roulette

English

noun
Definitions
  • (uncountable) 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) A small toothed wheel used by engravers to roll over a plate in order to produce rows of dots.
  • (countable) A similar wheel used to roughen the surface of a plate, as in making alterations in a mezzotint.
  • (countable) The locus of a point on a plane curve that rolls without slipping along another fixed plane curve.
  • (philately) Any of the small incisions on a sheet of stamps, used as an alternative to perforations.
  • A cylindrical curler for the hair.

Etymology

Borrowed from French roulette (roulette, a kind of gambling game, little wheel, small wheel).

Origin

French

roulette

Gloss

roulette, a kind of gambling game, little wheel, small wheel

Timeline

Distribution of cognates by language

Geogrpahic distribution of cognates

Cognates and derived terms