Roderick
Preserved but no longer current.
Also seen as: Rodrigo
A Spanish hero round whom many legends have collected. He was the thirty-fourth and last of the Visigothic kings, came to the throne in 710, and was routed, and probably slain, by the Moors under Tarik in 711. Southey took him as the hero of his Roderick, the last of the Goths (1814), where he appears as the son of Theodofred, and grand- son of King Chindasuintho.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Roderick” mean?
A Spanish hero round whom many legends have collected. He was the thirty-fourth and last of the Visigothic kings, came to the throne in 710, and was routed, and probably slain, by the Moors under Tarik in 711. Southey took him as the hero of his Roderick, the last of the Goths (1814), where he appears as the son of Theodofred, and grand- son of King Chindasuintho.
Is “Roderick” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.