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roly-poly

 - 4 dictionary results

ro⋅ly-po⋅ly

  [roh-lee-poh-lee, -poh-lee] adjective, noun, plural -lies.
Use roly-poly in a Sentence
–adjective
1. short and plumply round, as a person or a young animal.
–noun
2. a roly-poly person or thing.
3. Chiefly British. a sheet of biscuit dough spread with jam, fruit, or the like, rolled up and steamed or baked.
Origin:
1595–1605; earlier rowle powle, rowly-powly worthless fellow, game involving rolling balls, rhyming compound based on roll (v.); for second element cf. poll 1

Synonyms:
1. fat, rotund, pudgy.

Antonyms:
1. scrawny.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To roly-poly
pill bug  
n.   In both senses also called slater, wood louse; also called regionally doodlebug.

  1. A small terrestrial isopod crustacean of the genus Armadillidium closely related to the sow bug and having a convex, segmented, flexible body enabling it to curl into a ball when disturbed. In this sense also called roly-poly.

  2. A sow bug.

Usage Note: Many people, especially science teachers, like to make a distinction between pill bugs and sow bugs. According to this usage, a pill bug, or roly-poly, is a terrestrial isopod crustacean whose segmented body gives it the ability to curl up into a ball when disturbed. A sow bug is any of several similar looking creatures that lack this ability. In popular usage, however, the names pill bug and sow bug, along with a number of other popular names, are used to refer to any of these tiny segmented crustaceans that are often mistaken for insects.
ro·ly-po·ly   (rō'lē-pō'lē)   
adj.  Short and plump; pudgy.
n.   pl. ro·ly-po·lies

  1. A short plump person or thing.

  2. Chiefly British A pudding made of jam or fruit rolled up in pastry dough and baked or steamed until soft.

  3. See pill bug.


[Alteration and reduplication of roll.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

roly-poly 
"short and stout," 1820, probably a varied reduplication of roll. As a noun, it was used as the name of various ball games from 1713, and it was used as early as 1613 in the sense of "rascal."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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