[Ads-l] antedating "wilco"

[Peter Reitan]

The 1942 edition of the Air Corps radiotelephony manual<https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3241800;view=1up;seq=10> explains the origins of "Roger".


"'Roger' is the phonetic equivalent of the letter 'R,' which in radiotelegraphy means 'Received.' This explanation is made to clear up some of the mysteries surrounding the origin of 'Roger.'"

End of citation.


The use of "Roger" for receipt (or acknowledgement) appears to date back to some time after 1916, and no later than 1920.  The word "Rush" was used for "R" in two manuals in 1916, one Navy and the other Coast Guard.  Both of the 1916 manuals list the letter "R" (spoken as "Rush") as the standard "Acknowledgement" signal.


The Deck and Boat of the United States Navy 1914 (revised, incorporating changes issued in 1916)<https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.hnfj5i;view=1up;seq=96>;  Instructions for United States Coast Guard Stagions, 1916<https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015036652579;view=1up;seq=90>.


"Roger" is used in a Navy manual dated 1920 and Coast Guard manual dated 1921.  There were a few additional changes to the phonetic alphabet at the same time.  The 1920 Navy Boat Book describes the letter "R," standing alone, as the "Received Sign," and mentions that it can be spoken either as "Roger" or "Received Sign."  The Coast Guard instructions define "Roger" as "Receipt".


The Boat Book of the United States Navy 1920<https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015062803054;view=1up;seq=150>; Instructions for United States Coast Guard Stations, 1921<https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.$b254263;view=1up;seq=99>.


In the Navy and Coast Guard manuals, the spoken word "Roger" was not described as being spoken over the radio, but to be spoken out loud by signalmen reading flag or flashing light signals for the benefit of the person recording the signals in the log.




________________________________
From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of Dan Goncharoff <thegonch at GMAIL.COM>
Sent: Monday, February 12, 2018 9:27 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: antedating "wilco"

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Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Poster:       Dan Goncharoff <thegonch at GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: antedating "wilco"
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Didn't one of the earlier messages in the thread have "Roger" from earlier
in 1941?

https://archive.org/details/TM1-460-1941

DanG

On Mon, Feb 12, 2018 at 12:10 PM, MULLINS, WILLIAM D (Bill) CIV USARMY
RDECOM AMRDEC (US) <william.d.mullins18.civ at mail.mil> wrote:

> _Muncie [IN] Evening Press_ 31 Jul 1941 p 15 col 1
>
> " "Remember your signals.  Save words. 'Willco' means 'will comply.'
> 'Roger' means 'message received.' " "
>
> Note that this may be an antedating of "Roger" as well; OED has 1941 Amer
> Speech 16 168/1.
>
> >
> >
> > ----
> >
> > OED: 1946
> >
> > 1941 _Sunday Oregonian_ (Portland) (Dec. 7) 90 [ReadEx]:
> > The Tower answers, "Tower to four-seven-two. Land in the east. Wheels
> down and locked. Go ahead." I say, "Four-seven-two, wilco."
> >
> > Earlier, "Tower to four-seven-two. You may take off, Roger."
> >
> > The writer is an air cadet at Randolph Field, but this use of "Roger"
> (no, not his name) seems wrong or archaic (i.e., new to me).
> >
> > It should be "Out." Or perhaps "Over." Shouldn't it?
> >
> > JL
> >
> >
>
>
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>

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