wall

From Middle English wal, from Old English weall (“wall, dike, earthwork, rampart, dam, rocky shore, cliff”), from Proto-West Germanic *wall (“wall, rampart, entrenchment”), from Latin vallum (“wall, rampart, entrenchment, palisade”), from Proto-Indo-European *welH- (“to turn, wind, roll”).
Perhaps conflated with waw (“a wall within a house or dwelling, a room partition”), from Middle English wawe, from Old English wāg, wāh (“an interior wall, divider”), see waw.
Cognate with North Frisian wal (“wall”), Saterland Frisian Waal (“wall, rampart, mound”), Dutch wal (“wall, rampart, embankment”), German Wall (“rampart, mound, embankment”), Swedish vall (“mound, wall, bank”). More at wallow, walk.

cog

the apples on the other side of the wall are the sweetest

throw enough mud at the wall and some of it will stick

throw things at the wall and see what sticks

It can also be used to maintain the presence of a wall when one of the blockers who makes up the wall is picked off by an opposing blocker attempting to shut down the wall.

2013, Ellen Parnavelas, The Roller Derby Athlete, page 48:

(roller derby) Two or more blockers skating together so as to impede the opposing team.


bridge

From Middle English brigge, from Old English brycġ (“bridge”), from Proto-Germanic *brugjō, *brugjǭ (“bridge”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerw-, *bʰrēw- (“wooden flooring, decking, bridge”).
Cognate with Scots brig, brigg, breeg (“bridge”), Saterland Frisian Brääch (“bridge”), West Frisian brêge (“bridge”), Dutch brug (“bridge”), German Brücke (“bridge”), Danish brygge (“wharf”), Icelandic brygga (“pier”), Gaulish briua (“bridge”).
The verb is from Middle English briggen, from Old English brycġian (“to bridge, make a causeway, pave”), derived from the noun. Cognate with Dutch bruggen (“to bridge”), Middle Low German bruggen (“to bridge”), Old High German bruccōn (“to bridge”) (whence Modern German brücken).
The musical connection sense is a semantic loan from German Steg, from Old High German steg.

ацҳа

construction or natural feature that spans a divide

if someone told you to jump off a bridge, would you do it

(roller derby) An elongated chain of teammates, connected to the pack, for improved blocking potential.


bridge

en-verb

bridge (third-person singular simple present bridges, present participle bridging, simple past and past participle bridged)

bridges (present singular third-person)
bridging (participle present)
bridged (participle past)
bridged (past)

(roller derby) To employ the bridge tactic. (See Noun section.)


goat

en-noun

goat (countable and uncountable, plural goats)

→ Abenaki: kots (from "goats")

→ Marshallese: koot

→ Rotokas: goti

→ Tongan: koti, kosi

desctree

→ Samoan: ʻoti
→ Rotuman: ʻoti
→ Tokelauan: oti

From Middle English goot, got, gat, from Old English gāt, from Proto-West Germanic *gait, from Proto-Germanic *gaits, from a substrate language.
The sense of lecherous man derives from the slang expression "horny as a goat".

(roller derby) A blocker who is isolated behind the opposing team's blockers, so as to slow down the pack.


goat

en-verb

goat (third-person singular simple present goats, present participle goating, simple past and past participle goated)

goats (present singular third-person)
goating (participle present)
goated (participle past)
goated (past)

(transitive, roller derby) To isolate (an opposing blocker) behind one's own blockers, so as to slow down the pack.


whip

→ Irish: fuip

⇒ Jamaican Creole: wip

From Middle English whippen, wippen (“to flap violently”), from Middle Dutch wippen (“to swing, leap, dance, oscillate”) and Middle Low German wippen (“to move quickly”), from Proto-Germanic *wipjaną (“to move back and forth”). Some similarity to Sanskrit root वेप् (vep, “shake, flourish”), Latin vibrō (“I shake”). (See Swedish vippa and Danish vippe (“to shake”)).
The unetymological wh- is probably expressive of the sound of a whip; compare the same development in whisk and onomatopoeias such as whack and whoosh.
The political senses are from whipper-in (“huntsman who keeps the hounds from wandering”), 18th century hunting terminology.

der

(roller derby) A move in which one player transfers momentum to another.


whip

en-verb

whip (third-person singular simple present whips, present participle whipping, simple past and past participle whipped)

whips (present singular third-person)
whipping (participle present)
whipped (participle past)
whipped (past)

(transitive, roller derby) To transfer momentum from one skater to another.


recycle

recycle (third-person singular simple present recycles, present participle recycling, simple past and past participle recycled)

recycles (present singular third-person)
recycling (participle present)
recycled (participle past)
recycled (past)

→ Dutch: recyclen

→ German: recyceln, recyclen

[ˌɹiːˈsaɪkɫ̩]

/ˌɹɪˈsaɪkəl/

[ˌɹɪ̝ˈsaɪkɫ̩]

[ɹɪˈsəi̯k(ə)ɫ]

