deer-stalking n. at deerstalker n. Derivatives.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > hunting specific animals > [noun] > deer
roe huntc1381
roe hunting1486
buck-hunting1664
stag-hunting1722
stag-chase1725
deer-stalking1816
stag-hunt1842
roe stalking1850
1850 R. Gordon-Cumming Five Years Hunter's Life S. Afr. I. p. vii Salmon-fishing and roe-stalking were my favorite amusements.
1906 J. G. Millais Mammals Great Brit. III. 178 There are of course hundreds of estates in the North where Roe-stalking is not possible.
2005 M. Li Adventure Guide to Scotl. 46 Roe stalking also takes place on forested estates.
roe-stalker n. now rare a person who engages in roe stalking; cf. deerstalker n. 1.
ΚΠ
1902 Blackwood's Mag. July 24/1 To the roe-stalker the second year in the life of a buck is particularly uninteresting.
1927 L. Edwards & H. F. Wallace Hunting & Stalking Deer xlii. 237 I have never yet met a roe-stalker who did not love the roe.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, November 2010; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
roen.2
/rəʊ/, U.S. /roʊ/α. late Middle English–1800s row, 1500s–1600s rowe.
β. late Middle English roof, 1600s roffe.
γ. late Middle English–1600s roughe, 1500s–1600s rough.
δ. late Middle English roo, 1500s– roe.
The spawn of a fish or shellfish.
a. The mass of eggs contained in the ovaries of a female fish or shellfish, esp. when ripe; the full ovaries themselves. Also as a count noun: an individual egg. More fully hard roe.Some early instances, such as quots. c1450 at β. , a1475 at γ. , may represent sense b. In others the senses may not be distinct (cf. sense c).
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > fish > [noun] > spawn
peasesa1398
rawna1425
rown1440
roec1450
kelka1475
spawn1491
roan1525
redd1547
pea1758
the world > animals > fish > [noun] > spawn > of female
fryc1430
hard roe1800
α.
β. c1450 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 591/16 Lactes, anglice, roof of fyshe, or mylke of fyshe.1617 J. Minsheu Ἡγεμὼν είς τὰς γλῶσσας: Ductor in Linguas Roffes or Roughes of fish that spawne.γ. a1475 J. Russell Bk. Nurture (Harl. 4011) in Babees Bk. (2002) i. 161 White herynge in a dische..looke he be white by þe boon, þe roughe white & nesche.1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 177 Oeue, the roughe of a fysshe. 1617 [see β. ]. δ. a1475 Liber Cocorum (Sloane) (1862) 23 Roo in a Sewe: Take þo roo, pyke hit clene... Boyle hit þou shalt.1597 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet ii. iii. 35 Heere comes Romeo. Mer: Without his Roe, like a dryed Hering. View more context for this quotation1653 I. Walton Compl. Angler viii. 162 You shall scarce..take a Male Carp without a Melt, or a Female without a Roe or Spawn. View more context for this quotation1675 Accomplish'd Lady's Delight 127 Take the hard Roe of a Red Herring, and dry it upon a Tile in an Oven.1693 in J. Ray Coll. Curious Trav. II. 18 The red Cavear..made of the Eggs or Roe..of the Cyprinus.1729 B. Mandeville Fable Bees ii. v. 287 You mean the prodigious Quantity of Roe they spawn.1758 Philos. Trans. 1757 (Royal Soc.) 50 782 Having dissected several Calamaries..without the least indication of milt or roe, and consequently without knowing which were male or female [etc.].1800 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 90 169 It is remarkable that the hard roe, in general, does not emit so much light as the soft-roe.1848 E. Bulwer-Lytton Harold II. vi. i. 69 A Moorish compound, made of eggs and roes of carp.1870 H. A. Nicholson Man. Zool. II. liv. 352 Fishes are, for the most part, truly oviparous, the ovaries being familiarly known as the ‘roe’.1916 Copeia No. 33. 56 Twenty-eight examples, 18 to 31 mm. long, including some females with hard roe.1922 A. Jekyll Kitchen Ess. 228 Serve the hot soft herring-roes moistened with milk or butter on long thin narrow strips of well-made and nicely-browned puff pastry.2004 BBC Good Food Oct. 149/2 Jack..demonstrated taramasalata. He mixed smoked cod's roe..with breadcrumbs, added vegetable oil to emulsify and olive oil to taste.c1450 in W. R. Dawson Leechbk. (1934) 56 (MED) Take sourdingh that is clepid bebyn & the white row of a rede herynge and honey and stamp all yfere.
a1500 in T. Austin Two 15th-cent. Cookery-bks. (1888) 114 (MED) Tak ye rowys of fissh & ye liuere.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 264/1 Rowe in a fysshes belly, oevue.
