Etymograph

English

role

Role comes from Old French role ‘roll’, and goes back to Medieval Latin rotulus.

  1. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500rotulus1
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400role1‘roll’
  3. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600rolle1
  4. Frenchc. 1600–presentrôle1
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1939role1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English role
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1939, Following The War: “As students all over the United States knuckle down…”.

Lineage

  1. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500rotulusWiktionary, English role
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400roleWiktionary, English role‘roll’
  3. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600rolleWiktionary, English role
  4. Frenchc. 1600–presentrôleWiktionary, English role
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1939roleWiktionary, English role. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1939, Following The War: “As students all over the United States knuckle down…”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with role, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Medieval Latin rotulus

  • roll ← rolle ← rolle

1 more relative in the full family tree

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Today it means

noun A character or part played by a performer or actor.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “role”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Medieval Latin rotulus / role