Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “roller coaster” come from?

roller coaster (English) comes from English rollercoaster, from English roller, from English roll, from Middle English rolle, from Old French rolle, from Medieval Latin rotulus, from Latin rotula, from Arabic رَطْل.

roller coaster (English): Alternative spelling of rollercoaster

Definitions

  1. Alternative spelling of rollercoaster

Ancestry of “roller coaster”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishrollercoasterAn amusement ride consisting of a buggy on a...
2Englishroller"Anything that rolls."; A long wide bandage used...
3EnglishrollTo cause to revolve by turning over and over; to...
4Middle Englishrolle—
5Old Frenchrolleregistration
6Medieval Latinrotulusa roll, list, catalogue, schedule, record, a...
7Latinrotulaa small wheel; roll
8Arabicرَطْل—
9Classical Syriacܪܝܛܠܐ—
10Classical Syriacܠܝܛܪܐlibra, pound
11Frenchlitrelitre
12Medieval Latinlitra—
13Ancient Greekλίτραlitra, a Sicilian silver coin; libra, a unit of...
14Proto-Italic*līðrā—

Words derived from “roller coaster”

  • roller-coasterish
Every word from Proto-Italic *līðrā →