roster

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈɹɒs.tə/ (UK); /ˈɹɔ.stɚ/, /ˈɹoʊ.stɚ/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Dutch rooster (“table, list; originally gridiron”),^[2][3][4][5] from Middle Dutch roosten, to roast,^[2][3] probably from the grid of parallel lines drawn on paper to make a list.^[2][3][4][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

In military use, a list showing the rotation of duty: 1727.^[2][3][7]

Semantic evolution

NODE notes that it originally listed duties and leave for military personnel.^[6] Police use is by 1858,^[2] and a list of names in general, without regard to rotation, by 1881.^[2][7] The verb, to place on a roster, is from 1922.^[7] In marketing, the list of agencies a company regularly uses is a specialized sense.^[8]

Timeline

• 1727 – a military duty list.^[3]
• 1858 – in police use.^[2]
• 1881 – any list of names.^[2]
• 1922 – the verb.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A list or register, especially one showing the order of people's duties.
2. A list of the names of members of a team or organization.

Verb

1. To place on a roster.

Related words

• roast
• rota
• register

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins