# rocky

Pronunciation: US say "RAH-kee" /ˈɹɑki/; say "ROK-ee" UK /ˈɹɒki/, AUS /ˈɹɔki/

## Adjective

1. Full of rocks, or made up of rocks.
   - Simple: Having a lot of rocks, or made of rock.
   - _Seabirds nest along the rocky shore at the north end of the island._
   - _The trail gets rockier past the second bridge, so wear sturdy boots._
2. Marked by many problems; difficult or troubled, and sometimes in danger or distress.
   - Simple: Full of problems and hard to get through, or in danger.
   - _The company got off to a rocky start, losing money in each of its first three years._
   - _After a rocky few months, the couple decided to try counseling._
3. Unsteady and easily rocked.
   - Simple: Not steady, so it moves or wobbles easily.
   - _One foot of the ladder sat on a loose stone, and the whole thing felt rocky._
   - _The canoe stayed rocky until we both sat low in the middle._
4. Of a person, feeling unwell or shaky, as can happen after a shock.
   - Simple: Feeling sick, or weak and unsteady, for example after a shock.
   - _She still felt a little rocky the morning after the accident._
   - _He was rocky for days after the flu and could barely climb the stairs._
5. Rigid and solid, like a rock.
   - Simple: Hard and solid, like a rock.
6. Having the style or sound of rock music.
   - Simple: Having the sound or feel of rock music.
   - _The band's second album is rockier than their folk debut, with louder guitars throughout._
   - _Her voice suits the rocky songs but gets lost in the ballads._

## Adjective

7. Hard and unfeeling, so as not to be easily moved or impressed. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: Hard and cold inside, and not easily moved or touched.
   - _No plea could soften the judge's rocky heart._
   - _Years of grief had made his heart rocky, and nothing could stir his pity now._

## Other meanings

- (adjective) Of an animal or plant, living on or among rocks.

## Origin

**Meanings 1, 5, 7** — From Middle English rokki, rokky ("rocky"), from rok, rokke ("rock") + the adjective-forming suffix -i. Rok came both from Old English *rocc and from Anglo-Norman and Old French roque, roce (variants of roche, "rock"), all from Medieval Latin roca, rocca, whose further origin is uncertain, possibly Celtic. The English word is analysable as rock + -y.
**Meanings 2–4** — From rock ("to move back and forth") + -y ("having the quality of"). The verb rock comes from Middle English rokken and Old English roccian ("to rock"), from Proto-Germanic *rukkōną ("to move back and forth, rock"), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃rewk- ("to dig; to till").
**Meaning 6** — From rock ("rock and roll music") + -y, a suffix forming adjectives meaning "having the quality of".

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