roll
UK /ɹəʊl/ · US /ɹoʊl/ verb, noun, proper noun
Forms rolls rolling rolled rollest rolledst rolleth
- verb (ergative) To revolve by turning over and over; to move by turning on a horizontal axis; to impel forward with a revolving motion on a supporting surface. “To roll a wheel, a ball, or a barrel.”
- verb (ergative) To wrap (something) round on itself; to form into a spherical or cylindrical body by causing to turn over and over. “To roll a sheet of paper; to roll clay or putty into a ball.”
- verb (transitive) To bind or involve by winding, as with a bandage; to enwrap; often with up. “To roll up the vase in bubble wrap.”
- verb (ergative, sometimes figurative) To drive, impel, or flow onward with a steady, wave-like motion. “This river will roll its waters to the ocean.”
- verb (intransitive, of drops of liquid) To pour or trickle. “Drops of sweat rolled down his face.”
- verb (ergative) To utter copiously, especially with sounding words; to utter with a deep sound; — often with forth, or out. “To roll forth someone's praises; to roll out sentences.”
- verb (ergative) To press, level, spread, or form with a roller or rollers. “to roll a field; to roll paste; to roll steel rails.”
- verb (ergative) To move upon rollers or wheels.
- noun The act or result of rolling, or state of being rolled. “the roll of a ball”
- noun Something formed into a compact shape by being rolled up. “a roll of banknotes”
- noun A forward or backward roll in gymnastics; going head over heels. A tumble.
- noun A heavy cylinder used to break clods.
- noun One of a set of revolving cylinders, or rollers, between which metal is pressed, formed, or smoothed, as in a rolling mill. “to pass rails through the rolls”
- noun A swagger or rolling gait.
- noun A heavy, reverberatory sound. “Hear the roll of cannon.”
- noun The uniform beating of a drum with strokes so rapid as scarcely to be distinguished by the ear.
- noun That which is rolled up. “a roll of fat, of wool, paper, cloth, etc.”
- noun A document written on a piece of parchment, paper, or other materials which may be rolled up; a scroll.
- noun An official or public document; a register; a record.
- noun A catalogue or list, (especially) one kept for official purposes. “The roll of solicitors contains the names of all admitted solicitors of a jurisdiction.”
Synonyms
pinwheel rollup swirl axial rotation axial motion roster roller rolling wave coil whorl curl curlicue ringlet gyre scroll bankroll bun peal pealing rolling paradiddle drum roll cast bowl turn over wheel undulate roll out wind wrap
Etymology
From Middle English rollen, partly from Old French roller, roler, röeler, röoler, from Medieval Latin rotulāre (“to roll; to revolve”), from Latin rotula (“a little wheel”), diminutive of rota (“a wheel”); partly from Anglo-Latin rollāre, from the same ultimate source.
Displaced native English welt and partially displaced English wallow.
From Middle English rolle, from Old French rolle, role, roule, from Medieval Latin rotulus (“a roll, list, catalogue, schedule, record, a paper or parchment rolled up”); as such, it is a doublet of role and rotulus.
Webster’s 1913
- verb To cause to revolve by turning over and over; to move by turning on an axis; to impel forward by causing to turn over and over on a supporting surface; as, to roll a wheel, a ball, or a barrel.
- verb To wrap round on itself; to form into a spherical or cylindrical body by causing to turn over and over; as, to roll a sheet of paper; to roll parchment; to roll clay or putty into a ball.
- verb To move, as a curved object may, along a surface by rotation without sliding; to revolve upon an axis; to turn over and over; as, a ball or wheel rolls on the earth; a body rolls on an inclined plane.
- verb To move on wheels; as, the carriage rolls along the street. "The rolling chair." Dryden.
Etymology [OF. roeler, roler, F. rouler, LL. rotulare, fr. L. royulus, rotula, a little wheel, dim. of rota wheel; akin to G. rad, and to Skr. ratha car, chariot. Cf. Control, Roll, n., Rotary.]
Etymology [F. rôle a roll (in sense 3), fr. L. rotulus little wheel, LL., a roll, dim. of L. rota a wheel. See Roll, v., and cf. Rôle, Rouleau, Roulette.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “roll”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details