rovern.²

Brit.

/ˈrəʊvə/, U.S.

/ˈroʊvər/

Forms:

α. Scottish pre-1700 revar, pre-1700 rever, pre-1700 rewar, pre-1700 river.

β. 1500s–1600s rouer, 1500s– rover, 1600s roauer.

Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: rove v.², -er suffix¹.

Etymology: < rove v.² + -er suffix¹.The α. forms are attested earliest, but are difficult to explain. They may perhaps be due to association with the pairing rover n.¹ and reaver n.

(a) Archery. An arbitrarily selected mark at an unknown distance from the archer, esp. as used to provide practice in range-finding and long-distance shooting. Hence also in later use: a mark for long-distance shooting. Frequently in to shoot at rovers. Now historical.Often contrasted with butt n.⁷ 2a and prick n. 19a.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > competitive shooting > archery > [noun] > archery target

bercelc1440

butt1440

shell1497

rover1511

standing pricka1525

round1531

popinjay1548

prick-mark1553

Turk1569

twelve (also twenty-four) score prick1569

garden butt1572

parrot1578

clout1584

hoyle1614

shaw-fowl1621

prick wanda1650

goal1662

α.

1511 in J. B. Paul Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1902) IV. 315 Tynt be the king at the buttis and revaris in Leith.

1568 A. Scott Poems (1896) v. 44 To schute at buttis, at bankis and brais; Sum at the reveris, sum at the prikkis.

a1600 R. Lindsay Hist. & Cron. Scotl. (1899) I. 340 The said Inglischemen sould schute aganis thame ether at prickis, reveris or at buttis.

1624 Edinb. Test. LII. f. 329^v, in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue xxiii butt and river arrowes.

β. a1525 ( Coventry Leet Bk. (1908) II. 338 Hit is ordeyned..þat noman..shote at Rovers, but at buttis & standyng prikkis.1541–2 Act 33 Hen. VIII c. 9. §2 Noe Man under thage of xxiiij yeres shall shoote at any standinge prick excepte it be at a Rover whereat he shall chaunge at every shoote his marke.1615 G. Markham Countrey Contentments 108 The Roauer is a marke incertaine,..and..must haue arrowes lighter or heauier, according to the distance.1728 A. Ramsay On seeing Archers divert Themselves 1 The Rovers and the Butts you saw.1797 Encycl. Brit. II. 214/1 All these prizes are shot for at what is termed rovers, the marks being placed at the distance of 185 yards.1819 W. Scott Ivanhoe I. xiii. 270 The distance between that station and the mark allowing full distance for what was called a shot at rovers.1856 H. A. Ford Archery 104 Concerning roving, or shooting at rovers, very few words will suffice.1890 A. Conan Doyle White Company (1894) xxxi. 351 When my eye is true, I am better at rovers than at long-butts or hoyles.1907 W. Wroth Cremorne & Later London Gardens 48 Early in the eighteenth century, in the days when the London archers shot at rovers in the Finsbury fields.1943 A. G. Banks Random Writings on Rifle Shooting iv. 27 In about 1500 onwards, the fields around London were open to all to shoot over. They were dotted with ‘marks’, also called ‘rovers’, made of stone or wood, spaced at irregular ranges apart.2009 J. L. Forgeng & W. McLean Daily Life Chaucer's Eng. (ed. 2) 217 When shooting at rovers, archers might carry more than one pair of arrows so they could have arrows suited for different ranges.

†(b) figurative. See also at rovers at Phrases. Obsolete.

ΚΠ

1551 T. Cranmer Answer S. Gardiner 63 Where you pretende to shoote at the butte, you shoote quite at the rouers, and cleane frome the marke.

1572 T. Churchyard in J. Jones Bathes of Bathes Ayde To Rdr. sig. bi At rouers they but shot theyr Shafts.

1602 W. Watson Decacordon Ten Quodlibeticall Questions 67 Note this, that popularitie is the rover they ayme at, in all their proceedings.

1661 J. Glanvill Vanity of Dogmatizing 107 But Nature shoots not at Rovers.

1702 W. Binckes Prefatory Disc. to Exam. Expos. Thirty Nine Articles 34 He will be found to shoot all the while at Rovers, and wide of the Mark.

1811 C. Lamb in Reflector No. 4. 388 Ill-fortune, that would thwart us, Shoots at rovers, shooting at us.

†b. A strong heavy arrow used for shooting over long distances. Obsolete.

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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > competitive shooting > archery > [noun] > target arrow

mark arrow1394

flight1464

buttbolt1467

prick-shaft1538

forehand (shaft)1545

prick-arrow1547

rover1601

flight-shaft1609

flight-arrow1801

1601 B. Jonson Fountaine of Selfe-love v. v. sig. L^v Here be [arrows] of all sorts, Flightes, Rouers, and But-shafts.

1624 F. Quarles Sions Elegies iii. iv His Bowe is bent, his forked Rouers flye.

a. A person who travels from place to place without fixed route or destination, esp. over a wide area; a wanderer, a roamer; a nomad. Also: an animal which ranges over a wide area.

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the world > animals > by habits or actions > [noun] > that roves or wanders

rover1568

fugitive1688

roita1779

society > travel > aspects of travel > travel from place to place > [noun] > without fixed aim or wandering > wanderer

striker1393

roamerc1400

wandererc1440

whirlerc1440

gangrela1450

fluttererc1450

straggler1530

gadlinga1542

ranger1560

rover1568

fugitive1570

rangler1575

fleeter1581

extravagant1583

scatterling1590

vagranta1592

rambler1624

erratic1669

stravaiger1821

multivagant1895

1568 T. Drant tr. Gregory of Nazianzus Epigr. & Sentences sig. C. iiii^v Ye rouers in the fylde, Ye romers in the towne.

1574 J. Whitgift Def. Aunswere to Admon. 48 Any other [ministers] that may..bee called rouers and wanderers I know none.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Winter's Tale (1623) i. ii. 177 Next to thy selfe, and my young Rouer, he's Apparant to my heart.

1700 R. Blackmore Isaiah xxxiv, in Paraphr. Job 259 Vultures and all the Rovers of the Air, To the red Fields of Slaughter shall repair.

1745 E. Young Consolation 80 Yet why drown Fancy in such Depths as these? Return, presumptuous Rover!

1835 W. Irving Tour on Prairies 172 The Indian of the west is a rover of the plain.

1849 Sketches Nat. Hist.: Mammalia III. 70 These young rovers the French hunters call bêtes de compagnie.

1872 Ld. Tennyson Last Tournament in Gareth & Lynette 123 Harper, and thou hast been a rover too.

1925 Woman's World (Chicago) Apr. 22/3 Old Chopi, a hermit bachelor and a great rover,..traveled alone over the forest trails.

1961 H. MacLennan Seven Rivers Canada 12 Conspired to turn the early Canadians into rovers who departed further and further from civilization.

2002 Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 6 June 14 Is he meant to be Irish? Scottish? A wandering gypsy rover of non-specific Celtic descent?

b. A flirtatious, promiscuous, or unfaithful man; an inconstant lover; a rake. Now historical.

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the mind > emotion > love > flirtation or coquetry > [noun] > flirt > male flirt

spider-caul1631

rover1638

coquet1691

male coquette1710

flirta1732

1638 J. Ford Fancies ii. 29 Hee's none of your hot rovers, Who ruffle at first dash, and so disfigure Your Dresses.

c1690 Stepney Spell 4 Whene'er I wive,..Wit, beauty, wealth, and humour give, Or let me still a rover live.

1710 J. Addison Tatler No. 157. §14 An old Friend of mine, who was formerly a Man of Gallantry and a Rover.

a1721 M. Prior Advice to Lady in Lyric Poems (1741) 19 Phillis, give this humour over..I shall turn an Errant Rover, If the favour's still refus'd.

1742 J. Yarrow Love at First Sight 43 Let Rovers through Inconstancy Their guilty Joys pursue.

1810 L. Aikin Epist. Women 33 She bears the vengeful brand of strifes, Fires the loose rover, stings the jealous wife.

1872 C. G. Leland Music-lesson of Confucius 115 Soon, thy wild flight over, Soon, no more a rover, Back thou'lt fly and never dare to change.

1989 J. D. Canfield in J. D. Canfield & J. P. Hunter Rhetorics of Order i. 28 The rake of subversive comedy remains a rover at large.

1998 M. Zook in Women Writers & Early Mod. Brit. Polit. Trad. iv. 78 The transformation of Behn's cavalier from merry rover to cunning rake to sacrificial martyr-hero.

c. A person attending a performance, meeting, etc., who holds a ticket but has no allocated seat or place, and so must find a place to sit or stand. Also rover ticket. Now historical.

