Rocinante a standalone word as well as a suffix. One meaning is "before" or "previously". Another is "in front of". As a suffix, "-ante" in Spanish is adverbial; "rocinante" refers to functioning as, or being, a "rocín". "Rocinante", then, follows Cervantes' pattern using ambiguous, multivalent words, which is common throughout the novel. Rocinante's name, then, signifies his change in status from the "old nag" of before to the "foremost" steed. As Cervantes describes Don Quixote's choice of name: "nombre a su parecer alto, sonoro y significativo de lo que había sido cuando fue rocín, antes de lo que ahora era, que
Mu Arae d Mu Arae d Mu Arae d, also known as HD 160691 d, later named Rocinante, is an extrasolar planet orbiting the star Mu Arae of the constellation Ara. In July 2014 the International Astronomical Union launched a process for giving proper names to certain exoplanets and their host stars. The process involved public nomination and voting for the new names. In December 2015, the IAU announced the winning name was Rocinante for this planet. The winning name was submitted by the Planetario de Pamplona, Spain. Rocinante was the horse of the lead character of the novel "El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don