Rod

1. A support for a fishing line; a fish pole.
2. A kind of sceptor, or badge of office; hence, figuratively, power; authority; tyranny; oppression.
3. An instrument for measuring.
4. A straight and slender stick; a wand; hence, any slender bar, as of wood or metal (applied to various purposes).
5. A member used in tension, as for sustaining a suspended weight, or in tension and compression, as for transmitting reciprocating motion, etc.; a connecting bar.
6. A measure of length containing sixteen and a half feet; -- called also perch, and pole.
7. An instrument of punishment or correction; figuratively, chastisement.