# roc

Pronunciation: US say "RAHK" /ɹɑk/; UK say "ROK" /ɹɒk/

## Noun

1. An enormous mythical bird featured in the legends of the East.
   - Simple: A giant make-believe bird from old stories of the East, big enough to carry off large animals.
   - _The ancient mariner swore a roc had carried his ship's anchor up into the clouds._
   - _Persian storytellers described a roc whose wings stretched wider than a ship's sails._
2. An informal short name for rocuronium, a fast-acting drug that relaxes the muscles during anesthesia. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A short, casual name doctors use for rocuronium, a medicine that relaxes the muscles during surgery.
   - _Anesthesiologists often reach for roc when they need rapid muscle relaxation for intubation._
   - _The chart noted that the patient's reaction to roc had been carefully monitored throughout._

## Origin

From Spanish rocho or ruc, which came from Arabic رُخّ (ruḵḵ), itself from Classical Persian رُخ (rux).

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/roc (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).