Definition of "rood" [rood]

• A crucifix symbolizing the cross on which Jesus was crucified. (noun)
• A large, usually wooden crucifix surmounting the rood screen or rood beam of a medieval church. (noun)
• Chiefly British A measure of length that varies from 5 1/2 to 8 yards (5.0 to 7.3 meters). (noun)
• A measure of land equal to 1/4 acre, or 40 square rods (0.10 hectare). (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "It was a lofty stone wall, against which stood the altar of the holy cross, or rood-altar, as it was more commonly called, and upon it was a gallery called the rood-loft, from its containing the great rood and its attendant images."
• "The daily parish Mass said at the altar on or under the rood-screen, was called the rood Mass, though occasionally this term is used to signify merely the Mass of one or other of the feasts of the Holy Cross."
• "In England, also, the rood frequently stood not on or near the screen and loft, but on a separate transverse beam called the rood-beam, which was similarly carved and gilded."