# roly-poly

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˌɹəʊlɪˈpəʊli/

## Definitions
1. A toy that rights itself when pushed over.
2. A short, plump person (especially a child).
3. A forward roll or sideways roll.
4. 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).
5. A baked or steamed pudding made from suet pastry which is spread with fruit or jam (or occasionally other fillings) and then rolled up.
6. 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).
7. A mischievous or worthless person; a scoundrel, a rascal.
8. An activity or game involving rolling.
9. An activity or game involving rolling.
10. An activity or game involving rolling.
11. An activity or game involving rolling.

## Etymology
The 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.
Noun sense 1.7 (“mischievous or worthless person”) is possibly influenced by poll (“head; (archaic) scalp; (by extension) person”).
The adjective and adverb are attested later than the noun, and so are probably derived from it.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/roly-poly