ironside
noun, proper noun
Forms ironsides
- noun One who is very strong and courageous.
- noun (historical) A trooper in the Parliamentarian cavalry formed by English political leader Oliver Cromwell in the 17th century, during the English Civil War.
- proper noun A surname from Old English.
Etymology
From Ironside.
From iron + side, from a nickname of Oliver Cromwell's: "Old Ironsides".
* Scottish habitational surname from a place in Aberdeenshire, named with Old English earn (“eagle”) + sīde (“flank, side of a hill”).
* English surname from ironside, a nickname for a warrior.
Sources: Wiktionary — from the Wiktionary entry “ironside”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details