Etymologically
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enroll

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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ɪnˈɹəʊl/[1]
  • US: /ɛnˈɹoʊl/, /ɪnˈɹoʊl/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English enrollen, also enroulen,[2][3][4] borrowed from Old French enroller (“to record in a register, write in a roll”) (13th century),[5][3][6] Anglo-Norman enrouler,[7][8] modern enrôler.[5][6][9] The French verb is formed from en- (“in”) and rolle (“roll, register”),[3][5][7][9] from Latin rotula (“little wheel”);[3] Barnhart instead derives it from Medieval Latin inrotulō (“to write in a roll”), from rotulus (“little wheel”).[4][10] Names were originally written on a roll of parchment.[11] The Anglo-Norman verb is recorded from the third quarter of the 12th century, meaning to enrol or record, and also to roll up.[8] It is related to roll and role.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

To enter someone's name in an official list, or admit someone as a member of a group: before 1400, in the Usages of Winchester.[2] Etymonline dates the verb to the mid-14th century[5] and Barnhart to before 1400, in the sense to write in an official list.[4]

Semantic evolution

The Middle English verb was much used in law, for copying a deed, will or act into the rolls of a court, a guildhall or Parliament, from 1403–4.[2][12] Since late Middle English it has also meant to admit someone as a member of a group or to enlist someone in an army,[9][2] and in modern use it is often said of students registered in a school or course.[7][9] Johnson (1755) defined it as "to insert in a roll or register".[13] The legal sense survives in the preparation of the final copy of a bill passed by a legislature.[12][7] A literal sense, to roll or wrap up, is rare.[14][3] A noun enroll, a register, is recorded in an act of Henry VIII (1533–4) and is now obsolete.[15]

Timeline

  • third quarter of the 12th century – Anglo-Norman enrouler, to enrol, record.[8]
  • mid-14th century – the verb in English (Etymonline).[5]
  • before 1400 – to enter a name in an official list; to admit as a member.[2][4]
  • 1403–4 – in law, to enter a deed or act in an official roll.[2]
  • 1533–4 – noun enroll, a register (obsolete).[15]
  • 1755 – Johnson: to insert in a roll or register.[13]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To enter a name in a register, list or roll; to sign someone up as a member, student or participant: The college enrolled two hundred new students this year.[7][3][14]
  2. To register oneself or become a member; to sign up: He enrolled in an evening class in Spanish.[3][14]
  3. To enlist in military service.[7][14][9]
  4. (law) To record a deed or other document in an official register; to prepare the final copy of a bill passed by a legislature.[12][7][3]
  5. (rare) To roll or wrap up.[14][3]

Word family

  • enrollee
  • enroller
  • disenroll
  • enrollment
  • nonenrolled
  • overenrolled
  • reenroll
  • unenrolled

Usage notes

Enroll is the usual American spelling and enrol the British one; the derived noun is enrollment in American and enrolment in British English.[14][7][9]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  4. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  5. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  8. ^ a b c Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  9. ^ a b c d e f Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  10. ^ Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  11. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  12. ^ a b c Garner, Bryan A., ed. (2004), Black's Law Dictionary, 8th ed., St. Paul, Minn.: Thomson West
  13. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  14. ^ a b c d e f Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  15. ^ a b Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press