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rover

 [roh-ver]   Origin

rov·er

1   [roh-ver]
noun
1.
a person who roves; wanderer.
2.
Archery.
a.
a mark selected at random, as in a competition between two archers wandering over a specified area.
b.
one of a group of fixed marks at a long distance.
c.
an archer who shoots at such a mark.
3.
Croquet. a ball that has been driven through all the arches and needs only to strike the last peg to be out of the game.
4.
British.
a.
(at concerts or the like) a person who has a ticket for standing room only.
b.
a senior boy scout, 18 years of age or older.
Origin:
1490–1500; rove1 + -er1

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Rover is always a great word to know.
So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
Dictionary.com Unabridged

rov·er

2   [roh-ver]
noun
1.
a pirate.
2.
Obsolete. a pirate ship.
Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English < Middle Dutch or Middle Low German: robber, equivalent to roven to rob, reave1 + -er -er1

rov·er

3   [roh-ver]
noun
1.
a roving or routing machine.
2.
a roving-machine operator.
Origin:
1735–45; rove3 + -er1

Ro·ver

   [roh-ver]
noun
a familiar name for a dog.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To rover
Collins
World English Dictionary
rover1 (ˈrəʊvə)
 
—n
1.  a person who roves; wanderer
2.  archery a mark selected at random for use as a target
3.  croquet a ball that has been driven through all the hoops but has not yet hit the winning peg
4.  Australian rules football one of the three players in the ruck, usually smaller than the other two, selected for his agility in play
5.  a small remote-controlled vehicle which roams over rough, esp extraterrestrial, terrain taking photographs, gathering rock and soil samples, etc
 
[C15: from rove1]

rover2 (ˈrəʊvə)
 
—n
a pirate or pirate ship
 
[C14: probably from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German, from roven to rob]

rover3 (ˈrəʊvə)
 
—n
a machine for roving wool, cotton, etc, or a person who operates such a machine
 
[C18: from rove²]

Rover or Rover Scout (ˈrəʊvə)
 
—n
(Brit) the former name for Venture Scout
 
Rover Scout or Rover Scout
 
—n

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

rover
1390, "sea-robber, pirate," from M.Du. rover "robber, predator, plunderer," especially in zeerovere "pirate," lit. "sea-robber," from roven "to rob," from M.Du. root "spoil, plunder," related to O.E. reaf "spoil, plunder," reafian "to reave" (see reft).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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