Roke

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. An archaic term for a thin mist, fog, or drifting smoke hanging in the air
2. Old word meaning a haze of vapour or smoke that hangs over land or water
3. Obsolete noun for a fine vapour or smoky haze that drifts through the atmosphere

Etymology: Roke is an English word for mist or fog, and it is closely tied to smoke. Its Middle English form meant "fog, vapour, cloud," and it probably came from the Old Norse "roka," meaning whirlwind or fine spray, the same family as "særoka," a word for sea spray. The Scandinavian sense of wind-driven spray suggests that the word was first attached to moving, drifting moisture in the air rather than to anything solid. Its meaning was later reinforced by Dutch. Middle Dutch "roke" and "rooc" meant smoke, and they descend from Old Dutch "rouc," meaning steam or vapour. Behind all of these lies a Proto-Germanic root, "raukiz," meaning smoke, which links roke to German "Rauch" and Swedish "rök." The Scots "rouk," meaning mist, is a close relative, so the word has long lived in both smoke and fog senses across the North Sea.

Synonyms: mist, haze, smoke, vapour