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society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > theatre-going > theatregoer > [noun] > theatre audience > one who has no seat

standee1845

rover1882

1882 Birmingham Daily Post 20 July 4/7 We understand that the whole of the five guinea tickets, popularly called ‘Rovers' Tickets’..have already been disposed of.

1912 Times 2 Jan. 5/3 At 8:15 all unoccupied seats will be filled up from the holders of ‘rover’ tickets.

1933 H. G. Wells Bulpington of Blup v. 177 They were to go as ‘Rovers’ to the Russian Ballet.

1944 G. B. Shaw Everybody's Polit. What's What? xxxi. 279 All the stalls were sold out and they had to be content as ‘rovers’ without allotted seats, sitting or standing about wherever they could.

1999 A. Sinfield Out on Stage i. 10 [In the 1930s] you could get a Rover ticket at the Palladium. People used to stand along the back of the circle and there about.

d. = Rover Scout n. at Compounds 2. Frequently with capital initial.

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society > society and the community > social relations > an association, society, or organization > specific societies or organizations > [noun] > specific youth organizations > members of scouts or guides

Boy Scout1908

patrol leader1908

scout1908

scoutmaster1908

tenderfoot1908

captain1909

Girl Guide1909

Girl Scout1909

lieutenant1909

pathfinder1911

sea scout1911

rosebud1914

brownie1916

sixer1916

tenderpad1916

Brown Owl1918

rover1918

Rover Scout1918

ranger1920

tawny owl1921

Cub1922

Akela1924

scouter1930

Guider1931

den mother1936

Queen's Guide1946

Queen's Scout1952

Venture Scout1966

Beaver1975

skipper1986

1918 Be Prepared (Boy Scouts Assoc. Great Brit.) 17 The problem of the adolescent boy..has now resulted in the formation of a Senior Division of the Scouts called Rovers.

1922 R. S. S. Baden-Powell Rovering 210 Rovers are a Brotherhood of the Open Air and Service.

1933 A. G. Macdonell England, their England xiii. 235 Lots of the young chaps are Rovers and don't drink so as to be an example to the Scouts and Cubs.

1966 Times 10 June 11/1 The Scout Association will have three main sections—cub scouts.., aged 8 to 11; scouts, aged 11 to 16; and venture scouts (replacing senior scouts and rovers), aged 16 to 20.

2010 Sunshine Coast (Queensland) Sunday (Nexis) 31 Jan. 8 Soon they will have their woggles in place and everyone from the cubs to the rovers are ready for action.

e. Chiefly British. A ticket, pass, etc., which allows unlimited travel on certain public transport services for a specified period. Chiefly attributive, esp. in rover ticket.

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society > authority > lack of subjection > permission > [noun] > document which permits or authorizes > ticket

ticket1673

card1749

brief1860

ducket1871

rover1934

1934 Manch. Guardian 14 Apr. 12/6 London Transport believes that there is a real demand for such ‘rover’ tickets, especially in the fine weather.

1976 Sandusky (Ohio) Reg. 12 Feb. c2 You can buy a ‘Red Bus Rover Ticket’ for less than one dollar, and ride all day long on any London Transport bus.

1982 Observer 10 Jan. 33/9 A two-man tent, airbed, breakfast, site fees and a Rover pass on the long-distance Egged buses costs £40-£44.

1993 Holiday Which? Jan. 19/3 Bus users should ask about cost-cutting dayriders and rovercards.

2004 J. F. Duddle Daytrips Scotl. & Wales i. 11 Buy a rover on the first bus you board and use it all day on buses 1 to 99.

f. British. During the Second World War (1939–45): an airborne reconnaissance patrol. Also more fully rover patrol. Now historical.

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society > travel > air or space travel > [noun] > a flight through air or space > for reconnaissance

milk train1853

patrol1917

rover1942

1942 R.A.F. Jrnl. 3 Oct. 18 ‘Strike’ and ‘rover’ patrols were on the board every day.

1957 R. Barker Ship-busters ii. 35 The Rover was a roving commission, an armed reconnaissance against enemy shipping..carried out by a small number of aircraft working independently.

1995 C. J. M. Goulter Forgotten Offensive (2005) viii. 254 Daylight shipping movement was almost nil, only three of the 12 ‘Rover’ sweeps finding any targets.

2009 K. Alexander Jack Davenport x. 102 On 12 May 1943,..Jack, flying AE 384, led an evening rover to the Norwegian coast.

3. Croquet.

a. A player who has run all hoops and could peg out, but chooses to remain in play, in order to aid a partner or obstruct opposing players.

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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > croquet > [noun] > player of a rover

rover1861

1861 J. G. Wood Athletic Sports & Recreations for Boys 20 It is not obligatory to hit it [sc. the winning stick] when first reached, the player may return as a ‘rover’, to roquet friend or foe.

1874 J. D. Heath Compl. Croquet-player 71 The adversary is supposed..to be a good player, and likely, if he gets in, to make a long break, become a rover.

1904 Macmillan's Mag. Jan. 166/2 Sacharissa, already a rover, waited for him close to the peg.

1941 Pop. Sci. Monthly May 190/2 A rover plays in his turn and helps his partner and hinders his opponents.

2008 Augusta (Georgia) Chron. (Nexis) 6 July c8 As a rover, you can roquet any other ball in play once, unless your ball passes through a wicket.

b. A ball that has run all hoops and is ready to be pegged out. Also more fully rover ball.

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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > croquet > [noun] > ball as played

object ball1857

rover ball1863

player1868

1863 M. Reid Croquet 28 It [sc. the ball] has thus completed the grand round; and, being once more placed upon the spot, has the option—either of striking out, or continuing the play, with the privileges of the Rover.

1863 M. Reid Croquet 40 (note) The risk the rover ball constantly runs, of being struck out.

1874 J. D. Heath Compl. Croquet-player 81 I have seen many a game won, even when the adversary had both balls rovers, and the other side had scarcely started.

1914 Times 20 July 13/3 Mr. O'Callaghan was able to peg out Mr. Corbally's Rover and win by a narrow margin.

1966 D. Miller & R. Thorp Croquet & how to play It vii. 58 A ball which has run its rover hoop is said to be a rover ball, or to be for the peg.

2005 L. Bolton Everything Games Bk. (ed. 2) xii. 234 If a player hits another ball that is a rover and drives it against the winning stake, he is allowed another turn, but cannot croquet the ball.

a. Also with capital initial. (A name for) an early type of safety bicycle having a lower driving position than previous models and two wheels of almost identical size, the slightly larger front wheel being used for steering, the smaller chain-driven rear wheel for driving. Cf. safety bicycle n. at safety n. Compounds 3. Now historical.Rover was the name given by Starley & Sutton Co. (later the Rover Company: see also sense 4b) to their rear-driven tricycles and bicycles.

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society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > vehicle propelled by feet > [noun] > cycle > bicycle > safety

safety bicycle1876

safety1877

kangaroo1884

rover1885

bicyclette1886

1883 Knowledge 28 Dec. 387/1 A new rear-steering tricycle, the ‘Rover’, made by Starley & Sutton.]

1885 Knowledge 10 July 23/2 Starley & Sutton's Rover Safety Bicycle would prove to be the safest, and probably the fastest, machine..among the great number exhibited.

1892 Outing Nov. 111/2 This causes the confident beginner to depart pushing his rover and feeling decidedly crushed.

1895 F. B. Workman & W. H. Workman Algerian Mem. 29 We wheeled the rovers out, and mounted for our journey of over 1500 miles.

1921 W. F. Grew Cycle Industry i. 14 The original ‘Rover’ was the forerunner of many famous safety bicycles.

2004 D. Herlihy Bicycle 235 At the 1885 Stanley Show, however, one safety bicycle stood out: the Rover.

b. = Land-Rover n. at land n.¹ Compounds 3. Frequently with capital initial.A proprietary name in the United Kingdom and the United States.

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society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > motor car > [noun] > specific four-wheel drive car

jeep1941

peep1941

Land-Rover1948

rover1961

Hummer1983

Chelsea tractor1994

1961 A. Wilson Old Men at Zoo iv. 207 You hop into the rover, Carter. You're frozen.

1973 G. Moffat Lady with Cool Eye vi. 66 Slade was taking the spare wheel off the 'Rover's bonnet.

2005 D. Winslow Power of Dog xii. 476 He has the car in first gear, four-wheel drive, and is moving slowly up the hill, another Rover falling in behind.

c. Astronautics. A small powered surface vehicle for extraterrestrial exploration.The earliest such vehicles were unmanned and remote-controlled, and were used on the moon. The first manned lunar rover was that used on Apollo 15, in 1971. An unmanned rover was subsequently used on Mars.moon rover: see moon n.¹ Compounds 2.

