scroll

[skrohl]

noun

1. a roll of parchment, paper, copper, or other material, especially one with writing on it.

   a scroll containing the entire Old Testament.

2. something, especially an ornament, resembling a partly unrolled sheet of paper or having a spiral or coiled form.

3. a list, roll, roster, or schedule.

4. (in Japanese and Chinese art) a painting or text on silk or paper that is either displayed on a wall hanging scroll or held by the viewer hand scroll and is rolled up when not in use.

5. the curved head of a violin or other bowed instrument.

6. a note, message, or other piece of writing.

verb (used with object)

1. to cut into a curved form with a narrow-bladed saw.

2. Computers.,  to move (text) up, down, or across a display screen, with new text appearing on the screen as old text disappears.

verb (used without object)

1. Computers.,  to move text vertically or horizontally on a display screen in searching for a particular section, line, etc.

scroll

/ skrəʊl /

noun

1. a roll of parchment, paper, etc, usually inscribed with writing

2. an ancient book in the form of a roll of parchment, papyrus, etc

3. 1. a decorative carving or moulding resembling a scroll

   2. ( as modifier )

      a scroll saw

   3. ( in combination )

      scrollwork

verb

1. (tr) to saw into scrolls

2. to roll up like a scroll

3. computing to move (text) from right to left or up and down on a screen in order to view text that cannot be contained within a single display image

Other Word Forms

• scroll-like adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of scroll¹

1350–1400; Middle English scrowle; blend of scrow, aphetic variant of escrow and rowle roll

Word History and Origins

Origin of scroll¹

C15 scrowle, from scrowe, from Old French escroe scrap of parchment, but also influenced by _roll

Example Sentences

She says she often spends nights scrolling through shopping apps like Vinted, but wants to break this cycle for her kids.

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I was scrolling on Instagram and I saw an article about a company called Tupperware.

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"We know our path now," says Ahmed Alhashemi, 42, scrolling through the email, a small smile breaking across his careworn face.

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Bridget Derraugh, Stringer’s girlfriend of nearly two years, was casually scrolling on Hinge in spring 2024 when she stumbled across a ceramicist whose work looked familiar.

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The 23-year-old activist was scrolling through his social media feed in May, when he read complaints about how the high-profile marriage ceremony sparked huge traffic jams in the city of Bhaktapur.

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Related Words

• manuscript