Definition

1. Proper noun:
   • A Welsh pirate: Refers to Bartholomew Roberts, a notorious Welsh pirate active during the early 18th century, famous for capturing a very large number of ships.
   • An American writer: Refers to Kenneth Roberts, an American author known for his meticulously researched historical novels set in colonial America.
   • An American evangelist: Refers to Oral Roberts, a prominent American Pentecostal evangelist and a pioneer of televangelism.
   • A British-American biochemist: Refers to Richard J. Roberts, a Nobel Prize-winning biochemist recognized for his discovery of split genes and introns.

Usage Examples

• Proper noun:
  • The pirate Roberts was known for his strict code of conduct aboard his ships.
  • I am reading a novel about the American Revolution by Kenneth Roberts.
  • Evangelist Oral Roberts founded a university and a medical center.
  • The Nobel laureate Richard Roberts made a fundamental discovery in genetics.

Advanced Usage

• The name "Roberts" is often used metonymically to refer to the legacy or works associated with these individuals.
  • The prose in that book is very Roberts-esque. (Referring to the writing style characteristic of Kenneth Roberts.)

Variants and Related Words

• Robertsonian (adj): Pertaining to the biologist W. R. B. Robertson, often used in cytogenetics (e.g., Robertsonian translocation).
• Roberts Rules: Refers to "Robert's Rules of Order," a manual for parliamentary procedure authored by Henry M. Robert.

Synonyms

• Bartholomew Roberts: Black Bart (pirate alias).
• Kenneth Roberts: (No direct synonym; "historical novelist" is a descriptive term).
• Oral Roberts: Televangelist, faith healer.
• Richard J. Roberts: Geneticist, Nobel laureate.

Related Phrases

• "In the style of Roberts": Imitating the manner or method of one of these individuals, most commonly the writer Kenneth Roberts.
  • The historical detail in her novel is very much in the style of Roberts.

Related Idioms

Noun

1. a Welsh pirate credited with having taken more than 400 ships (1682-1722)
2. United States writer remembered for his historical novels about colonial America (1885-1957)
3. United States evangelist (born 1918)
4. United States biochemist (born in England) honored for his discovery that some genes contain introns (born in 1943)