# role

Pronunciation: say "ROHL" US /ɹoʊl/, UK /ɹəʊl/

## Noun

1. The function or position that someone or something has within a larger system, process, or structure, such as a word within a phrase.
   - Simple: The job or part that something has inside a bigger system or process.
   - _Enzymes play a crucial role in breaking down food during digestion._
   - _The committee debated the role of government in the economy._
2. A character or part performed by an actor or other performer.
   - Simple: A character that an actor plays in a movie, show, or play.
   - _The director offered her the role of a grieving mother._
   - _He prepared for the role by living in a fishing village for weeks._
3. A named position, as in an organization or a computer system, that comes with particular duties, expected skills and knowledge, or access privileges.
   - Simple: A named position that comes with certain duties, skills, or rights.
   - _The new employee's role included managing the budget and approving expenses._
   - _Administrators are assigned a role that grants access to sensitive records._
4. The expected behavior of an individual within a society or social group.
   - Simple: The way a person is expected to act because of their place in a group.
   - _Traditional gender roles assigned cooking and cleaning to women._
   - _He struggled to adjust to his new role as a father._

## Other meanings

- (noun) A Raku code element similar to an interface that lets classes be composed with shared behavior without extending their inheritance chain.
- (noun) A historical unit of quantity equal to 72 sheets of parchment.

## Origin

This word comes from French rôle, earlier Middle French rolle and Old French role, which trace back to the Medieval Latin rotulus. It is a doublet of roll and rotulus.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/role (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).