roly-poly
A toy that rights itself when pushed overA toy that rights itself when pushed over.
Meaning
11 senses(countable, uncountable)A toy that rights itself when pushed over.
Stehaufmanderl, Stehaufmännchen
неваля́шкаnevaljáška, ва́нька-вста́нькаvánʹka-vstánʹka
іванець-киванецьivanecʹ-kyvanecʹ, іван-побиванivan-pobyvan, іва́н-покива́нiván-pokyván
(countable, informal, uncountable)A short, plump person (especially a child).
Pummelchen
пуза́нpuzán
(countable, uncountable)A forward roll or sideways roll.
(Australia, countable, uncountable)Synonym of tumbleweed (“any plant which habitually breaks away from its roots once dry, forming a light, rolling mass which is driven by the wind from place to place”); specifically, the prickly Russian thistle (Kali tragus or Salsola tragus).
(UK, also, attributive, countable, uncountable)A baked or steamed pudding made from suet pastry which is spread with fruit or jam (or occasionally other fillings) and then rolled up.
pudding made of suet pastry spread with jam or fruit and rolled up and baked or steamed
(Canada, US, countable, uncountable)In full roly-poly bug: a small terrestrial invertebrate which tends to roll into a ball when disturbed, such as a woodlouse (suborder Oniscidea, especially a pill bug (family Armadillidiidae) or a sowbug (family Porcellionidae)) or a pill millipede (superorder Oniscomorpha).
мокри́цаmokríca
(historical, uncountable)An activity or game involving rolling.
An activity or game involving rolling.
(countable, historical, uncountable)A game involving people (usually children) rolling down a slope.
(countable, historical, uncountable)A game in which balls are rolled along the floor to knock down pins, or bowled into holes, or thrown into hats placed on the ground.
(countable, historical, uncountable)Synonym of roulette (“a game of chance in which a small ball is made to move round rapidly on a circle divided off into numbered red and black spaces, the one on which it stops indicating the result of a variety of wagers permitted by the game”).
(countable, obsolete, uncountable)A mischievous or worthless person; a scoundrel, a rascal.
Translations
9 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 3
By meaning 2
Origin
The noun is apparently derived from roll (“to turn over and over”) + -y (suffix forming adThe noun is apparently derived from roll (“to turn over and over”) + -y (suffix forming adjectives with the sense ‘having the quality of’), reduplicated with a change of the initial consonant. Compare rolly (“having the ability to roll, rolling”, adjective), which is attested since the 19th century.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
plural: roly-polys / roly-polies| Singular | roly-poly |
|---|---|
| Plural | roly-polys / roly-polies |
regular
Synonyms
186 synonyms- pudding made of suet pastry spread with jam or fruit and rolled up and baked or steamed:roly-poly pudding
- a rotund individual:fatsofattyfat personbutterball
Lessons for this word
1 lessons- A1Countable and uncountable nouns — Because it can be uncountable