Rooster
/ˈruːstər/noun
An adult male chicken.
Did you know?The English word likely began as a dialectal form built from rooster-related sounds, not from a grand classical root, which is why its history is less “occult” and more raw, earthy, and onomatopoeic.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ker-
“A sound-making root associated with crying or calling”
Old English
OE
hane
“A male chicken, cock”
Middle English
ME
roost(e)r
“A male fowl; a cockerel”
17th Century
English
rooster
“A male chicken, especially in American English”
Modern English
English
rooster
“An adult male chicken”