roly-poly
By rolling, so as to rollBy rolling, so as to roll.
UK/ˌɹəʊlɪˈpəʊli/US/ˈɹoʊliˈpoʊli/
Meaning
2 sensesBy rolling, so as to roll.
(obsolete)Without hesitating; directly; hence, in a thoughtless manner; indiscriminately.
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
Lessons for this word
1 lessons- A2Adverbs of manner — Because it is an -ly adverb
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.