Roland
(ˈrəʊlənd)
Also 4 Rouland (Rau-), Roulond, 5 Rowlonde, 5–6 Rowlande, 6–9 Rowland.
[OF. Roland.]
1. The legendary nephew of Charlemagne, celebrated in the Chanson de Roland and many other romances (frequently together with his comrade Oliver); hence, one comparable to Roland in respect of courage or warlike deeds; one who is a full match for another.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 15 Hou king charlis and rouland faght. a 1330 Otuel 82 A kniȝt þat heet Roulond, & a noþer hatte oliuer, Kniȝtes holden wiþouten peer. 14.. Sir Beues (C.) 1910 Soche strokes were neuer seen yn londe Syth Olyuere dyed and Rowlonde. 1525 Ld. Berners Froiss. II. lxxx. [lxxvi.] 239 They were suche men that there were a iii. M. of them euery man worth a Rowlande or an Olyuere;..nor we shall not fyght agaynst Rowlande nor Olyuer. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VI, 146 b, To haue a Rowland to resist an Oliuer: he sent solempne Ambassadors to the kyng of Englande, offeryng hym his doughter in mariage. ― Edw. IV, 196 To haue a Rowlande for an Olyuer,..he procured an amity with Henrie, king of Castell. 1591 Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, i. ii. 30 England all Oliuers and Rowlands bred, During the time Edward the third did raigne. 1828 Scott F.M. Perth viii, There was some laughter..when, as Henry Smith termed it, they saw their Oliver meet with a Rowland. |
2. (to give) a Roland for an Oliver, (to give) as good as one gets, a quid pro quo or tit for tat.
| 1612 in Birch Crt. & Times Jas. I (1848) I. 187 Howsoever it fall out, there is hope you shall have an Oliver for a Rowland. 1696 Southerne Oronooko ii. i, I have a Rowland for her Oliver, and so you may tell her. 1706 E. Ward Wooden World Diss. (1708) 97 For tho' she can write no more than a Mermaid, yet by the Help of some two-penny Scribbler, she will always return him a Rowland for his Oliver. 1773 Life N. Frowde 132 We resolved to give him a Rowland for his Oliver, if he attacked us. 1816 Scott Antiq. xxxv, He gave my termagant kinsman a quid pro quo—a Rowland for his Oliver, as the vulgar say. 1884 Rider Haggard Dawn xxxiii, Comforted..by the thought that he had given Mrs. Carr a Roland for her Oliver. |