- acronym forrules of engagement (written as ROE)
- plural noun a set of rules governing the firing of weapons and use of force by soldiers (usually in a peacekeeping or counterinsurgency role).
- acronym forreturn on capital employed (written as ROE)
Origin & History of “roe”
Roe the deer (OE) and roe ‘fish eggs’ (15th c.) are distinct words. The former goes back to a prehistoric Germanic *raikh-, which also produced German reh, Dutch ree, Swedish råa, and Danish raa. Its underlying meaning may be ‘spotted’, an allusion to the roe deer’s dappled coat. Roe ‘fish eggs’ was borrowed from middle Dutch or Middle Low German roge, a word of uncertain origin.