ENGLISH
REFERENCE

rove

v.
C2 Proficiency US //ˈɹoʊv// UK //ɹˈəʊv// rove Archaic

v. to travel around without a specific plan or purpose. It is an old-fashioned word for wandering or moving freely.

v. to travel or move about without a fixed course or destination. Archaic in modern usage, though it persists in specific literary or historical contexts.


SIMPLE

The children rove through the fields looking for butterflies.

CONTEXTUAL

The old man spent his evenings roving the village streets, chatting with anyone who would listen.

COMPLEX

The poet describes a life spent roving the deserts of the mind, seeking beauty in the silence of the unknown.

Synonyms
Etymology 1

Probably from Middle English *roven, a Midlands variant of Northern Middle English raven (“to wander”), from Old Norse ráfa (“to rove; stray about”). Cognate with Icelandic ráfa (“to wander”), Scots rave (“to wander; stray; roam”).

Etymology 2

Inflected forms.

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