Roll | Webster's Dictionary (1865)

Rōll, v. t.

verbtransitive

v. t. [imp. & p. p. ROLLED; p. pr. & vb. n. ROLLING.] [O. Fr. roeler, roler, N. Fr. rouler, Pr. rotlar, rolar, rodolar, redolar, Sp. rollar, arrollar, Pg. rolar, It. rotolare, ruzzolare, rullare, L. Lat. rotulare, from Lat. rotulus, rotula, a little wheel; D. & Ger. rollen, Dan. rulle, Sw. rulla. See ROLL, n.]

To cause to revolve by turning over and over; to move by turning on an axis; to impel forward by turning over and over on a supporting surface; as, to roll a wheel or a planet.
To wrap round on itself; to form into a spherical or cylindrical body; as, to roll a snow-ball; to roll a sheet of paper; to roll parchment.
To bind or involve by winding, as in a bandage or the like; to inwrap.
To drive or impel forward with a swift and easy motion, as of rolling; as, a river rolls its waters to the ocean.
To press or level with a roller; to spread with a roller or rolling-pin; as, to roll a field; to roll paste, &c.
To move, or cause to be moved, upon, or by means of, rollers or small wheels.
To beat with rapid strokes, as a drum; to sound a roll upon.

To roll one's self, to wallow.

Rōll, v. i.

verbintransitive

v. i. 1. To move by turning on a surface; 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.

And her foot, look you, is fixed upon a spherical stone, which rolls, and rolls, and rolls. Shak.

Sense 2. To keep falling over and over; as, a stream rolls over a precipice.

Down they fell By thousands; angel on archangel rolled. Milton.

Sense 3. To perform a periodical revolution; as, the rolling year; ages roll away.

Sense 4. To turn; to move circularly.

And his red eyeballs roll with living fire. Dryden.

Sense 5. To move, as waves or billows, with alternate swells and depressions; also, to rock or move from side to side; as, a ship rolls in a calm.

Sense 6. To float in rough water; to be tossed about.

Twice ten tempestuous nights I rolled. Pope.

Sense 7. To fluctuate; to move tumultuously.

What different sorrows did within thee roll! Prior.

Sense 8. To run on wheels. “And to the rolling chair is bound.” Dryden.

Sense 9. To be formed into a cylinder or ball; as, the cloth rolls well.

Sense 10. To spread under a roller or rolling-pin; as, the paste rolls well.

Sense 11. To wallow; to tumble; as, a horse rolls.

Sense 12. To beat a drum with strokes so rapid that they can scarcely be distinguished by the ear.

Rōll, n.

noun

n. [O. Fr. roele, roelle, roueIe, a little wheel, circle, from Lat. rotula, a little wheel, diminutive of rota, a wheel; N. Fr. rôle, a roll, from Lat. rotulus, a little wheel, L. Lat. a roll, diminutive of Lat. rota, a wheel; Pr. rolle, rotle, rulle, roll, rouleau, Sp. rollo, rol, rolde, Pg. rolo, It. rotolo, ruotolo, rullo. Cf. CONTROL.]

The act of rolling, or state of being rolled; as, the roll of a ball; the roll of a vessel.
That which rolls; a roller; as, (a.) A heavy cylinder used to break clods. Mortimer. (b.) (pl.) A set of rollers in a rolling-mill; as, to pass rails through the rolls.
That which is rolled up; as, a roll of fat, of wool, and the like; hence, specifically, (a.) A document written on a piece of parchment, paper, or other material which may be rolled up; a scroll.

Busy angels spread The lasting roll, recording what we say. Pope. (b.) Hence, an official or public document; a register; also, a catalogue; a list. “The rolls of Parliament, the entries of the petitions, answers, and transactions in Parliament are extant.” Hale. “The roll and list of that army doth remain.” Davies. (c.) A quantity of cloth wound into a cylindrical form; as, a roll of woolen or satin; a roll of lace. (d.) A small loaf of bread made from dough rolled up into a cake before baking; as, a hot roll; a French roll. (e.) A cylindrical twist of tobacco.

The uniform beating of a drum with strokes so rapid as scarcely to be distinguished by the ear.
Part; office; that is, round of duty. [Obs.]

Long roll (Mil.), a prolonged roll of the drums, as the signal of an attack by the enemy, and for the troops to arrange themselves in line.—Master of the Rolls. See MASTER.—Rolls of court, of Parliament, or of any public body, the parchments on which are engrossed, by the proper officer, the acts and proceedings of that body, and which, being kept in rolls, constitute the records of such public body.—To call the roll, to call off or recite a list or roll of names of persons belonging to an organization or assembly, in order to ascertain, from the responses, who are present and who absent. Syn.—List; schedule; catalogue; register; inventory. See LIST.