"R" Word Origins

rock

Medieval Latin

From Old English and Anglo-Norman words for stone, ultimately from Medieval Latin rocca, of uncertain, possibly Celtic origin.

Rockefeller

Origin

From the surname of John D. Rockefeller, the American industrialist who built Standard Oil and became one of history's richest men; his name became shorthand for extreme wealth.

rocker

Origin

From "rock" (to sway back and forth) plus the agent suffix "-er."

rocket

Italian

From Italian rocchetta, "little spindle," because early rockets resembled a bobbin of thread.

rocketman

Origin

From rocket + -man.

rockfish

Origin

From "rock" plus "fish," describing the fish's rocky habitat.

Rockford

Old English

From Old English hroc ("rook") + ford.

rockheaded

Origin

From rock + headed.

rocking

Origin

From "rock" plus the "-ing" suffix.

Rockland

Origin

A straightforward compound of rock and land, describing terrain dominated by rock.

rockstar

Origin

From "rock" (the music genre) plus "star."

rocksteady

Origin

From "rock" plus "steady," describing its steadier, slower rhythm compared to ska.

rocky

Middle English

From Middle English rokki, built on "rock" plus the adjective suffix "-y."

rod

Old English

From Old English rodd or rodde, probably related to a Proto-Germanic word meaning "stick" or "club."

roddy

Origin

Formed from rod plus the adjective-forming suffix -y.

rode

Old English

The place-name and surname sense traces to Old English rodu, meaning "a clearing" — used for a person from a cleared patch of woodland.

rodent

Latin

From Latin rodens, "gnawing," the present participle of rodere, "to gnaw."

rodeo

Spanish

From Spanish rodeo, "a round-up," from rodear, "to surround" — originally referring to gathering cattle.

Roderick

Proto-Germanic · 1811

From Proto-Germanic *Hrōþirīks, revived in English after Walter Scott used it in an 1811 poem, as a translation of Spanish Rodrigo.

rodman

Origin

A straightforward compound of rod (the measuring staff) and man.

Rodney

Old English

From Old English placename Hrōdanīeġ, Hrōdanīġ (literally “Hroda's island”), from Proto-Germanic *hrōþiz (“fame”) and *awjō (“island”).

rodomontade

Origin

From French rodomontade, a reference to Rodomonte, a boastful character in the Italian Renaissance epic poems Orlando innamorato (1483) and its sequel Orlando furioso (1506–1532). Doublet of rodomontado.

Rodrigues

Portuguese

From Portuguese Rodrigues ("son of Rodrigo"); the island was named after the explorer Diogo Rodrigues.

Rodriguez

Spanish

Borrowed from Spanish Rodríguez, equivalent to "son of Roderick".

roe

Old English

From Old English hrogn, "spawn or fish eggs", tracing back to a Proto-Indo-European root for frog spawn — it has nothing to do with the name Roe.

roebuck

Middle English

From Middle English roobukke, joining roe (the deer) with buck (male deer).

rofl

English

An initialism of rolling on the floor laughing.

Rog

Dutch

Two possible origins: * Borrowed from Polish Róg, a metonymic occupational surname for a horn blower, from róg (“horn”). * Borrowed from Dutch Rog, a topographic or habitational surname from rog (“ray”).

Rogan

Origin

Spelling variant of Rogen.

roger

Origin · 1940

From the male name Roger, used from around the 1940s in military radio code as the word for the letter R — standing for "received".

Rogers

Origin

From Roger + -s; a doublet of Rutgers.

rogin

Origin

Jewish habitational surname from Belarusian Рогин (Róhin), the name of several villages in Belarus.

rogue

Latin

Origin disputed — possibly from an older English word for a wandering beggar who posed as a poor scholar, itself perhaps from Latin rogare ("to ask, beg"); or from a French word meaning "arrogant, haughty".

rohan

Origin

Habitational surname from Rohan in Morbihan, Brittany. Also a variant of Rowan and Ruane.

Rohit

Hindi

Transliteration of Hindi रोहित (rohit).

Rohypnol

Origin

A trademark coined by the pharmaceutical company Roche, blending "Roche," "hypno-" (sleep), and the chemical suffix "-ol."

ROI

English

An initialism of return on investment.

roil

Origin

Origin uncertain. Possibly from French or Middle French rouiller (“to rust, make muddy”), from Old French rouil (“mud, rust”), from Vulgar Latin *robicula, from Latin robigo (“rust, blight”)

Rojas

Spanish

Borrowed from Spanish Rojas.

Roland

Old French

From Old French, from Frankish *Hrōþiland, literally "fame-land"; a doublet of Orlando.

role

Medieval Latin

From French rôle, ultimately from Medieval Latin rotulus, "a small roll" — since actors' scripted parts were originally written on a rolled sheet.

Rolex

Origin · 1908

Invented as a made-up brand name in 1908 by watchmaker Hans Wilsdorf, who wanted something short and easy to say in any language.

Rolf

Old Norse

From the Old Norse name Hrólfr, related to Rudolph; brought to England by the Normans and later revived as a given name.

Rolfe

Origin

English surname, spelling variant of Rolf.

roll

Medieval Latin

From Middle English rollen, from Old French roller and Medieval Latin rotulare ("to roll"), ultimately from Latin rota, "a wheel".

roller

Middle English

From Middle English rollere, formed from roll plus the agent suffix -er.

rollercoaster

Origin

A fusion of "roller" and "coaster", describing the ride's rolling, coasting motion.

rollick

Origin

Presumably a blend of roll + frolic; appeared 1811 as rollicking, 1826 as rollick.