rollick en · VERB · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˈɹɒlɪk/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ˈɹɑlɪk/ (General-American)
Etymology
Presumably a blend of roll + frolic; appeared 1811 as rollicking, 1826 as rollick.
Meanings
-
To behave in a playful or carefree manner; to frolic or romp.
But the third Emir, now seeing himself all alone on the quarter-deck, seems to feel relieved from some curious restraint; for, tipping all sorts of knowing winks in all sorts of directions, and kicking off his shoes, he strikes into a sharp but noiseless squall of a hornpipe right over the Grand Turk’s head; and then, by a dexterous sleight, pitching his cap up into the mizentop for a shelf, he goes down rollicking so far at least as he remains visible from the deck, reversing all other processions, by bringing up the rear with music.
1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter 34, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 163:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| rollicks | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic | |
| rollicked | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| rollicked | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| rollicking | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic |