Rod (?), n. [The same word as rood. See Rood.]
A straight and slender stick; a wand; hence, any slender bar, as of wood or metal (applied to various purposes).
An instrument of punishment or correction; figuratively, chastisement.
He that spareth his rod hateth his son.
Prov. xiii. 24.
A kind of sceptor, or badge of office; hence, figuratively, power; authority; tyranny; oppression
. "The rod
, and bird of peace." Shak
A support for a fishing line; a fish pole
. (d) Mach. & Structure
A member used in tension, as for sustaining a suspended weight, or in tension and compression, as for transmitting reciprocating motion, etc.; a connecting bar.
An instrument for measuring
A measure of length containing sixteen and a half feet; -- called also perch, and pole.
Black rod. See in the Vocabulary. -- Rods and cones Anat., the elongated cells or elements of the sensory layer of the retina, some of which are cylindrical, others somewhat conical.
© Webster 1913.