Where does “roleplaying” come from?
roleplaying (English) comes from English rôleplay, from English rôle, from French rôle, from Middle French rolle, from Old French role, from Medieval Latin rotulus, from Latin rotula, from Arabic رَطْل — ingot.
roleplaying (English): Action in which a person takes on a role (as that of an actor) and acts out being that character
Definitions
- Action in which a person takes on a role (as that of an actor) and acts out being that character
Ancestry of “roleplaying”, step by step
roleplaying traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English rôleplay
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | rôleplay | Alternative spelling of roleplay |
| 2 | English | rôle | Dated spelling of role |
| 3 | French | rôle | role; character |
| 4 | Middle French | rolle | role |
| 5 | Old French | role | roll; scroll |
| 6 | Medieval Latin | rotulus | a roll, list, catalogue, schedule, record, a... |
| 7 | Latin | rotula | a small wheel; roll |
| 8 | Arabic | رَطْل | — |
| 9 | Classical Syriac | ܪܝܛܠܐ | — |
| 10 | Classical Syriac | ܠܝܛܪܐ | libra, pound |
| 11 | French | litre | litre |
| 12 | Medieval Latin | litra | — |
| 13 | Ancient Greek | λίτρα | litra, a Sicilian silver coin; libra, a unit of... |
| 14 | Proto-Italic | *līðrā | ingot |
via English playing
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | playing | An occasion on which something, such as a song or... |
| 2 | English | -ing | Used to form gerunds, a type of verbal nouns,... |
| 3 | Old English | -ing | Forming nouns from verbs, indicating action,... |
| 4 | Old English | -tūn | homestead, village, town |
| 5 | Old English | tūn | enclosure, yard; place; dwelling |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | tūn | fence |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | tūną | fence; enclosure |
| 8 | Gaulish | dunum | fort; hill, hillfort |
| 9 | Proto-Celtic | dūnom | stronghold, rampart |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰewh₂- | smoke; mist, haze |