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roving

 - 9 dictionary results

rov⋅ing

1[roh-ving]
–adjective
1. roaming or wandering.
2. not assigned or restricted to any particular location, area, topic, etc.: a roving editor.
3. not assigned to any particular diplomatic post but having a special mission: a roving ambassador.

Origin:
1590–1600; rove 1 + -ing 2


rov⋅ing⋅ly, adverb
rov⋅ing⋅ness, noun

rov⋅ing

2[roh-ving]
–noun
1. a soft strand of fiber that has been twisted, attenuated, and freed of foreign matter preparatory to its conversion into yarn.
2. the final phase of carding, in which this is done.

Origin:
1785–95; rove 3 + -ing 1

rove

1[rohv] ,verb, roved, rov⋅ing, noun
–verb (used without object)
1. to wander about without definite destination; move hither and thither at random, esp. over a wide area.
–verb (used with object)
2. to wander over or through; traverse: to rove the woods.
–noun
3. an act or instance of roving.

Origin:
1490–1500; orig., to shoot at a random target; perh. < Scand; cf. ON rāfa to stray; but cf. also OF raver to roam


1. stroll, amble, stray. See roam.

rove

2[rohv] ,
–verb
a pt. and pp. of reeve 2 .

rove

3[rohv] ,verb, roved, rov⋅ing, noun
–verb (used with object)
1. to form (slivers of wool, cotton, etc.) into slightly twisted strands in a preparatory process of spinning.
2. to draw fibers or the like through an eye or other small opening.
3. to attenuate, compress, and twist slightly in carding.
–noun
4. British. roving 2 .

Origin:
1780–90; of obscure orig.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To roving
rove 1   (rōv)   
v.   roved, rov·ing, roves

v.   intr.
To wander about at random, especially over a wide area; roam.
v.   tr.
To roam or wander around, over, or through. See Synonyms at wander.
n.  An act of wandering about, over, around, or through.

[Middle English roven, to shoot arrows at a mark.]
rove 2   (rōv)   
tr.v.   roved, rov·ing, roves
  1. To card (wool).

  2. To put (fibers) through an eye or opening.

  3. To stretch and twist (fibers) before spinning; ravel out.

n.  A slightly twisted and extended fiber or sliver.

[Origin unknown.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

rove 
"to wander with no fixed destination," 1536, possibly a Midlands dialectal variant of northern Eng. and Scottish rave "to wander, stray," from M.E. raven, probably from O.N. rafa "to wander, rove." Infl. by rover (q.v.). Earliest sense was "to shoot arrows at a mark selected at pleasure or at random" (1474).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia

roving

in archery, form of practice or competition dating from at least the 16th century, when it was practiced by the Honourable Artillery Company at Finsbury Fields near London. Archers set up many marks on the field and shot from one to the next in sequence, the object being, as in golf, to use the fewest shots in completing the course. Roving is similar to modern field archery, which, in fact, is sometimes called roving.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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