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society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > [noun] > remotely controlled vehicle on moon or planet

rover1961

lunokhod1970

Marsokhod1970

planetokhod1970

1961 R. E. Lapp Man & Space vii. 89 The roving vehicle is one of the most ambitious projects for Saturn vehicles... The lunar rover is..automatically assembled, meaning unfolded and inflated, and it is commanded by remote control from earth posts to make excursions over the moon's surface.

1966 E. C. Levinthal in C. S. Pittendrigh et al. Biol. & Explor. Mars xvii. 308 The lander could include a vehicle with some capability for independent movement on the surface... Very little detail on the Rover and its capability is presented in these studies.

1971 Nature 19 Nov. 125/3 The rover had a responsive steering, and..climbed slopes where the dust layer was deep enough to make walking difficult.

1987 Flight Internat. 10 Oct. 83/1 The design of a sample-collecting robotic Rover and the investigation of methods for returning samples from Mars.

1988 R. Frazier in G. Dozois Isaac Asimov's Mars (1991) 60 Later, someone stopped a rover near Skaros and radioed to Joaquim about a dustgale due that morning.

2006 Sci. Amer. (U.K. ed.) Dec. 46/2 As the seasons advanced into the rover's second Martian winter, we were forced to move Spirit onto north-facing slopes so that there would be enough sunlight on the rover's solar panels.

5. In various team sports.

a. Australian Rules Football. One of the three followers who make up a ruck, typically a player who is small, fast, and skilful at receiving the ball. Cf. ruck-rover n. at ruck n.¹ Compounds.

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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > football > Australian football > [noun] > players or positions

goalkicker1871

full forward1880

rover1887

ruck1889

position player1900

centreline1911

1887 Mercury (Hobart) 21 May (team listing) A. Stuart..Rover. C. Goddard..Follower.

1894 A. Sutherland in M. Shearman Athletics & Football (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) (ed. 4) ii. vii. 422 The rover is..chosen for his quickness and readiness to go wherever he is wanted.

1969 Australian 24 May 39/4 Essendon has Barry Davis back as a ruck-rover,..and this should strengthen the side's following division and provide more opportunities for [their] rovers.

2000 F. Fortin Sports 254 The only players allowed into the center square [at the start of each quarter] are the center, the rover, and the two followers for each team.

b. Ice Hockey. A player who moves between defence and attack to play where required rather than remaining in a set position. Now historical.The rover became obsolete when the number of players on a team changed from seven to six during the 1910s and 1920s.

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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > winter sports > ice hockey > [noun] > player > type of player

defenceman1877

stick-handler1889

goaler1896

rover1896

netminder1942

policeman1959

penalty-killer1960

enforcer1963

1896 N.Y. Times 2 Mar. 5/4 Two men are known as right and left wings and attend to the sides, and the fourth man is called rover and helps any of the others who may need assistance.

1922 Boys' Life Mar. 9/3 The rover is something of a free lance who goes and comes pretty much as he pleases.

1991 Sports Illustr. 18 Mar. 82/2 Hockey was a seven-man game in Hobey's day... The key offensive player was the rover, Hobey's position.

c. Rugby Union (originally New Zealand). A forward charged with feeding the scrum and shielding the scrum half, enabling quicker passing from the base of the scrum. Now historical.Recorded earliest as rover-half.The rover was a feature of the seven-man scrum with two front-row forwards common in the early part of the 20th cent. This strategy was abandoned after a 1931 rule alteration effectively obliged each front row to contain three players, by imposing restrictions on striking for the ball in the scrum.

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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > football > rugby football > [noun] > types of player

scrimmager1835

goalkicker1879

out1895

rover1901

touch-finder1960

1901 Evening Post (Wellington, N.Z.) 23 Aug. 2/8 The selectors of the New Zealand team..submitted the following placing..; rover-half, Duncan (Otago).

a1917 J. E. Raphael Mod. Rugby Football (1918) xvii. 225 I played ‘rover’ for England on a memorable day at the Crystal Palace.

1927 W. W. Wakefield & H. P. Marshall Rugger ii. vi. 268 The rover puts the ball into the scrum, while the scrum-half stands at the base of the scrum to take it out.

1954 J. B. G. Thomas On Tour 26 They [sc. the All Blacks] packed 2-3-2, with Gallaher acting as a ‘rover’.

2009 T. Collins Social Hist. Eng. Rugby Union vi. 142 Baxter implied that Cliff Porter, the All Blacks captain who played as a rover, was a cheat.

d. American Football. A defensive player who moves about freely in the defensive zone in response to the action on the field.In quot. 1916: (more generally) a player who moves freely around the field.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > football > American football > [noun] > types of player

side tackle1809

nose guard1852

rusher1877

goalkicker1879

quarterback1879

runner1880

quarter1883

full back1884

left guard1884

snap-back1887

snapper-back1887

running back1891

tackle1891

defensive end1897

guard1897

interferer1897

receiver1897

defensive back1898

defensive tackle1900

safety man1901

ball carrier1902

defensive lineman1902

homebrew1903

offensive lineman1905

lineman1907

returner1911

signal caller1915

rover1916

interference1920

punt returner1926

pass rusher1928

tailback1930

safety1931

blocker1935

faker1938

scatback1946

linesman1947

flanker1953

platoon player1953

corner-back1955

pulling guard1955

split end1955

return man1957

slot-back1959

strong safety1959

wide receiver1960

line-backer1961

pocket passer1963

tight end1963

run blocker1967

wideout1967

blitzer1968

1916 W. Camp in Collier's Weekly 30 Dec. 30/3 He is all over the field as a rover, diagnosing the play quickly and with unfailing accuracy.

1960 Milwaukee (Wisconsin) Sentinel 30 Oct. t13 ‘Rover’ is becoming a popular term on defense. The ‘rover’ is the team's best defensive linebacker.

1970 Univ. of Alabama Football Press Guide 17 The rover slot was very similar to linebacking.

2008 Roanoke (Va.) Times (Nexis) 15 Apr. c1 Our rover is kind of a play-making spot for us, just like safety.

Phrases

at rovers (rarely rover).

†a. Without fixed route or destination; with no settled abode; to walk at rovers: to have no settled abode. Obsolete.

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society > travel > aspects of travel > travel from place to place > [verb (intransitive)] > with no fixed aim or wander > have no fixed abode

waggerc1380

to walk at rovers1528

stroll1603

to live out of (or from) a suitcase (or suitcases)1969

1528 T. More Dialogue Heresyes iii, in Wks. 228/1 The order is rebuked by priestes begging and lewde liuing, which either is fayne to walke at rouers and liue upon trentalles or worse or els [etc.].

1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues À veuë de païs, at random, roaming, at rouers, at large.

1625 R. Montagu Appello Cæsarem 288 Walk at random and at rovers in your by-paths, if you please.

1647 J. Cleveland Rebell Scot in Char. London-diurnall (new ed.) 42 Hence 'tis, they live at Rovers; and defie This or that place, Rags of Geographie.

b. In a haphazard or random manner; at random; without definite aim or object; (also) erratically, indiscriminately. rare after early 18th cent.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > causation > chance or causelessness > [adverb] > randomly or haphazardly

into uncertain1382

uncertainlya1387

at adventure (also adventures)c1390

at or on six and sevena1398

auntersa1450

at all adventure (also adventures)1485

by hab or by nab1530

at rovers (rarely rover)c1531

hab or nab1542

hitty-missy1553

rovingly1583

haphazard1600

random1619

unsight, unseena1627

happy-be-lucky1633

cross and pile1648

temerariously1669

happy-go-lucky1672

à tort et à travers1749

randomly1765

chance-medley1822

haphazardly1832

willy-nilly1908

by guess and by God (or Godfrey)1931

c1531 G. Joye Lett. Ashwell to Lyncolne sig. Aiiij At rovers so confusely confoundinge one Euangelist with a nother to confute your false opinion.

1532 T. More Confut. Barnes in Wks. (1557) 786/2 Either their dede and declaracion must nedes stande and be firme, or els all runne at rouers and nothing be certain or sure.

1546 J. Heywood Dialogue Prouerbes Eng. Tongue ii. v. sig. Hii^v Leat not your tong ron at rouer.

1654 R. Vilvain Theoremata Theologica vii. 205 A giddy Ostrich..having laid hir first Eg at rovers on the sands.

1685 J. Scott Christian Life: Pt. II I. vi. 489 We must necessarily think of God at Rovers, without any certain aim or rule to..direct our apprehensions.

1691 J. Norris Pract. Disc. Divine Subj. 3 A Man were better have no Mark before him, but live at Rovers, without any End or Design at all.

