Etymograph

English

Ironside

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

A compound of iron + side

Proto-Celtic *īsarnom

…

Proto-West Germanic *īsarn

Old English īsern ‘the metal iron’

Old English īren

Middle English iren ‘iron’

English iron

Proto-Germanic *sīdaz ‘drooping’

Proto-Germanic *sīdǭ ‘side’

Old English sīde ‘side’

Middle English side

English side

Today it means

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

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Ironside