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).

Roundhead

/ ˈraʊndˌhɛd /

noun

1. English history a supporter of Parliament against Charles I during the Civil War Compare Cavalier

Word History and Origins

Origin of Roundhead¹

First recorded in 1635–45; round ¹ + head

Word History and Origins

Origin of Roundhead¹

referring to their short-cut hair

Example Sentences

When Hall stepped away to have back surgery in November, bassist and vocalist Matt Bissonette, who has played with the David Lee Roth Band, Ringo Starr and the Roundheads, and Electric Light Orchestra, stepped in.

From Los Angeles Times

But his reign soon was overshadowed by civil war between supportive royalists and Oliver Cromwell’s “Roundheads,” also known as puritans.

From Seattle Times

I was 13 when a friend’s grandmother looked at me and asked, “Roundhead or Cavalier?” — terms coined to denote opposing sides in the English Civil War.

From Los Angeles Times

It’s an image as old as England, Roundhead against Cavalier - and we know which side the country reverts to in the end.

From The Guardian

The contents had become mixed when the cathedral was ransacked and the bones were scattered by Roundhead soldiers during the English Civil War in 1642.

From BBC