rod, old English measure of distance equal to 16.5 feet (5.029 metres), with variations from 9 to 28 feet (2.743 to 8.534 metres) also being used. It was also called a perch or pole. The word rod derives from Old English rodd and is akin to Old Norse rudda (“club”). Etymologically rod is also akin to the Dutch rood which referred to a land area of 40 square rods, equal to one-quarter acre, or 10,890 square feet (1,012 square metres). It also denoted just one square rod, or 272.25 square feet (25.29 square metres). The rood also was a British linear unit, containing 660 feet (201.2 metres).