1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida v. i. 58 To be..a Herring without a rowe. I would not care. View more context for this quotation
1696 Philos. Trans. 1695–7 (Royal Soc.) 19 256 Composed of Globules, so like the Rowes or Spawn of Fishes.
1733 P. Lindsay Interest Scotl. 201 The..Herrings that have little or no Milt or Row.
1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth VI. 340 That small kind of mackarel that have neither melts nor rows.
1832 W. Scott Redgauntlet (new ed.) I. vi. 95 The bait made of salmon-row salted and preserved.
b. In full soft roe. The milt or sperm of a male fish; the mature testes containing this.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > fish > [noun] > spawn > of male
milka1398
spawnc1430
milt1483
milker?a1500
soft roe1587
milch1673
milter1834
1587 L. Mascall First Bk. Cattell 138 Take a bareld hearing with a soft row.
1602 J. Clarke Trumpet of Apollo sig. D4v The soft roe of a red herring incorporated with the pulpe of figges..applied to cornes.
1742 H. Baker Microscope made Easy ii. xvi. 159 The Milt or soft Row of Fishes.
1770 G. Edwards Ess. Nat. Hist. 62 Shedding his seed (called soft roe) in the water at the same time, it mixes with, and gives life to the eggs, without his touching the female.
?1790 W. A. Henderson Housekeeper's Instructor 366 The roe of a male fish is soft.
1822 J. M. Good Study Med. IV. 8 The male shortly afterwards passes over the spawn or hard roe, and discharges upon it his sperm, which we call soft roe or milt.
1896 J. T. Cunningham Nat. Hist. MarketableMarine Fishes Brit. Islands 73 In the flat fishes such as the plaice..the soft roe of the male is much smaller than the hard roe of the female.
1961 D. Magarshak tr. N. V. Gogol Dead Souls iv. 70 Sterlet soup with pieces of burbot and soft roe hisses and gurgles between their teeth.
1996 A. D. Livingston Compl. Fish & Game Cookbk. ix. 77/2 White roe from mullet..is one of my favorites, but carp, mackerel, shad, and other fish also have good white roe.
c. In general sense without distinction of sex.
ΚΠ
1738 E. Chambers Cycl. (ed. 2) Roe, of a fish, is that part which contains the sperm or seed thereof.
1788 J. Trusler Honours of Table 90 Some prefer one and some another [i.e. hard or soft roe], and part of such roe as your friend likes should be given to him.
1859 H. W. Herbert Frank Forester's Fish & Fishing (new ed.) 251 The roe of the melter will most surely take the female, and that of the spawner the male fish.
1996 A. D. Livingston Compl. Fish & Game Cookbk. ix. 77/2 Here are some of my favorite recipes for fish roe.
2001 Vogue Aug. 152/1 The strips of ‘roe’ are really male or female gonads, the testes and ovaries. We use the word roe because it sounds nicer.
Phrases
in roe: (of a female fish) carrying roe.
ΚΠ
1769 T. Pennant Brit. Zool. (new ed.) III. iv. 141 [Cod] begin to spawn in January... Some continue in roe till the beginning of April.
1818 Amer. Monthly Mag. & Crit. Rev. Feb. 293/2 Dr. Mitchill..found ten females in roe in the month of September.
1854 C. D. Badham Prose Halieutics 374 Who can say they have ever taken a female [eel] in roe, or tasted a male's milt?
1904 Washington Med. Ann. 3 84 The shad was a 5-pound female in roe.
2008 N.Z. Herald (Nexis) 22 Mar. There's been plenty of sex going on, females coming aboard still in roe to prove they are repeat-breeding.
Compounds
C1.
a. General attributive and instrumental.
roe fish n. [compare German †Roger female fish (1781 or earlier), also Rogener (Middle High German rogner)]
ΚΠ
1745 tr. H. Egede Descr. Greenland vii. 108 The Rogn-Fish, or Roe-Fish, so named from the great Quantity of Roe that's found in it,..is commonly found in shallow Water and upon the Sands.
1897 Trans. Amer. Fisheries Soc. 1896 99 Each large roe fish that is caught and eaten diminishes the spawn supply accordingly, when indiscriminate fishing is permitted.
1990 B. Johannisson in W. B. Stöhr Global Challenge & Local Response iii. 69 Although Nordic aquaculture has recently run into difficulties because of international competition, the roe fish business has remained profitable.
roe-laden adj.
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1872 Fourth Rep. Commissioners Pollution Rivers in Parl. Papers XXXIV. 312 A rock of nine feet there preventing the roe-laden fish going up the stream.
