ROD

Definitions

1. 1. A straight and slender stick; a wand; hence, any slender bar, as of wood or metal (applied to various purposes). Specifically:
2. 2. An instrument of punishment or correction; figuratively, chastisement. He that spareth his rod hateth his son. Prov. xiii. 24.
3. 3. A kind of sceptor, or badge of office; hence, figuratively, power; authority; tyranny; oppression. "The rod, and bird of peace." Shak.
4. 4. A support for a fishing line; a fish pole. Gay.
5. 5. An instrument for measuring.
6. 6. 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.