1700 J. Dryden tr. Homer 1st Bk. Ilias in Fables 192 The god nine Days the Greeks at Rovers kill'd.

1739 A. Nicol Nature without Art 106 But some Men say, this Goddess she is blind, And deals at Rovers to all human Kind.

1912 A. Preuss tr. J. Pohle God i. iii. 94 The God of the Deists allows the mighty engine of the universe to run at rovers and permits the droll little creatures called men to disport themselves as they please.

†c. By selecting subjects arbitrarily; (hence) in a superficial manner; about trivial or insignificant matters; frequently in to talk (or speak) at rovers. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > absence of meaning > nonsense, rubbish > use language nonsensically [verb (intransitive)]

roya1450

to talk (or speak) at rovers1542

nonsense1822

squiddle1824

twaddle1825

fudge1834

buncomize1871

to be full of prunes1887

waffle1900

jive1928

bullshit1942

to talk out of one's arse1973

1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes f. 288^v Thy dooynges o Cato dooen more nere approche vnto the spirite of prophecie... Menyng that Cato talked at rouers.

1587 Sir P. Sidney & A. Golding tr. P. de Mornay Trewnesse Christian Relig. xxvi. 462 These particularities..doe euidently shewe that Moyses speaketh not at rouers.

1606 Sir Gyles Goosecappe i. i. sig. A3^v A good bustling Gallant talkes well at Rouers.

1686 tr. J. Chardin Trav. Persia 337 After several Discourses at Rovers, he told me, He was very much troubl'd for me.

1725 R. Wodrow Corr. (1843) III. 178 Unless I had then a fuller view of circumstances than I have, I can only talk at rovers in it.

Compounds

C1. General attributive, objective, and appositive (in sense 1a), as rover mark, rover-shooting, rover shot, etc.

ΚΠ

1553 J. Withals Shorte Dict. f. 67^v/2 The rouer markes, incerta.

1605 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. ii. ii. 441 Heere, if I list, or lou'd I rouer-shooting,..I could deriue the Lineal Discents Of all our Siers.

1690 W. Temple Ess. Gardens of Epicurus 11 in Miscellanea: 2nd Pt. Perhaps..these fine Schemes would prove like Rover Shots, some nearer and some further off.

1869 All Year Round 15 May 559/2 Set up their ringed targets..and try the long flight and the clout and rover shots.

1875 J. B. Paul Hist. Royal Company Archers xiii. 339 The Cross is now competed for in October at the close of the rover-shooting for the season.

1969 M. R. Holmes Elizabethan London v. 51 A mark-stone..to indicate one of the points on a rover-course.

C2.

Rover Scout n. (also with lower-case initials) a member of a section of the Scout Movement established for young adults; cf. sense 2d.This section was dissolved in the United Kingdom and several other countries in 1967, to be replaced by Venture Scouts (see quot. 1966 at sense 2d).

ΘΚΠ

Boy Scout1908

patrol leader1908

scout1908

scoutmaster1908

tenderfoot1908

captain1909

Girl Guide1909

Girl Scout1909

lieutenant1909

pathfinder1911

sea scout1911

rosebud1914

brownie1916

sixer1916

tenderpad1916

Brown Owl1918

rover1918

Rover Scout1918

ranger1920

tawny owl1921

Cub1922

Akela1924

scouter1930

Guider1931

den mother1936

Queen's Guide1946

Queen's Scout1952

Venture Scout1966

Beaver1975

skipper1986

1918 Be Prepared (Boy Scouts Assoc. Great Brit.) 17 The Rover Scout scheme has been designed to solve this [adolescent boy] problem.

1920 O. Baden-Powell in Girl Guides' Gaz. June 102/2 Another definition is that to range is to ‘sail along in a parallel direction’, and so we can feel that the Ranger Guides are complementary to the Rover Scouts.

1959 Chambers's Encycl. II. 481/2 The movement in Great Britain is divided into four groups: rover scouts, i.e. young men of 18 and over; [etc.].

