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

When scrolling through social media recently, you might have noticed posts which seem a bit… off.

Read more on BBC

Before you shop — or scroll obsessively through countless lists of “best” Black Friday deals — Daniels recommended taking a few minutes to find one single way to strengthen your own finances.

Read more on MarketWatch

When I was younger, I'd scroll through Twitter to find that one bad comment and focus on that despite 50 good comments.

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The term, which describes young adults who retreat into small rooms, avoid socializing and spend long stretches in bed scrolling on their phones, has exploded across platforms and accumulated billions of views.

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In our testing, it helped break our addiction to the endless scroll, and transformed our phones from sources of anxiety to tools for productivity.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• manuscript