Rock the Stone and Rock the Motion Are Different Words
A rock is a mass of stone. A separate rock means to move gently back and forth.
A rock is a mass of stone; to rock is to move gently back and forth. They are separate words: the stone came through Old French from a Medieval Latin word of unknown origin, while the motion is Old English *roccian*, related to a Germanic root meaning to move. The music genre comes from the motion, by way of *rock and roll*, a phrase used in Black American speech long before it named a style. Geologists classify rocks three ways by how they formed, not by what they look like.
- A mass of stone. *A granite rock.*
- To sway. *Rocking the cradle.*
- A music genre. *Rock music.*
- To shock. *The news rocked them.*
- Old English — *roccian*. *The motion.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | rock | A rock. |
| Verb | rock | Rocking. |
| Adjective | rocky | Rocky. |
| Compound | bedrock | Bedrock. |
| Old English | roccian | To rock. |
- The path was strewn with rocks.Stone.
- She rocked the baby.Motion.
- Rock and roll.Music.
The three kinds of rock
- Igneous — cooled from molten rock, like granite and basalt
- Sedimentary — layers compacted together, like sandstone and chalk
- Metamorphic — altered by heat and pressure, like marble and slate
- The rock cycle turns each into the others over time
- Classification follows formation, not appearance
The stone is Old French *roque*, from Medieval Latin *rocca*, of unknown origin. The motion is Old English *roccian*.
Are the two rocks the same word?
No. The stone came through French from a Latin word of unknown origin; the swaying motion is Old English.
Where does rock music get its name?
From the motion sense, through the phrase rock and roll, used in Black American speech long before it named a genre.