From Old English _rād_ (“riding, hostile incursion”), from Proto-Germanic _*raidō_ (“a ride, road”), from Proto-Indo-European _*reidh-_ (“to ride”). Cognate to _raid_, a doublet acquired from Scots, and West Frisian _reed_ (paved trail/road, driveway). The current primary meaning "street, way for travelling" is late—Shakespeare seemed to expect his audiences to find it unfamiliar—and probably arose through reinterpetation of _roadway_ as an tautological compound.

* (Received Pronunciation) enPR: rōd, IPA(key): /ɹəʊd/ * Rhymes: -əʊd * Homophones: Rhode, rode, rowed

ROAD (_plural_ ROADS) * (obsolete) The act of riding on horseback. [9th-17th c.] * (obsolete) A hostile ride against a particular area; a raid. [9th-19th c.] * 1596, Edmund Spenser, _The Faerie Queene_, VI.8: There dwelt a salvage nation, which did live / Of stealth and spoile, and making nightly RODE / Into their neighbours borders […]. * (nautical, often in the plural) A partly sheltered area of water near a shore in which vessels may ride at anchor. [from 14th c.] * 1630, John Smith, _True Travels_, in Kupperman 1988, p. 38: There delivering their fraught, they went to Scandaroone; rather to view what ships was in the ROADE, than any thing else [...]. * A way used for travelling between places, originally one wide enough to allow foot passengers and horses to travel, now usually one surfaced with asphalt or concrete and designed to accommodate many vehicles travelling in both directions. [from 16th c.] * (figuratively) A path chosen in life or career. [from 17th c.] * Ronald Reagan: _A Time for Choosing_ (1964). Where, then, is the ROAD to peace? * An underground tunnel in a mine. [from 18th c.] * (US) A railway; (British) a single railway track. [from 19th c.] * (obsolete) A journey, or stage of a journey. * Shakespeare With easy ROADS he came to Leicester. USAGE NOTES Often used interchangeably with _street_ or other similar words. When usage is distinguished, a road is a route between settlements (reflecting the etymological relation with _ride_), as in the Great North Road from London to Edinburgh, while a street is a route within a settlement (city or town), strictly speaking paved. HYPONYMS * See also Wikisaurus:road DERIVED TERMS TRANSLATIONS

* Dora * orad

past participle of roa.

ROAD (_not comparable_) * amused, entertained DECLENSION RELATED TERMS * lättroad * oroad