2004 Scouting Mag. Mar. 11/3 Are you curious to know what it was like to be a Sixer in 1930 or a Rover Scout in 1940?

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2011; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	rover
释义	rovern.¹ Brit. /ˈrəʊvə/, U.S. /ˈroʊvər/ Forms: Middle English rouere, Middle English rovare, Middle English rovere, Middle English rowar, Middle English–1600s rouer, Middle English– rover, 1500s rovar (Scottish). Origin: Either (i) a borrowing from Dutch. Or (ii) a borrowing from Middle Low German. Etymons: Dutch rōver; Middle Low German rōver. Etymology: < Middle Dutch rōver or its cognate Middle Low German rōver reaver n. Compare Middle Dutch seerōver , Middle Low German sērȫver sea-rover n. and also Anglo-Norman roveres sur le mere , plural (1429 or earlier). Compare later rove v.¹Attested earlier in surnames, although it is uncertain whether these reflect the Middle English, Anglo-Norman, Middle Dutch, or Middle Low German word: Philip le Rouere (1300), Rogerus le Roviere (1313). In later use often reinterpreted as a specific use of rover n.² 2, especially in combinations, e.g. sea-rover n. Now historical. 1. a. A pirate. Cf. sea-rover n. 1.In later use often understood as a contextual use of rover n.² 2a. ΘΚΠ society > travel > travel by water > one who travels by water or sea > sailor > types of sailor > [noun] > pirate rovera1393 pirate?a1425 reaver1434 freebooter1570 filibuster1591 water thief1600 picaroon1624 marooner1661 Likedeelers1764 buccaneer1846 a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) iii. 2369 (MED) It fell..upon a day A Rovere of the See was nome. a1450–1500 ( Libel Eng. Policy (1926) l. 159 (MED) Of thys Bretayn..Are the gretteste rovers and the gretteste thevys That have bene in the see. a1475 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (Laud) (1885) 123 (MED) It shalbe nescessarie þat the kynge haue alway some ffloute apon the see, ffor the repressynge off rovers. 1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. lxxxxi The kynges subiectes..were greuously spoyled and robbed on the sea, by Frenchemen, Scottes and other rouers. 1576 A. Fleming tr. C. Hegendorphinus in Panoplie Epist. 385 You are in peril of Pyrates and Rouers to spoyle you. 1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage v. ix. 609 Algier hauing beene of olde, and still continuing a receptacle of Turkish Rouers. 1653 H. Cogan tr. F. M. Pinto Voy. & Adventures xxiii. 81 This Rover, believing that we were Chineses, came and assailed us with two great Juncks. 1700 S. L. tr. C. Frick Relation Voy. in tr. C. Frick & C. Schweitzer Relation Two Voy. E.-Indies 193 These Rovers had several Oars with them. 1783 B. Franklin Let. 25 July in G. W. Allen Our Navy & Barbary Corsairs (1905) iii. 27 I think it not improbable that those rovers may be privately encouraged by the English to fall upon us. 1807 G. Chalmers Caledonia I. iii. vii. 378 The Danish rovers had also considerable establishments at Waterford. 1842 J. F. Cooper Wing-and-Wing II. i. 11 A boat from a rover had seized upon my uncle and myself, and were carrying us off into captivity, when a Frenchman..rescued us. 1867 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest I. 295 There appears by his side another rover of the North.., the famous Olaf Tryggwesson. 1911 Outlook 7 Oct. 307/2 These events forced the Pasha to sign a treaty declaring American vessels forever free from his rovers. 2003 P. Earle Pirate Wars iii. 46 The Sallee rovers..were much feared along the western European seaboard. b. A pirate ship. Now rare. ΘΚΠ society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > privateer or pirate ship > [noun] rover1534 picaroon1625 corsair1632 1534 E. Maye Let. 25 June in Lisle Papers (P.R.O.: SP 3/6/46) f. 61 A Rover of the portage of lx Tvnnes. 1590 E. Webbe Rare & Wonderfull Things (new ed.) sig. B We met with fiue Rouers or men of war, whom we set upon, & burnt their Admirall. 1692 N. Luttrell Diary in Brief Hist. Relation State Affairs (1857) II. 423 All our rovers except 2 are laid up, and the men employed in the army. 1720 D. Defoe Life Capt. Singleton 4 Coming Home again from the Banks of Newfoundland, we were taken by an Algerine Rover, or Man of War. 1726 W. R. Chetwood Voy. & Adventures Capt. R. Boyle 23 We found our selves within half a Mile of a Rover of Barbary. 1773 ‘P. R.’ Supposed Daughter II. 13 An English Man of War, that had met and took the Rover. 1874 G. Welles Lincoln & Seward 128 The Alabama, and rovers of her class, which swept our merchant ships from the ocean for the benefit of England. 1969 A. Brown tr. A. O. Exquemelin Buccaneers of Amer. vii. 76 Dusk fell, and the warship was beginning to gain on the rover. †2. A robber; a marauder, a raider. Cf. reaver n. 1. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > thief > robber > sacker, raider, or looter > [noun] reavereOE forayerc1330 cateran1371 ransackerc1390 depopulatorc1440 rover1481 forager1489 river?a1500 riderc1550 wight-rider1569 predour1577 sacker1589 harrier1596 boot-haler1600 marauder1698 poligar1773 skinner1780 looter1860 raider1861 1481 W. Caxton tr. Hist. Reynard Fox (1970) 8 He is a very murderer, a rouer, and a theef. ?1520 A. Barclay tr. Sallust Cron. Warre agaynst Iugurth lvi. f. 80^v More lyke a skirmysshe among brygandes and rouers than to any appoynted or ordred batell. 1570 J. Foxe Actes & Monumentes (rev. ed.) II. 2286/1 Thomas Horton..iourneying..betwene Mastricke and Collen, chaunced to be taken there by certayne Rouers. 1609 Bible (Douay) I. 4 Kings xiii. 20 The rouers of Moab came into the land the same yeare. 1638 R. Brathwait Barnabees Journall (new ed.) iii. sig. P2 As these privatly conferred, A Rover tooke him unprepared. a1707 S. Patrick Auto-biogr. (1839) 7 They declared neither for King or parliament; intending only to stand upon their guard against rovers. 1794 ‘W. B.’ Remarkable & Recent Predict. 19 They will receive all things of Rovers, Pickers, Spoilers, Thieves and Robbers. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2011; most recently modified version published online June 2022). rovern.² Brit. /ˈrəʊvə/, U.S. /ˈroʊvər/ Forms: α. Scottish pre-1700 revar, pre-1700 rever, pre-1700 rewar, pre-1700 river. β. 1500s–1600s rouer, 1500s– rover, 1600s roauer. Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: rove v.², -er suffix¹. Etymology: < rove v.² + -er suffix¹.The α. forms are attested earliest, but are difficult to explain. They may perhaps be due to association with the pairing rover n.¹ and reaver n. 1. a. (a) Archery. An arbitrarily selected mark at an unknown distance from the archer, esp. as used to provide practice in range-finding and long-distance shooting. Hence also in later use: a mark for long-distance shooting. Frequently in to shoot at rovers. Now historical.Often contrasted with butt n.⁷ 2a and prick n. 19a. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > competitive shooting > archery > [noun] > archery target bercelc1440 butt1440 shell1497 rover1511 standing pricka1525 round1531 popinjay1548 prick-mark1553 Turk1569 twelve (also twenty-four) score prick1569 garden butt1572 parrot1578 clout1584 hoyle1614 shaw-fowl1621 prick wanda1650 goal1662 α. 1511 in J. B. Paul Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1902) IV. 315 Tynt be the king at the buttis and revaris in Leith. 1568 A. Scott Poems (1896) v. 44 To schute at buttis, at bankis and brais; Sum at the reveris, sum at the prikkis. a1600 R. Lindsay Hist. & Cron. Scotl. (1899) I. 340 The said Inglischemen sould schute aganis thame ether at prickis, reveris or at buttis. 1624 Edinb. Test. LII. f. 329^v, in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue xxiii butt and river arrowes. β. a1525 ( Coventry Leet Bk. (1908) II. 338 Hit is ordeyned..þat noman..shote at Rovers, but at buttis & standyng prikkis.1541–2 Act 33 Hen. VIII c. 9. §2 Noe Man under thage of xxiiij yeres shall shoote at any standinge prick excepte it be at a Rover whereat he shall chaunge at every shoote his marke.1615 G. Markham Countrey Contentments 108 The Roauer is a marke incertaine,..and..must haue arrowes lighter or heauier, according to the distance.1728 A. Ramsay On seeing Archers divert Themselves 1 The Rovers and the Butts you saw.1797 Encycl. Brit. II. 214/1 All these prizes are shot for at what is termed rovers, the marks being placed at the distance of 185 yards.1819 W. Scott Ivanhoe I. xiii. 270 The distance between that station and the mark allowing full distance for what was called a shot at rovers.1856 H. A. Ford Archery 104 Concerning roving, or shooting at rovers, very few words will suffice.1890 A. Conan Doyle White Company (1894) xxxi. 351 When my eye is true, I am better at rovers than at long-butts or hoyles.1907 W. Wroth Cremorne & Later London Gardens 48 Early in the eighteenth century, in the days when the London archers shot at rovers in the Finsbury fields.1943 A. G. Banks Random Writings on Rifle Shooting iv. 27 In about 1500 onwards, the fields around London were open to all to shoot over. They were dotted with ‘marks’, also called ‘rovers’, made of stone or wood, spaced at irregular ranges apart.2009 J. L. Forgeng & W. McLean Daily Life Chaucer's Eng. (ed. 2) 217 When shooting at rovers, archers might carry more than one pair of arrows so they could have arrows suited for different ranges. †(b) figurative. See also at rovers at Phrases. Obsolete. ΚΠ 1551 T. Cranmer Answer S. Gardiner 63 Where you pretende to shoote at the butte, you shoote quite at the rouers, and cleane frome the marke. 1572 T. Churchyard in J. Jones Bathes of Bathes Ayde To Rdr. sig. bi At rouers they but shot theyr Shafts. 