1957 Hartford (Connecticut) Courant 26 Sept. 6/6 Roe-laden females make up the bulk of the early season catches.
1996 D. Kirk Fly-fishing Guide Great Smoky Mountains xxvii. 195 These hefty milt- and roe-laden trout often spend a day or two at the mouth of the stream.
roe sauce n.
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1817 W. Kitchiner Apicius Redivivus sig. K5v Mackerel roe sauce.]
1834 E. Copley Housekeeper's Guide 78 Roe sauce.
1934 Nashua (Iowa) Reporter 28 Nov. To make roe sauce, wash the roe, drop into boiling water and simmer for twenty minutes.
2000 H. Sone & L. Doumani Terra 101 Top each piece of roe with the roe sauce.
b. Chiefly U.S. With the name of a fish, designating a female in roe, as roe herring, roe mullet, roe salmon, roe shad, etc.
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1865 Mrs. Goodfellow Cookery as it should Be 131 Potted Shad. Select fresh melt shad, as they are fatter and better than the roe shad.
1868 C. Swett Trip Brit. Honduras 74 We think a roe herring would be good—none to be obtained.
1884 G. B. Goode in G. B. Goode et al. Fisheries U.S.: Sect. I 451 The ‘Roe Mullet’ weigh about two and a half pounds, and are caught in November and until Christmas.
1908 A. Butt Let. 10 Oct. (1924) 129 I have ordered a Potomac roe herring for breakfast to-morrow.
1973 N.Y. Mag. 30 July 68/3 We..took the dinghy in to pick up a huge roe shad for $3.
1993 Social Probl. 40 41 A 1991 ruling..would have extended weekend closures on the commercial roe mullet harvest.
1996 A. Muszynski Cheap Wage Labour v. 216 The conflict came to a head over the lucrative roe salmon.
C2. † roe-sick adj. Obsolete (of a female fish) full of roe and ready to spawn.
roe corn n. now rare an individual egg from roe; usually in plural.
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1866 Intellectual Observer Mar. 85 The living roe-corns, through a kind of breathing process, have consumed the oxygen from the water.
1869 Ann. Rep. Commissioner Agric. 1868 321 in U.S. Congress. Serial Set (40th Congr., 3rd Sess.: House of Representatives Executive Doc.) XV These boxes contain each two thousand roe ‘corns’.
2002 TASS Newswire (Nexis) 22 Jan. The flooding of fish hatchery premises threatens one million roe-corns of salmon laid for incubation there.
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1641 S. Smith Herring-bvsse Trade 24 For what sort he will sell them [sc. herrings]..roe-sicke, cleere or pure ware.
1823 Trans. Soc. Arts 41 237 No barrels must..be filled up..with milt-sick, roe-sick, or spent fish.
Derivatives
roe-like adj.
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1818 W. Phillips Outl. Geol. Eng. & Wales 65 All more or less present the same roe-like texture, which is characteristic of the oolite of Bath.
1922 R. J. Blackham Aids Trop. Hygiene (ed. 2) 154 She deposits her eggs, which are small, yellowish, roe-like grains.
2008 Herald Sun (Austral.) (Nexis) 12 July (Weekend section) 27 A fragile rock lobster consomme..laced with clumps of blue-swimmer crab meat and small, roe-like spheres of tapioca.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, November 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
roen.3
/rəʊ/, U.S. /roʊ/ An arrangement of markings in the grain of a piece of wood (typically mahogany), which gives the appearance of short stripes or streaks on the surface of timber cut from it. Cf. roey adj.
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the world > matter > colour > variegation > stripiness > [noun] > streakiness > streak
rewc1300
strind?1523
streak1577
lace1613
bandeleta1645
stria1673
garle1677
interstriation1849
striation1849
roe1850
swipe1869
1850 Mahogany Tree (Chaloner & Fleming, Liverpool) 57 Roe is that alternate streak or flake of light and shade running in the grain.
1920 A. L. Howard Man. Timbers of World 144 Many of the [mahogany] logs are beautifully figured or marked with wavy and curly grain, which is variously termed splash mottle, roe and mottle, [etc.].
1952 J. Gloag Short Dict. Furnit. 396 A form of roe figure occurs in flowered, or East Indian, satinwood.
2004 T. Porter Wood 101 The wood can exhibit an attractive range of figure, with ribbon, bee's-wing and regular stripe on quartersawn stock, and fiddleback, mottle or roe on other cuts.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, November 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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ROE
ROE n. Military = rules of engagement n. at rule n.1 Phrases 2j.
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1970 Rep. Rev. Preliminary Investig. My Lai Incident (U.S. Dept. Army) I. ix. 5 The rules of engagement (ROE) for military operations in Vietnam are based on specific authority granted by the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
2002 E. L. Haney Inside Delta Force (2003) 304 These guys seem to have discovered the limiting factors of our ROE..and they've been taking advantage of it.
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