roly-poly
Moving with a rolling and swaying motionMoving with a rolling and swaying motion.
Meaning
2 sensesMoving with a rolling and swaying motion.
(childish, humorous, informal, often)Short and plump; squat.
short and plump
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
more roly-poly, most roly-poly| Comparative | more roly-poly Lesson |
|---|---|
| Superlative | most roly-poly Lesson |
regular
Synonyms
40 synonymsWord family
1 related wordsLessons for this word
2 lessons- A2Comparatives — Because it has a comparative form
- A2Superlatives — Because it has a superlative form
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.