1602 W. Watson Decacordon Ten Quodlibeticall Questions 67 Note this, that popularitie is the rover they ayme at, in all their proceedings. 1661 J. Glanvill Vanity of Dogmatizing 107 But Nature shoots not at Rovers. 1702 W. Binckes Prefatory Disc. to Exam. Expos. Thirty Nine Articles 34 He will be found to shoot all the while at Rovers, and wide of the Mark. 1811 C. Lamb in Reflector No. 4. 388 Ill-fortune, that would thwart us, Shoots at rovers, shooting at us. †b. A strong heavy arrow used for shooting over long distances. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > competitive shooting > archery > [noun] > target arrow mark arrow1394 flight1464 buttbolt1467 prick-shaft1538 forehand (shaft)1545 prick-arrow1547 rover1601 flight-shaft1609 flight-arrow1801 1601 B. Jonson Fountaine of Selfe-love v. v. sig. L^v Here be [arrows] of all sorts, Flightes, Rouers, and But-shafts. View more context for this quotation 1624 F. Quarles Sions Elegies iii. iv His Bowe is bent, his forked Rouers flye. 2. a. A person who travels from place to place without fixed route or destination, esp. over a wide area; a wanderer, a roamer; a nomad. Also: an animal which ranges over a wide area. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > by habits or actions > [noun] > that roves or wanders rover1568 fugitive1688 roita1779 society > travel > aspects of travel > travel from place to place > [noun] > without fixed aim or wandering > wanderer striker1393 roamerc1400 wandererc1440 whirlerc1440 gangrela1450 fluttererc1450 straggler1530 gadlinga1542 ranger1560 rover1568 fugitive1570 rangler1575 fleeter1581 extravagant1583 scatterling1590 vagranta1592 rambler1624 erratic1669 stravaiger1821 multivagant1895 1568 T. Drant tr. Gregory of Nazianzus Epigr. & Sentences sig. C. iiii^v Ye rouers in the fylde, Ye romers in the towne. 1574 J. Whitgift Def. Aunswere to Admon. 48 Any other [ministers] that may..bee called rouers and wanderers I know none. a1616 W. Shakespeare Winter's Tale (1623) i. ii. 177 Next to thy selfe, and my young Rouer, he's Apparant to my heart. View more context for this quotation 1700 R. Blackmore Isaiah xxxiv, in Paraphr. Job 259 Vultures and all the Rovers of the Air, To the red Fields of Slaughter shall repair. 1745 E. Young Consolation 80 Yet why drown Fancy in such Depths as these? Return, presumptuous Rover! 1835 W. Irving Tour on Prairies 172 The Indian of the west is a rover of the plain. 1849 Sketches Nat. Hist.: Mammalia III. 70 These young rovers the French hunters call bêtes de compagnie. 1872 Ld. Tennyson Last Tournament in Gareth & Lynette 123 Harper, and thou hast been a rover too. 1925 Woman's World (Chicago) Apr. 22/3 Old Chopi, a hermit bachelor and a great rover,..traveled alone over the forest trails. 1961 H. MacLennan Seven Rivers Canada 12 Conspired to turn the early Canadians into rovers who departed further and further from civilization. 2002 Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 6 June 14 Is he meant to be Irish? Scottish? A wandering gypsy rover of non-specific Celtic descent? b. A flirtatious, promiscuous, or unfaithful man; an inconstant lover; a rake. Now historical. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > love > flirtation or coquetry > [noun] > flirt > male flirt spider-caul1631 rover1638 coquet1691 male coquette1710 flirta1732 1638 J. Ford Fancies ii. 29 Hee's none of your hot rovers, Who ruffle at first dash, and so disfigure Your Dresses. c1690 Stepney Spell 4 Whene'er I wive,..Wit, beauty, wealth, and humour give, Or let me still a rover live. 1710 J. Addison Tatler No. 157. §14 An old Friend of mine, who was formerly a Man of Gallantry and a Rover. a1721 M. Prior Advice to Lady in Lyric Poems (1741) 19 Phillis, give this humour over..I shall turn an Errant Rover, If the favour's still refus'd. 1742 J. Yarrow Love at First Sight 43 Let Rovers through Inconstancy Their guilty Joys pursue. 1810 L. Aikin Epist. Women 33 She bears the vengeful brand of strifes, Fires the loose rover, stings the jealous wife. 1872 C. G. Leland Music-lesson of Confucius 115 Soon, thy wild flight over, Soon, no more a rover, Back thou'lt fly and never dare to change. 1989 J. D. Canfield in J. D. Canfield & J. P. Hunter Rhetorics of Order i. 28 The rake of subversive comedy remains a rover at large. 1998 M. Zook in Women Writers & Early Mod. Brit. Polit. Trad. iv. 78 The transformation of Behn's cavalier from merry rover to cunning rake to sacrificial martyr-hero. c. A person attending a performance, meeting, etc., who holds a ticket but has no allocated seat or place, and so must find a place to sit or stand. Also rover ticket. Now historical. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > theatre-going > theatregoer > [noun] > theatre audience > one who has no seat standee1845 rover1882 1882 Birmingham Daily Post 20 July 4/7 We understand that the whole of the five guinea tickets, popularly called ‘Rovers' Tickets’..have already been disposed of. 1912 Times 2 Jan. 5/3 At 8:15 all unoccupied seats will be filled up from the holders of ‘rover’ tickets. 1933 H. G. Wells Bulpington of Blup v. 177 They were to go as ‘Rovers’ to the Russian Ballet. 1944 G. B. Shaw Everybody's Polit. What's What? xxxi. 279 All the stalls were sold out and they had to be content as ‘rovers’ without allotted seats, sitting or standing about wherever they could. 1999 A. Sinfield Out on Stage i. 10 [In the 1930s] you could get a Rover ticket at the Palladium. People used to stand along the back of the circle and there about. d. = Rover Scout n. at Compounds 2. Frequently with capital initial. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > social relations > an association, society, or organization > specific societies or organizations > [noun] > specific youth organizations > members of scouts or guides Boy Scout1908 patrol leader1908 scout1908 scoutmaster1908 tenderfoot1908 captain1909 Girl Guide1909 Girl Scout1909 lieutenant1909 pathfinder1911 sea scout1911 rosebud1914 brownie1916 sixer1916 tenderpad1916 Brown Owl1918 rover1918 Rover Scout1918 ranger1920 tawny owl1921 Cub1922 Akela1924 scouter1930 Guider1931 den mother1936 Queen's Guide1946 Queen's Scout1952 Venture Scout1966 Beaver1975 skipper1986 1918 Be Prepared (Boy Scouts Assoc. Great Brit.) 17 The problem of the adolescent boy..has now resulted in the formation of a Senior Division of the Scouts called Rovers. 1922 R. S. S. Baden-Powell Rovering 210 Rovers are a Brotherhood of the Open Air and Service. 1933 A. G. Macdonell England, their England xiii. 235 Lots of the young chaps are Rovers and don't drink so as to be an example to the Scouts and Cubs. 1966 Times 10 June 11/1 The Scout Association will have three main sections—cub scouts.., aged 8 to 11; scouts, aged 11 to 16; and venture scouts (replacing senior scouts and rovers), aged 16 to 20. 2010 Sunshine Coast (Queensland) Sunday (Nexis) 31 Jan. 8 Soon they will have their woggles in place and everyone from the cubs to the rovers are ready for action. e. Chiefly British. A ticket, pass, etc., which allows unlimited travel on certain public transport services for a specified period. Chiefly attributive, esp. in rover ticket. ΘΚΠ society > authority > lack of subjection > permission > [noun] > document which permits or authorizes > ticket ticket1673 card1749 brief1860 ducket1871 rover1934 1934 Manch. Guardian 14 Apr. 12/6 London Transport believes that there is a real demand for such ‘rover’ tickets, especially in the fine weather. 1976 Sandusky (Ohio) Reg. 12 Feb. c2 You can buy a ‘Red Bus Rover Ticket’ for less than one dollar, and ride all day long on any London Transport bus. 1982 Observer 10 Jan. 33/9 A two-man tent, airbed, breakfast, site fees and a Rover pass on the long-distance Egged buses costs £40-£44. 1993 Holiday Which? Jan. 19/3 Bus users should ask about cost-cutting dayriders and rovercards. 2004 J. F. Duddle Daytrips Scotl. & Wales i. 11 Buy a rover on the first bus you board and use it all day on buses 1 to 99. f. British. During the Second World War (1939–45): an airborne reconnaissance patrol. Also more fully rover patrol. Now historical. ΘΚΠ society > travel > air or space travel > [noun] > a flight through air or space > for reconnaissance milk train1853 patrol1917 rover1942 1942 R.A.F. Jrnl. 3 Oct. 18 ‘Strike’ and ‘rover’ patrols were on the board every day. 1957 R. Barker Ship-busters ii. 35 The Rover was a roving commission, an armed reconnaissance against enemy shipping..carried out by a small number of aircraft working independently. 1995 C. J. M. Goulter Forgotten Offensive (2005) viii. 254 Daylight shipping movement was almost nil, only three of the 12 ‘Rover’ sweeps finding any targets. 2009 K. Alexander Jack Davenport x. 102 On 12 May 1943,..Jack, flying AE 384, led an evening rover to the Norwegian coast. 3. Croquet. a. A player who has run all hoops and could peg out, but chooses to remain in play, in order to aid a partner or obstruct opposing players. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > croquet > [noun] > player of a rover rover1861 1861 J. G. Wood Athletic Sports & Recreations for Boys 20 It is not obligatory to hit it [sc. the winning stick] when first reached, the player may return as a ‘rover’, to roquet friend or foe. 1874 J. D. Heath Compl. Croquet-player 71 The adversary is supposed..to be a good player, and likely, if he gets in, to make a long break, become a rover. 1904 Macmillan's Mag. Jan. 166/2 Sacharissa, already a rover, waited for him close to the peg. 1941 Pop. Sci. Monthly May 190/2 A rover plays in his turn and helps his partner and hinders his opponents. 2008 Augusta (Georgia) Chron. (Nexis) 6 July c8 As a rover, you can roquet any other ball in play once, unless your ball passes through a wicket. b. A ball that has run all hoops and is ready to be pegged out. Also more fully rover ball. