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ironside

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Ironside¹

Where it comes from

From iron + side, from a nickname of Oliver Cromwell's: "Old Ironsides".

noun Ironsides

  1. historical A trooper in the Parliamentarian cavalry formed by English political leader Oliver Cromwell in the 17th century, during the English Civil War.

Ironside²

Where it comes from

Two main origins:

* 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.

proper noun Ironsides

  1. A surname from Old English.

ironside³

Where it comes from

From Ironside.

noun ironsides

  1. One who is very strong and courageous. In his principles he was an ironside of the Cromwellian type.

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Cite this
MLA

"ironside." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/ironside. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

ironside. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/ironside

Chicago

"ironside." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/ironside.

BibTeX
@misc{ironside_2026,
  title = {ironside},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/ironside},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}