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roiler1 (1155)

The form roeler is a cross reference to the following entry:

roiler1 (1155)

roeler,  roiller,  roillier;  rouiller,  roulir,  royler,  royller;  ruiller,  ruuller  
  FEW:  *roticulare 10,506b Gdf:  roeillier 7,271b GdfC: TL: röeillier 8,1373 DEAF:  röeillier  DMF:  roeillier  TLF: OED:  roil v.2  MED:  roilen v.1  DMLBS:

Despite a different etymology and semantic field, some spelling variants (roeler and roulir) suggest some mixing with roeler1 (‘to roll,’ from rotella) and rouler1(‘to roll out’, from *rotulare). Russel’s emendation in S Edm Life ants 4655 from 'des oils roile' to 'ses oils rëoine', for the sake of rhyme with moine, seems improbable, producing an otherwise unattested spelling of roigner (‘to cut, trim’) and proposing a new but unlikely and unetymological figurative sense of ‘to scowl, squint’ for that verb. The original manuscript reading is therefore retained in this entry.

v.trans.

roiler (les) oils
to roll one’s eyes (as an expression of strong emotion or madness)
( 1155; MS: s.xiii4/4 )  Dunc les veissez [...] Nés froncir e fronz suer, Faces nercir, oilz roiller [...]  Brut WACE 1135
( s.xiiex; MS: c.1335 )  Les oils sur ly forment roylla  Amis ANTS 373
( 1190-1210; MS: c.1300 )  Forment vers moi s'en aira E par mal les oilz ruulla  Waldef BB 2814
( s.xiii1/3; MS: s.xiiim )  Se une feiz par mal vus regardast, E ses oilz ferment sur vus ruillast  Gui War 8214
( s.xivin; MS: 1312-40 )  Le roy rouly les oyls mou[t] ferement, e dit qu’il se vengereit de tels malfesours  Fouke ANTS 20.37
( c.1305; MS: c.1330 )  Il va roylant les euz e hochant la teste  BOZ Char 233

v.intrans.

roiler des oils
to roll one’s eyes (as an expression of strong emotion or madness)
( 1160-74; MS: s.xiiiin )  Le mandement le roi tint le duc a merveille, Mout roille dez ex et le cors estendeille  Rom de Rou wace i 105.2725
( 1190-93; MS: s.xiv1 )  Quant ly felun rei ceo oy, Frunchi del frunt, les denz croissi, Juinst des surcils, ses oilz reoine  (ms. des oilz roile), Plus devint leid ke frog a moine  S Edm Life ANTS 4655 (MS)
( s.xiiiex; MS: 1307-15 )  les jugelours au dyable, ke ne sevunt servir de nule autre chose fors de [...] bestorner lour louthes  (l. [b]ouches) a tort e de oiz roillier  Ancren2 42.19

sbst. inf.

(the action of) rolling one’s eyes (as an expression of strong emotion or madness)
( MS: s.xivin )  Ausi a il cluner e recleer, Roiller, lenter e gwenyller [...] E li feloun roille (M.E. shelveþ ) les euz Quant venger se veut par corouz  bibb MS (C) 14r

[gdw]

See also:

roileiz 
This is an AND2 Phase 5 (R-S) entry. © 2018-21 The Anglo-Norman Dictionary. All rights reserved. Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council of the United Kingdom.
roeler