Rookery
['rʊk(ə)rɪ] or ['rʊkəri]
Definition
(noun.) a breeding ground for gregarious birds (such as rooks).
Typist: Margery--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) The breeding place of a colony of rooks; also, the birds themselves.
(n.) A breeding place of other gregarious birds, as of herons, penguins, etc.
(n.) The breeding ground of seals, esp. of the fur seals.
(n.) A dilapidated building with many rooms and occupants; a cluster of dilapidated or mean buildings.
(n.) A brothel.
Editor: Melinda
Examples
- Calls a house a rookery when there's not a rook near it, and takes the birds on trust, because he sees the nests! Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- At last the woods rose; the rookery clustered dark; a loud cawing broke the morning stillness. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- Go up, and call the gentleman, and tell him he'll find me and Mr. Pickwick in the rookery. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- Blunderstone Rookery would come, however, in spite of her, when the carrier's horse pleased--and did. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- We arrived at a tumble-down old rookery called the Palazzo Simonetti--a massive hewn-stone affair occupied by a family of ragged Italians. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- Though why Rookery, I don't know! Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- Another field crossed--a lane threaded--and there were the courtyard walls--the back offices: the house itself, the rookery still hid. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- In that rookery of pomp and vanity, Paris, I believe. Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native.
Inputed by Barbara