What does scroll mean?
A scroll can refer to a physical roll of paper or parchment, often one containing handwritten text, or to an electronic display moved through with a finger, mouse, or control. Historically, scrolls were important writing and artistic objects, and the word still carries a sense of age, ceremony, and enduring record. In modern usage, scrolling usually means moving vertically through a webpage, document, image, or list of items. As a noun, a scroll may also describe a formal list of names or an ornamental curling design. The word is common in both British and American English, though its computer-related meaning is now probably its most familiar everyday use. Its continuing history—from monumental manuscripts to digital interfaces—makes it a useful example of how a physical object can acquire a new technical meaning.
A roll of paper, parchment, or similar material, especially one used for writing; also a formal list or an ornamental curling design.
"The museum displayed an illuminated scroll beside several early manuscripts."
The sense of a formal list often occurs in expressions such as a donor or honours scroll. The ornamental sense is specialized and is especially associated with heraldry and architecture.
To move through text, images, or other content on a display, especially by moving a finger, mouse, or control.
"Keep scrolling to find the attached files at the end of the page."
The plural is 'scrolls' for both physical rolls and digital lists; it is rarely used for the verb.
"The collection includes several scrolls containing early musical notation."
From a roll of ancient parchment to the upward flick of a thumb, a scroll has carried stories for millennia.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does scroll come from?
The word comes through Old French from a Latin word meaning a roll or book, itself related to the Latin verb for rolling or turning. It developed in English first for a rolled manuscript or document and later for other rolled materials. The electronic sense arose in the twentieth century from the movement of text or images across a display, metaphorically extending the image of content rolled on a surface.
Related word forms
How scroll is actually used
In computing, 'scroll' is standard in British and American English. The noun can suggest an old-fashioned manuscript or a formal list, while 'scroll' as a verb is neutral and commonly describes moving through a screen.
Easily confused with scroll
A scroll is a rolled or electronically moved object or document, whereas a scrawl is an irregular, hurried handwritten inscription.
A roll is a cylindrical object or a quantity wound into a cylinder, while a scroll specifically suggests a long sheet of paper, parchment, or similar material, as well as electronic movement through content.