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Roundhead

[round-hed]
noun English History.
  1. a member or adherent of the Parliamentarians or Puritan party during the civil wars of the 17th century (so called in derision by the Cavaliers because they wore their hair cut short).
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Origin of Roundhead

First recorded in 1635–45; round1 + head
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for roundhead

Historical Examples

  • He said that either the old Roundhead Clarke or his son would go with him.

    Micah Clarke

    Arthur Conan Doyle

  • At a moment of peril he took his life at the hands of a Roundhead.

  • He had talents that would have commanded a price in the Roundhead market.

  • There were several Italian peasants, a Cavalier, a Roundhead, and a matador.

  • Good-bye, and good luck go with you, though you are a Roundhead.

    Crown and Sceptre

    George Manville Fenn

British Dictionary definitions for roundhead

Roundhead

noun
  1. English history a supporter of Parliament against Charles I during the Civil WarCompare Cavalier
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Word Origin

referring to their short-cut hair
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for roundhead

Roundhead

n.

"adherent of the Parliamentary party in the English Civil War," 1641, so called for their custom of wearing the hair close-cropped, in contrast to the flowing curls of the cavaliers.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper