rola

See also: Appendix:Variations of "rola"

Galician

Verb

rola

1. inflection of rolar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Icelandic

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈrɔːla/
• Rhymes: -ɔːla

Noun

rola f (genitive singular rolu, nominative plural rolur)

1. (derogatory) wimp, wuss, pansy
2. (derogatory) slowcoach, slowpoke

Declension

Declension of rola (feminine)

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	rola	rolan	rolur	rolurnar
accusative	rolu	roluna	rolur	rolurnar
dative	rolu	rolunni	rolum	rolunum
genitive	rolu	rolunnar	rolna, rola	rolnanna, rolanna

Kabuverdianu

Etymology

From Portuguese rolar.

Verb

rola

1. to roll

Old Polish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₂erh₃-ye-tider.

Proto-Balto-Slavic *árˀtei

Proto-Slavic *orti

Proto-Slavic *orti

Proto-Slavic *-lьja

Proto-Slavic *orlьja

Old Polish rola

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *orlьja. First attested in the 14th century.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (10^th–15^th CE) /rɔlʲaː/
• IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /rɔlʲɒ/

Noun

rola f (related adjective rolny)

1. (attested in Greater Poland) arable field, farmland
   • 1967 [1415], Henryk Kowalewicz, Władysław Kuraszkiewicz, editors, Wielkopolskie roty sądowe XIV-XV wieku, Roty kościańskie, volume III, number 540, Kościan:

     Jako tho swatczø, yz tha rola, czszo yø Pyotrasz przeoral..., yest yego prawa rola

     [Jako to świadczą, iż ta rola, cso ją Piotrasz przeorał..., jest jego prawa rola]

   • c. 1500, Wokabularz lubiński, Lubiń: inkunabuł Archiwum Archidiecezjalnego w Gnieźnie, sygn. Inc. 78d., page 6r:

     Ager […] eyn acker et dicitur ab ago agis rola

     [Ager […] eyn acker et dicitur ab ago agis rola]

Derived terms

nouns

• rolnik

Related terms

nouns

• rolne

Descendants

• Polish: rola
• Silesian: rolŏ

References

• Boryś, Wiesław (2005), “rola I”, in Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego (in Polish), Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie, →ISBN
• Mańczak, Witold (2017), “rola I”, in Polski słownik etymologiczny (in Polish), Kraków: Polska Akademia Umiejętności, →ISBN
• Bańkowski, Andrzej (2000), “rola 1”, in Etymologiczny słownik języka polskiego [Etymological Dictionary of the Polish Language] (in Polish)
• B. Sieradzka-Baziur, Ewa Deptuchowa, Joanna Duska, Mariusz Frodyma, Beata Hejmo, Dorota Janeczko, Katarzyna Jasińska, Krystyna Kajtoch, Joanna Kozioł, Marian Kucała, Dorota Mika, Gabriela Niemiec, Urszula Poprawska, Elżbieta Supranowicz, Ludwika Szelachowska-Winiarzowa, Zofia Wanicowa, Piotr Szpor, Bartłomiej Borek, editors (2011–2015), “rola”, in Słownik pojęciowy języka staropolskiego [Conceptual Dictionary of Old Polish] (in Polish), Kraków: IJP PAN, →ISBN
• Ewa Deptuchowa, Mariusz Frodyma, Katarzyna Jasińska, Magdalena Klapper, Dorota Kołodziej, Mariusz Leńczuk, Ludwika Szelachowska-Winiarzowa, Zofia Wanicowa, editors (2023), “rola”, in Rozariusze z polskimi glosami. Internetowa baza danych [Dictionaries of Polish glosses, an Internet database] (in Polish), Kraków: Pracownia Języka Staropolskiego Instytut Języka Polskiego Polskiej Akademii Nauk

Polish

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ˈrɔ.la/

• (Middle Polish) IPA^(key): /ˈrɔ.lɒ/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔla
• Syllabification: ro‧la

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Latin rotulader.

Old French rolleder.

▲

French rôlesl.

German Rollebor.

Polish rola

Borrowed from German Rolle. First attested in the 18th century.

Noun

rola f

1. role (function, position or expected behaviour of something)

   Synonym: funkcja

2. role; part (in a play, movie or other theatrical medium)

   Synonyms: kreacja, wcielenie

3. role; part (text spoken by an actor)
4. scroll (roll of paper or parchment)

   Synonym: rolka

Derived terms

phrases

• rola jest skończona

verbs

• odegrać rolę pf, odgrywać rolę impf
• postawić się w roli pf, stawiać się w roli impf
• spaść do roli pf, spadać do roli impf
• wejść w rolę pf, wchodzić w rolę impf
• wyjść z roli pf, wychodzić z roli impf

Trivia

According to Słownik frekwencyjny polszczyzny współczesnej (1990), rola is one of the most used words in Polish, appearing 55 times in scientific texts, 21 times in news, 63 times in essays, 19 times in fiction, and 4 times in plays, each out of a corpus of 100,000 words, totaling 162 times, making it the 357th most common word in a corpus of 500,000 words.

Etymology 2

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₂erh₃-ye-tider.

Proto-Balto-Slavic *árˀtei

Proto-Slavic *orti

Proto-Slavic *orti

Proto-Slavic *-lьja

Proto-Slavic *orlьja

Old Polish rola

Polish rola

Inherited from Old Polish rola.

Noun

rola f

1. arable land, ploughland; farmland

   Synonyms: areał, grunt, użytki

   Mariusz żył z uprawy roli. ― Mariusz made his living from farming.

Declension

Declension of rola

	singular	plural
nominative	rola	role
genitive	roli	rol
dative	roli	rolom
accusative	rolę	role
instrumental	rolą	rolami
locative	roli	rolach
vocative	rolo	role

Derived terms

adjectives

• bezrolny
• rolny

nouns

• bezrolność
• rolnik

Related terms

nouns

• radło
• rataj

verbs

• orać impf

Further reading

• rola in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• rola in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• Maria Renata Mayenowa; Stanisław Rospond; Witold Taszycki; Stefan Hrabec; Władysław Kuraszkiewicz (2010-2023), “rola”, in Słownik Polszczyzny XVI Wieku [A Dictionary of 16th Century Polish]
• “ROLA”, in Elektroniczny Słownik Języka Polskiego XVII i XVIII Wieku [Electronic Dictionary of the Polish Language of the XVII and XVIII Century], 16.06.2020
• Aleksander Zdanowicz (1861), “rola”, in Słownik języka polskiego, Wilno 1861

Portuguese

Etymology 1

Onomatopoeic, in allusion to the bird's sound.

Alternative forms

• rôla (pre-reform spelling)

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈʁo.lɐ/ [ˈho.lɐ]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈʁo.lɐ/ [ˈho.lɐ]
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /ˈʁo.lɐ/ [ˈχo.lɐ]
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈʁo.la/ [ˈho.la]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈʁo.lɐ/

• Rhymes: -olɐ
• Hyphenation: ro‧la

Noun

rola f (plural rolas)

1. a dove of the genus Streptopelia

   Synonym: pomba-rola

   um ninho de rolas ― a doves' nest

2. Eutinobothrus brasiliensis, a beetle inhabiting most of the Brazilian territory

   Synonym: broca-do-algodoeiro

3. (Brazil, vulgar) penis

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:pénis

Derived terms

• pomba-rola

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈʁɔ.lɐ/ [ˈhɔ.lɐ]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈʁɔ.lɐ/ [ˈhɔ.lɐ]
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /ˈʁɔ.lɐ/ [ˈχɔ.lɐ]
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈʁɔ.la/ [ˈhɔ.la]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈʁɔ.lɐ/

• Hyphenation: ro‧la

Verb

rola

1. inflection of rolar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “rola”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “rola”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Sotho

Verb

rola

1. to forge metal
2. to hammer
3. to undress

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈrola/ [ˈro.la]
• Rhymes: -ola
• Syllabification: ro‧la

Etymology 1

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

rola f (plural rolas)

1. (colloquial, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua) a song

Derived terms

• rolita
• rolón
• rolona
• rolota

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

rola

1. inflection of rolar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “rola”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025
• “rola”, in Diccionario de americanismos [Dictionary of Americanisms] (in Spanish), Association of Academies of the Spanish Language [Spanish: Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española], 2010
• “rola”, in Diccionario del español de México, Segunda edición, Academia Mexicana de la Lengua, 2019