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > croquet > [noun] > ball as played object ball1857 rover ball1863 player1868 1863 M. Reid Croquet 28 It [sc. the ball] has thus completed the grand round; and, being once more placed upon the spot, has the option—either of striking out, or continuing the play, with the privileges of the Rover. 1863 M. Reid Croquet 40 (note) The risk the rover ball constantly runs, of being struck out. 1874 J. D. Heath Compl. Croquet-player 81 I have seen many a game won, even when the adversary had both balls rovers, and the other side had scarcely started. 1914 Times 20 July 13/3 Mr. O'Callaghan was able to peg out Mr. Corbally's Rover and win by a narrow margin. 1966 D. Miller & R. Thorp Croquet & how to play It vii. 58 A ball which has run its rover hoop is said to be a rover ball, or to be for the peg. 2005 L. Bolton Everything Games Bk. (ed. 2) xii. 234 If a player hits another ball that is a rover and drives it against the winning stake, he is allowed another turn, but cannot croquet the ball. 4. a. Also with capital initial. (A name for) an early type of safety bicycle having a lower driving position than previous models and two wheels of almost identical size, the slightly larger front wheel being used for steering, the smaller chain-driven rear wheel for driving. Cf. safety bicycle n. at safety n. Compounds 3. Now historical.Rover was the name given by Starley & Sutton Co. (later the Rover Company: see also sense 4b) to their rear-driven tricycles and bicycles. ΘΚΠ society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > vehicle propelled by feet > [noun] > cycle > bicycle > safety safety bicycle1876 safety1877 kangaroo1884 rover1885 bicyclette1886 1883 Knowledge 28 Dec. 387/1 A new rear-steering tricycle, the ‘Rover’, made by Starley & Sutton.] 1885 Knowledge 10 July 23/2 Starley & Sutton's Rover Safety Bicycle would prove to be the safest, and probably the fastest, machine..among the great number exhibited. 1892 Outing Nov. 111/2 This causes the confident beginner to depart pushing his rover and feeling decidedly crushed. 1895 F. B. Workman & W. H. Workman Algerian Mem. 29 We wheeled the rovers out, and mounted for our journey of over 1500 miles. 1921 W. F. Grew Cycle Industry i. 14 The original ‘Rover’ was the forerunner of many famous safety bicycles. 2004 D. Herlihy Bicycle 235 At the 1885 Stanley Show, however, one safety bicycle stood out: the Rover. b. = Land-Rover n. at land n.¹ Compounds 3. Frequently with capital initial.A proprietary name in the United Kingdom and the United States. ΘΚΠ society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > motor car > [noun] > specific four-wheel drive car jeep1941 peep1941 Land-Rover1948 rover1961 Hummer1983 Chelsea tractor1994 1961 A. Wilson Old Men at Zoo iv. 207 You hop into the rover, Carter. You're frozen. 1973 G. Moffat Lady with Cool Eye vi. 66 Slade was taking the spare wheel off the 'Rover's bonnet. 2005 D. Winslow Power of Dog xii. 476 He has the car in first gear, four-wheel drive, and is moving slowly up the hill, another Rover falling in behind. c. Astronautics. A small powered surface vehicle for extraterrestrial exploration.The earliest such vehicles were unmanned and remote-controlled, and were used on the moon. The first manned lunar rover was that used on Apollo 15, in 1971. An unmanned rover was subsequently used on Mars.moon rover: see moon n.¹ Compounds 2. ΘΚΠ society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > [noun] > remotely controlled vehicle on moon or planet rover1961 lunokhod1970 Marsokhod1970 planetokhod1970 1961 R. E. Lapp Man & Space vii. 89 The roving vehicle is one of the most ambitious projects for Saturn vehicles... The lunar rover is..automatically assembled, meaning unfolded and inflated, and it is commanded by remote control from earth posts to make excursions over the moon's surface. 1966 E. C. Levinthal in C. S. Pittendrigh et al. Biol. & Explor. Mars xvii. 308 The lander could include a vehicle with some capability for independent movement on the surface... Very little detail on the Rover and its capability is presented in these studies. 1971 Nature 19 Nov. 125/3 The rover had a responsive steering, and..climbed slopes where the dust layer was deep enough to make walking difficult. 1987 Flight Internat. 10 Oct. 83/1 The design of a sample-collecting robotic Rover and the investigation of methods for returning samples from Mars. 1988 R. Frazier in G. Dozois Isaac Asimov's Mars (1991) 60 Later, someone stopped a rover near Skaros and radioed to Joaquim about a dustgale due that morning. 2006 Sci. Amer. (U.K. ed.) Dec. 46/2 As the seasons advanced into the rover's second Martian winter, we were forced to move Spirit onto north-facing slopes so that there would be enough sunlight on the rover's solar panels. 5. In various team sports. a. Australian Rules Football. One of the three followers who make up a ruck, typically a player who is small, fast, and skilful at receiving the ball. Cf. ruck-rover n. at ruck n.¹ Compounds. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > football > Australian football > [noun] > players or positions goalkicker1871 full forward1880 rover1887 ruck1889 position player1900 centreline1911 1887 Mercury (Hobart) 21 May (team listing) A. Stuart..Rover. C. Goddard..Follower. 1894 A. Sutherland in M. Shearman Athletics & Football (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) (ed. 4) ii. vii. 422 The rover is..chosen for his quickness and readiness to go wherever he is wanted. 1969 Australian 24 May 39/4 Essendon has Barry Davis back as a ruck-rover,..and this should strengthen the side's following division and provide more opportunities for [their] rovers. 2000 F. Fortin Sports 254 The only players allowed into the center square [at the start of each quarter] are the center, the rover, and the two followers for each team. b. Ice Hockey. A player who moves between defence and attack to play where required rather than remaining in a set position. Now historical.The rover became obsolete when the number of players on a team changed from seven to six during the 1910s and 1920s. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > winter sports > ice hockey > [noun] > player > type of player defenceman1877 stick-handler1889 goaler1896 rover1896 netminder1942 policeman1959 penalty-killer1960 enforcer1963 1896 N.Y. Times 2 Mar. 5/4 Two men are known as right and left wings and attend to the sides, and the fourth man is called rover and helps any of the others who may need assistance. 1922 Boys' Life Mar. 9/3 The rover is something of a free lance who goes and comes pretty much as he pleases. 1991 Sports Illustr. 18 Mar. 82/2 Hockey was a seven-man game in Hobey's day... The key offensive player was the rover, Hobey's position. c. Rugby Union (originally New Zealand). A forward charged with feeding the scrum and shielding the scrum half, enabling quicker passing from the base of the scrum. Now historical.Recorded earliest as rover-half.The rover was a feature of the seven-man scrum with two front-row forwards common in the early part of the 20th cent. This strategy was abandoned after a 1931 rule alteration effectively obliged each front row to contain three players, by imposing restrictions on striking for the ball in the scrum. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > football > rugby football > [noun] > types of player scrimmager1835 goalkicker1879 out1895 rover1901 touch-finder1960 1901 Evening Post (Wellington, N.Z.) 23 Aug. 2/8 The selectors of the New Zealand team..submitted the following placing..; rover-half, Duncan (Otago). a1917 J. E. Raphael Mod. Rugby Football (1918) xvii. 225 I played ‘rover’ for England on a memorable day at the Crystal Palace. 1927 W. W. Wakefield & H. P. Marshall Rugger ii. vi. 268 The rover puts the ball into the scrum, while the scrum-half stands at the base of the scrum to take it out. 1954 J. B. G. Thomas On Tour 26 They [sc. the All Blacks] packed 2-3-2, with Gallaher acting as a ‘rover’. 2009 T. Collins Social Hist. Eng. Rugby Union vi. 142 Baxter implied that Cliff Porter, the All Blacks captain who played as a rover, was a cheat. d. American Football. A defensive player who moves about freely in the defensive zone in response to the action on the field.In quot. 1916: (more generally) a player who moves freely around the field. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > football > American football > [noun] > types of player side tackle1809 nose guard1852 rusher1877 goalkicker1879 quarterback1879 runner1880 quarter1883 full back1884 left guard1884 snap-back1887 snapper-back1887 running back1891 tackle1891 defensive end1897 guard1897 interferer1897 receiver1897 defensive back1898 defensive tackle1900 safety man1901 ball carrier1902 defensive lineman1902 homebrew1903 offensive lineman1905 lineman1907 returner1911 signal caller1915 rover1916 interference1920 punt returner1926 pass rusher1928 tailback1930 safety1931 blocker1935 faker1938 scatback1946 linesman1947 flanker1953 platoon player1953 corner-back1955 pulling guard1955 split end1955 return man1957 slot-back1959 strong safety1959 wide receiver1960 line-backer1961 pocket passer1963 tight end1963 run blocker1967 wideout1967 blitzer1968 1916 W. Camp in Collier's Weekly 30 Dec. 30/3 He is all over the field as a rover, diagnosing the play quickly and with unfailing accuracy. 1960 Milwaukee (Wisconsin) Sentinel 30 Oct. t13 ‘Rover’ is becoming a popular term on defense. The ‘rover’ is the team's best defensive linebacker. 