[rod] n [ME, fr. OE rodd; akin to ON rudda club] (bef. 12c) 1 a (1): a straight slender stick growing on or cut from a tree or bush (2): osier (3): a stick or bundle of twigs used to punish; also: punishment (4): a shepherd's cudgel (5): a pole with a line and usu. a reel attached for fishing b (1): a slender bar (as of wood or metal) (2): a bar or staff for measuring (3): scepter; also: a wand or staff carried as a badge of office (as of marshal)
2. a: a unit of length equal to 5.50 yards or 16.5 feet b: a square rod
3: any of the long rod-shaped photosensitive receptors in the retina responsive to faint light--compare cone 3a
4: a rod-shaped bacterium
5. slang: handgun -- rod.less adj -- rod.like adj