Rolex

See also: rolex

English

Etymology

Coined ex nihilo by German watchmaker Hans Wilsdorf in 1908 as a trade name. Wildorf later explained: "I tried combining the letters of the alphabet in every possible way. This gave me some hundred names, but none of them felt quite right. One morning, while riding on the upper deck of a horse-drawn omnibus along Cheapside in the City of London, a genie whispered ‘Rolex’ in my ear."[1]

Pronunciation

  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈɹəʊlɛks/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Homophone: rolex

Noun

Rolex (plural Rolexes)

  1. A luxury wristwatch produced by the brand Rolex SA.
    • 2015, Dorothea Benton Frank, Carolina Girls:
      He pulled up his sleeve and there on his scrawny arm hung a Rolex the size of Big Ben.

Derived terms

References

  1. ^ “Rolex History - 1905-1919”, in rolex.com‎[1], 28 July 2025, archived from the original on 13 September 2024

Further reading

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