"role, part" in seven languages
Meaningrole, part
Spanish
/paˈpel/
masc.other source · Catalan paper 'paper' (Latin PAPȲRUM)
Rol also exists, a Gallicism (juego de rol 'role-playing game').
French
/ʁol/
masc.inherited
Old French ro(o)lle 'roll of parchment', from medieval Latin rotulus.
Italian
/ˈrwɔlo/
masc.borrowed · French rôle
Portuguese
/paˈpɛw/
masc.other source · Catalan paper 'paper' (Latin PAPȲRUM)
Romanian
/rol/
neut.borrowed · French rôle
Catalan
/pəˈpe/
masc.other source · Latin PAPȲRUM 'papyrus'
The same word means 'paper': an actor's part was the sheet with his lines.
English
/ɹoʊl/
from Latin/French · French rôle
The Latin ancestor
ROTULUM (medieval Latin)‘little wheel; a roll of parchment’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
An actor's part was once written on a scroll, a rôle. Spanish keeps the same idea with a different material: the actor gets a papel, a sheet of paper.
English relatives: roll, control (from French contre-rôle 'counter-roll'), rotate
Learn it
In a sentence
- esDesempeña un papel importante.
- frElle joue un rôle important.
- itHa un ruolo importante.
- ptEla tem um papel importante.
- roJoacă un rol important.
- caTé un paper important.
- enShe plays an important role.