English word origin

Etymology of roger

From Roger, used circa 1940 in UK and US military communication to represent "R" when spelling out a word. "R" is the first letter in received, used to acknowledge understanding a message. "Roger" for "received" was in s

3 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 3 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1 · variant 1/2

Original entry ↗

verb

To acknowledge by saying "roger".

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [],
  "links": [
    [
      "Roger",
      "Roger#English"
    ],
    [
      "received",
      "received#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To acknowledge by saying \"roger\"."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ],
      "recordId": "2caa681ffa07bd4ecb6f2de382172ba752d47d2bdd18bed5d28c8b8559fc1413",
      "rawRecordSha256": "2a4e7af9fa38e6e5bee3732906a39dba43d014c9f9be77da3bc791aa40c6d4a2",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 225800
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 1 · variant 2/2

Original entry ↗

intj

Received (used in radio communications to acknowledge that a message has been received and understood)

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [],
  "links": [
    [
      "Roger",
      "Roger#English"
    ],
    [
      "received",
      "received#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [
    {
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "lang_code": "ja",
      "word": "ラジャー",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ],
      "roman": "rajā"
    }
  ],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "intj",
      "glosses": [
        "Received (used in radio communications to acknowledge that a message has been received and understood)"
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "e07aef7f15e3a374fbf7c26e403906f10adbed06652aefec8163206004f971c4",
      "rawRecordSha256": "13bdb21956406647a5f07386afb15128462a8195888bad1c891f887850df92ed",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 225799
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

noun

An act of sexual intercourse.

verb

Of a man, to have sexual intercourse with (someone), especially in a rough manner. · To have sexual intercourse.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Possibly from Old High German Hrotger via Shelta roger.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Derivation mentionHrotgergoh
Derivation mentionrogersth

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "goh",
        "3": "Hrotger"
      },
      "expansion": "Old High German Hrotger"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "sth",
        "3": "roger"
      },
      "expansion": "Shelta roger"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "Hrotger",
      "Hrotger#Old_High_German"
    ],
    [
      "roger",
      "roger#Shelta"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "An act of sexual intercourse."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "slang",
        "vulgar"
      ],
      "recordId": "232c4234dc5e884f5fafa6753e964a8d238465b07092ab60a7da282c35d4f6a2",
      "rawRecordSha256": "4016fefcfb303b07510b89989394a18d058f32f3bcb0dfac6ec9a679de243c1c",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 225802
    },
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "Of a man, to have sexual intercourse with (someone), especially in a rough manner.",
        "To have sexual intercourse."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "slang",
        "transitive",
        "vulgar",
        "intransitive"
      ],
      "recordId": "82ef063f12ece1fbd5b72e523b9b50a8d575399bd9bb6102c0b56d47d6cf8152",
      "rawRecordSha256": "816e77a74e3dc64dbb3e95d00db3abd55d2abffdd4d2ee7bb7a0bbdcbb4527cb",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 225801
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for roger →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-cm9nZXI