ironside

I1R1O1N1S1I1D2E1

noun

One who is very strong and courageous.

OriginOld English earn →
UncommonScrabble 9
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

ironside1

nounironside (plural ironsides)

plural ironsides

  1. One who is very strong and courageous.

    In his principles he was an ironside of the Cromwellian type.

    1964, John Newman Edwards, Shelby's expedition to Mexico, page 104

Ironside2

nounIronside (plural Ironsides)

plural Ironsides

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

Ironside3

proper nounIronside (plural Ironsides)

plural Ironsides

  1. A surname from Old English.

Origin

ironside · noun

From Ironside.

Full word history & related roots →

Ironside · noun

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

Full word history & related roots →

Ironside · proper noun

  1. Old Englishearn“eagle”
  2. EnglishIronside

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.

More words from Old English

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

derisionresinoid
Cite this entry
APA

ironside. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ironside

MLA

“ironside.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ironside. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ironside,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ironside.

Source: ironside on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.