Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Rollie” come from?

Rollie is an English diminutive formed with the suffix -y, which derives from Middle English -y, Middle French -ie, Latin -ia, Latin -ivus, and ultimately Proto-Indo-European -kos, applied to the English name Roland.

Ancestry of “Rollie”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishrollTo cause to revolve by turning over and over; to...
2Middle Englishrolle—
3Old Frenchrolleregistration
4Medieval Latinrotulusa roll, list, catalogue, schedule, record, a...
5Latinrotulaa small wheel; roll
6Arabicرَطْل—
7Classical Syriacܪܝܛܠܐ—
8Classical Syriacܠܝܛܪܐlibra, pound
9Frenchlitrelitre
10Medieval Latinlitra—
11Ancient Greekλίτραlitra, a Sicilian silver coin; libra, a unit of...
12Proto-Italic*līðrā—
Every word from Proto-Italic *līðrā →