/ rəʊg; NAmE roʊg/ noun , adjective
■ noun
1.
( humorous ) a person who behaves badly, but in a harmless way
SYN scoundrel :
He's a bit of a rogue, but very charming.
2.
( old-fashioned ) a man who is dishonest and immoral
SYN rascal :
a rogues' gallery (= a collection of pictures of criminals)
■ adjective [ only before noun ]
1.
( of an animal ) living apart from the main group, and possibly dangerous
2.
behaving in a different way from other similar people or things, often causing damage :
a rogue gene
a rogue police officer
••
WORD ORIGIN
mid 16th cent. (denoting an idle vagrant): probably from Latin rogare beg, ask, and related to obsolete slang roger vagrant beggar (many such cant terms were introduced towards the middle of the 16th cent.).