1970 Univ. of Alabama Football Press Guide 17 The rover slot was very similar to linebacking. 2008 Roanoke (Va.) Times (Nexis) 15 Apr. c1 Our rover is kind of a play-making spot for us, just like safety. Phrases at rovers (rarely rover). †a. Without fixed route or destination; with no settled abode; to walk at rovers: to have no settled abode. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > travel > aspects of travel > travel from place to place > [verb (intransitive)] > with no fixed aim or wander > have no fixed abode waggerc1380 to walk at rovers1528 stroll1603 to live out of (or from) a suitcase (or suitcases)1969 1528 T. More Dialogue Heresyes iii, in Wks. 228/1 The order is rebuked by priestes begging and lewde liuing, which either is fayne to walke at rouers and liue upon trentalles or worse or els [etc.]. 1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues À veuë de païs, at random, roaming, at rouers, at large. 1625 R. Montagu Appello Cæsarem 288 Walk at random and at rovers in your by-paths, if you please. 1647 J. Cleveland Rebell Scot in Char. London-diurnall (new ed.) 42 Hence 'tis, they live at Rovers; and defie This or that place, Rags of Geographie. b. In a haphazard or random manner; at random; without definite aim or object; (also) erratically, indiscriminately. rare after early 18th cent. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > causation > chance or causelessness > [adverb] > randomly or haphazardly into uncertain1382 uncertainlya1387 at adventure (also adventures)c1390 at or on six and sevena1398 auntersa1450 at all adventure (also adventures)1485 by hab or by nab1530 at rovers (rarely rover)c1531 hab or nab1542 hitty-missy1553 rovingly1583 haphazard1600 random1619 unsight, unseena1627 happy-be-lucky1633 cross and pile1648 temerariously1669 happy-go-lucky1672 à tort et à travers1749 randomly1765 chance-medley1822 haphazardly1832 willy-nilly1908 by guess and by God (or Godfrey)1931 c1531 G. Joye Lett. Ashwell to Lyncolne sig. Aiiij At rovers so confusely confoundinge one Euangelist with a nother to confute your false opinion. 1532 T. More Confut. Barnes in Wks. (1557) 786/2 Either their dede and declaracion must nedes stande and be firme, or els all runne at rouers and nothing be certain or sure. 1546 J. Heywood Dialogue Prouerbes Eng. Tongue ii. v. sig. Hii^v Leat not your tong ron at rouer. 1654 R. Vilvain Theoremata Theologica vii. 205 A giddy Ostrich..having laid hir first Eg at rovers on the sands. 1685 J. Scott Christian Life: Pt. II I. vi. 489 We must necessarily think of God at Rovers, without any certain aim or rule to..direct our apprehensions. 1691 J. Norris Pract. Disc. Divine Subj. 3 A Man were better have no Mark before him, but live at Rovers, without any End or Design at all. 1700 J. Dryden tr. Homer 1st Bk. Ilias in Fables 192 The god nine Days the Greeks at Rovers kill'd. 1739 A. Nicol Nature without Art 106 But some Men say, this Goddess she is blind, And deals at Rovers to all human Kind. 1912 A. Preuss tr. J. Pohle God i. iii. 94 The God of the Deists allows the mighty engine of the universe to run at rovers and permits the droll little creatures called men to disport themselves as they please. †c. By selecting subjects arbitrarily; (hence) in a superficial manner; about trivial or insignificant matters; frequently in to talk (or speak) at rovers. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > absence of meaning > nonsense, rubbish > use language nonsensically [verb (intransitive)] roya1450 to talk (or speak) at rovers1542 nonsense1822 squiddle1824 twaddle1825 fudge1834 buncomize1871 to be full of prunes1887 waffle1900 jive1928 bullshit1942 to talk out of one's arse1973 1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes f. 288^v Thy dooynges o Cato dooen more nere approche vnto the spirite of prophecie... Menyng that Cato talked at rouers. 1587 Sir P. Sidney & A. Golding tr. P. de Mornay Trewnesse Christian Relig. xxvi. 462 These particularities..doe euidently shewe that Moyses speaketh not at rouers. 1606 Sir Gyles Goosecappe i. i. sig. A3^v A good bustling Gallant talkes well at Rouers. 1686 tr. J. Chardin Trav. Persia 337 After several Discourses at Rovers, he told me, He was very much troubl'd for me. 1725 R. Wodrow Corr. (1843) III. 178 Unless I had then a fuller view of circumstances than I have, I can only talk at rovers in it. Compounds C1. General attributive, objective, and appositive (in sense 1a), as rover mark, rover-shooting, rover shot, etc. ΚΠ 1553 J. Withals Shorte Dict. f. 67^v/2 The rouer markes, incerta. 1605 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. ii. ii. 441 Heere, if I list, or lou'd I rouer-shooting,..I could deriue the Lineal Discents Of all our Siers. 1690 W. Temple Ess. Gardens of Epicurus 11 in Miscellanea: 2nd Pt. Perhaps..these fine Schemes would prove like Rover Shots, some nearer and some further off. 1869 All Year Round 15 May 559/2 Set up their ringed targets..and try the long flight and the clout and rover shots. 1875 J. B. Paul Hist. Royal Company Archers xiii. 339 The Cross is now competed for in October at the close of the rover-shooting for the season. 1969 M. R. Holmes Elizabethan London v. 51 A mark-stone..to indicate one of the points on a rover-course. C2. Rover Scout n. (also with lower-case initials) a member of a section of the Scout Movement established for young adults; cf. sense 2d.This section was dissolved in the United Kingdom and several other countries in 1967, to be replaced by Venture Scouts (see quot. 1966 at sense 2d). ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > social relations > an association, society, or organization > specific societies or organizations > [noun] > specific youth organizations > members of scouts or guides Boy Scout1908 patrol leader1908 scout1908 scoutmaster1908 tenderfoot1908 captain1909 Girl Guide1909 Girl Scout1909 lieutenant1909 pathfinder1911 sea scout1911 rosebud1914 brownie1916 sixer1916 tenderpad1916 Brown Owl1918 rover1918 Rover Scout1918 ranger1920 tawny owl1921 Cub1922 Akela1924 scouter1930 Guider1931 den mother1936 Queen's Guide1946 Queen's Scout1952 Venture Scout1966 Beaver1975 skipper1986 1918 Be Prepared (Boy Scouts Assoc. Great Brit.) 17 The Rover Scout scheme has been designed to solve this [adolescent boy] problem. 1920 O. Baden-Powell in Girl Guides' Gaz. June 102/2 Another definition is that to range is to ‘sail along in a parallel direction’, and so we can feel that the Ranger Guides are complementary to the Rover Scouts. 1959 Chambers's Encycl. II. 481/2 The movement in Great Britain is divided into four groups: rover scouts, i.e. young men of 18 and over; [etc.]. 2004 Scouting Mag. Mar. 11/3 Are you curious to know what it was like to be a Sixer in 1930 or a Rover Scout in 1940? This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2011; most recently modified version published online March 2022). rovern.³ Brit. /ˈrəʊvə/, U.S. /ˈroʊvər/ Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: rove v.⁴, -er suffix¹. Etymology: < rove v.⁴ + -er suffix¹. Compare earlier rower n.³ With sense 2 compare earlier roving billy at roving n.³ Compounds 1, roving frame n. at roving n.³ Compounds 2. 1. A person who makes wool, cotton, etc., into rovings (roving n.³ 2a); spec. one who operates a roving frame, esp. in a cotton or woollen mill. Now chiefly historical. ΘΚΠ the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > treating or processing textile materials > [noun] > drawing or twisting > equipment for > one who tends to rowera1600 rover1742 slubber1835 1742 Defoe's Tour Great Brit. (ed. 3) III. 165 On the first Stage were the Teazer, Carder, Rover, Spinner, and Reeler of the Cotton-wool. ?1783 J. Arbuthnot To Trustees of Linen Board 62 Twelve Women, Rovers, Two Spinners. 1881 Daily News 17 Nov. 2/5 The rovers and slubbers got 8s. a week, and they are getting 14s. a week now. 1885 Manch. Examiner 7 Apr. 4/4 A carder and..a rover were remanded on a charge of setting fire to..the mill. 1917 H. W. Merton How to choose Right Vocation (ed. 4) 144 Rover, Slubber, puts first twist in the sliver, which then becomes roving, the beginning of yarn. 1997 C. Carson Star Factory (1998) 102 The army of female linen-workers—doffers, weavers, winders, tenters, rovers, spinners, drawers, peelers—who occupied the Lower Falls then. 2. A machine or apparatus used in making rovings (roving n.³ 2a); esp. = roving frame n. at roving n.³ Compounds 2. ΘΚΠ the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > treating or processing textile materials > [noun] > drawing or twisting > equipment for roving frame?1783 billy1795 tube roving-machine1839 rover1862 slubber1897 1862 Glasgow Herald 28 Nov. 8/1 (advt.) Machinery for Wool Spinning... One 4-Feet Engine and Rover, Two Cylinders and Cards, One Roving Machine, Two Preparing Machines, [etc.]. 1878 S. Walpole Hist. Eng. I. i. 58 It [sc. cotton] was repeatedly combed..till all the fibres were laid straight, when it was stripped off the card in a fleecy roll ready for the rover. 1897 Traill's Social Eng. VI. 73 In the preparing frames, known as slubbers or rovers, the bobbins were necessarily large and weighty. 1927 Daily Tel. 14 June 5/7 The operations are completed on finishers, reducers, and rovers as required. 1998 Textile Month June 61/2 (advt.) 2 x NSC BM12 flyer rovers 48 spindles and 64 spindles. 2003 A. Fowler Lancs. Cotton Operatives & Work 28 Women tended to work on the stages of production after blowing and carding as tenters on the drawing frame, slub frame, rover or jack frame. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2011; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.¹a1393n.²1511n.³1742
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