Rolling

Part of speech: adjective, verb

Pronunciation: /ˈɹəʊ.lɪŋ/

Definitions

1. A circular motion made by an object as it turns over An action involving movement in a rounded path or sequence The repeated process of revolving in a smooth and continuous manner
2. Moving by turning over itself on a surface with continuous rotation
3. Turning over and over on an axis while moving forward or in place; progressing in a circular or rotary manner; a method of shifting or changing by rotation

Etymology: "Rolling" is the present participle and adjective form of "roll", so its story is really the story of "roll" plus the ending "-ing". The ending has been part of English since Old English, when it marked verbal nouns and participles, and it attaches freely to verbs to describe ongoing action. "Roll" itself comes from Old French "roller", meaning to wind or move in a circle, which was in turn drawn from Latin "rotulare", "to roll", based on "rotulus", a little wheel or roll of parchment. That Latin root also gave English "rotule", the kneecap, which is named for its small rounded shape. Because the word is formed from a verb plus a suffix, its meaning follows the physical action directly: something that turns over and over along its own curve. Its adjective sense, as in "rolling hills", extends that motion to gentle, repeated swells in the land, while the same root yields the sense of rolling as a continuous rhythm, as in "rolling thunder".

Synonyms: turning, spinning, rotating, revolving, gyrating

Antonyms: stationary, still, fixed, motionless, static