Roll
/roʊl/noun
To move by turning over and over on a surface, or a small loaf of bread.
Did you know?English roll comes through Old French from a Latin root meaning “wheel,” and that same ancient root also lives in words like roulette and rotor.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ret-
“to turn, roll”
Latin
Latin
rota
“wheel”
Late Latin
Latin
rotulus
“a little wheel; a roll or scroll”
Old French
Old French
roller
“to roll, revolve”
Middle English
English
rollen
“to roll, turn over”
Modern English
English
roll
“to move by turning over and over; a cylindrical loaf or list”