rogue

rogue (rəʊɡ)

—n
1.	a dishonest or unprincipled person, esp a man; rascal; scoundrel
2.	jocular often a mischievous or wayward person, often a child; scamp
3.	a crop plant which is inferior, diseased, or of a different, unwanted variety
4.	a. any inferior or defective specimen
	b. (as modifier): rogue heroin
5.	archaic a vagrant
6.	a. an animal of vicious character that has separated from the main herd and leads a solitary life
	b. (as modifier): a rogue elephant

—vb
7.	a. (tr) to rid (a field or crop) of plants that are inferior, diseased, or of an unwanted variety
	b. to identify and remove such plants

[C16: of unknown origin; perhaps related to Latin rogāre to beg]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

rogue

1561, "idle vagrant," perhaps a shortened form of roger (with a hard -g-), thieves' slang for a begging vagabond who pretends to be a poor scholar from Oxford or Cambridge, perhaps from L. rogare "to ask." Another theory traces it to Celtic (cf. Bret. rog "haughty"); OED says, "There is no evidence of

connexion with F. rogue 'arrogant.' " Rogue's gallery "police collection of mug shots" is attested from 1859.

Slang Dictionary

rogue

1. [Unix] n. A Dungeons-and-Dragons-like game using character graphics, written under BSD Unix and subsequently ported to other Unix systems. The original BSD `curses(3)' screen-handling package was hacked together by Ken Arnold primarily to support games, and the development of `rogue(6)' popularized its use; it has since become one of Unix's most important and heavily used application libraries. Nethack, Omega, Larn, Angband, and an entire subgenre of computer dungeon games (all known as `roguelikes') all took off from the inspiration provided by `rogue(6)'; the popular Windows game Diablo, though graphics-intensive, has very similar play logic. See also nethack.
2. [Usenet] adj. An ISP which permits net abuse (usually in the form of spamming) by its customers, or which itself engages in such activities. Rogue ISPs are sometimes subject to IDPs or UDPs. Sometimes deliberately mispelled as "rouge". See also nethack, moria, Angband.

Jargon
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FOLDOC

Computing Dictionary

rogue definition

games
[Unix] A Dungeons-and-Dragons-like game using character graphics, written under BSD Unix and subsequently ported to other Unix systems. The original BSD "curses(3)" screen-handling package was hacked together by Ken Arnold to support "rogue(6)" and has since become one of Unix's most important and heavily used application libraries. Nethack, Omega, Larn, and an entire subgenre of computer dungeon games all took off from the inspiration provided by "rogue(6)". See also nethack.
[Jargon File]

Example sentences

Others see a rogue magistrate getting a taste of his own medicine.

But one rogue scientist, ordering by mail, could transform this material into a

biological weapon.

Such an attempt could have come moments before the blackout from a rogue or

compromised underground crew.

Sometimes, it's by getting their arms from other rogue regimes.

harlot limmer maraud marouflage outlaw picara

Matching Quote

"Men are much more unwilling to have their weaknesses and their imperfections known, than their crimes; and, if you hint to a man that you think him silly, ignorant or even ill-bred or awkward, he will hate you more and longer than it you tell him plainly that you think him a rogue."

-Philip Dormer Stanhope Chesterfield, 4th Earl