Rodger

Part of speech: interjection

Definitions

1. A masculine first name of English origin ; an alternate spelling of roger, the radio reply meaning a message has been received and understood
2. A common male personal name ; a nonstandard spelling of roger, used in radio to confirm that a transmission was received
3. A boy's first name derived from an old Germanic root ; a misspelled form of roger, the signal that a message was heard and understood

Etymology: The interjection "rodger" is a spelling variant of "roger," and its story starts in the radio room rather than in the name. Radio operators in the early twentieth century used "roger" as shorthand for the letter R, which stood for "received" in the phonetic alphabet of the time, so saying "Roger" confirmed that a message had been received and understood. Over the decades the spelling "rodger" appeared in some writing and informal use, but it is a variant of the standard form, not a separate word. The name itself is a separate matter. "Roger" as a personal name came into English from Old French "Rogier," which in turn comes from Germanic elements meaning roughly "fame" and "spear" (or "famous spearman"), brought to Britain by the Normans. Its use as a radio signal is unconnected to that name's meaning; it is simply the letter R spoken aloud, and the name and the signal only share a sound by coincidence.