(roller derby) To skate toward the rear of the engagement zone to maximize the time that an opposing jammer must spend before returning to the action.


jam

en-noun

jam (countable and uncountable, plural jams)

→ Armenian: ջեմ (ǰem)

→ Azerbaijani: cem

→ Belarusian: джэм (džem)

→ Bengali: জ্যাম (jêm)

→ Bulgarian: джем (džem)

→ Cantonese: 占 (zim1, zem1)

→ Czech: džem

→ Dutch: jam

→ Estonian: džemm

→ Finnish: jamit

→ French: jam

→ Georgian: ჯემი (ǯemi)

→ Hindi: जाम (jām)

→ Japanese: ジャム (jamu)

→ Kazakh: джем (djem)

→ Korean: 잼 (jaem)

→ Kyrgyz: джем (djem)

→ Macedonian: џем (džem)

→ Malay: jem

→ Polish: dżem

→ Romanian: gem

→ Russian: джем (džem)

→ Saanich: ĆÁM

→ Serbo-Croatian:

Latin script: džȅm

Cyrillic script: џе̏м

→ Sinhalese: ජෑම් (jǣm)

→ Slovak: džem

→ Swahili: jemu

→ Swedish: jam

→ Tajik: джем (džem)

→ Thai: แยม (yɛɛm)

→ Ukrainian: джем (džem)

→ Urdu: جام (jām)

→ Welsh: jam

First attested in the early 18th c. as a verb meaning “to press, be pressed, be wedged in”. Compare dialectal jammock (“to press, squeeze, crush into a soft mass, chew food"; also "a soft, pulpy substance”). Perhaps from Middle English chammen, champen ("to bite upon something, gnash the teeth"; whence modern champ, chomp), of uncertain origin; probably originally onomatopoeic.
The "performance" sense is first attested with regards to jazz in 1929, and its origin, though uncertain, is likely metaphorical, "something sweet made by the combination of many things", with influence from jamboree.

onomatopoeic

onomatopoeic

Toughie scored four points in that jam.

(countable, roller derby) A play during which points can be scored.


jam

en-verb

jam (third-person singular simple present jams, present participle jamming, simple past and past participle jammed)

jams (present singular third-person)
jamming (participle present)
jammed (participle past)
jammed (past)

onomatopoeic

onomatopoeic

Toughie jammed four times in the second period.

(roller derby) To attempt to score points.

yrittää tehdä pisteitä

roller derby: to attempt to score points


bout

From Middle English bught, probably from Old English *buht (“bend, turn”), an unrecorded variant of Old English byht (“a bend, curve”), from Proto-West Germanic *buhti, from Proto-Germanic *buhtiz (“a bend”). Doublet of bight and bought.
For the sense development compare Late Latin campānia (“open country, battlefield”) (whence English campaign), from Latin campus (“field”), from Proto-Indo-European *kh₂emp- (“to bend, curve; smooth”).


pack

From Middle English pak, pakke, from Old English *pæcca and/or Middle Dutch pak, packe; both ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *pakkō, from Proto-Germanic *pakkô (“bundle, pack”). Cognate with Dutch pak (“pack”), Low German Pack (“pack”), German Pack (“pack”), Swedish packe (“pack”), Icelandic pakka, pakki (“package”).

(roller derby) The largest group of blockers from both teams skating in close proximity.


waterfall

en-verb

waterfall (third-person singular simple present waterfalls, present participle waterfalling, simple past and past participle waterfalled)

waterfalls (present singular third-person)
waterfalling (participle present)
waterfalled (participle past)
waterfalled (past)

/ˈwɔːtəfɔːl/

From Middle English waterfal, waterfalle, from Old English wæterġefeall (“waterfall”), equivalent to water + fall. Cognate with West Frisian wetterfal (“waterfall”), Dutch waterval (“waterfall”), German Wasserfall (“waterfall”), Swedish vattenfall (“waterfall”).


pivot

From Middle English pevet, *pivot, from Old French pivot (“hinge pin, pivot”) (12th c.), possibly from Latin pūgiō.

(roller derby) A player with responsibility for co-ordinating their team in a particular jam.


grand slam

(roller derby) The situation in which the jammer laps the opposing team's jammer, scoring five points.


roller derby

en-noun

roller derby (usually uncountable, plural roller derbies)

A sport based on teams of rollerskaters who race round a track, jamming and blocking each other.


panty

→ Cebuano: panti

Recorded since 1845 in the plural, meaning “drawers for men”, a derogatory diminutive of pants (the shortening of pantaloons); meaning “underpants for women or children” first recorded 1908.

There is a special play called “Passing the Star” that allows the jammer to remove her helmet panty and hand it over to the pivot.

2010, Alex Cohen, Jennifer Barbee, Down and Derby: The Insider's Guide to Roller Derby, unnumbered page:

We′re practicing this strategy right now. Francesca is the Jammer, and she′s supposed to pass me the helmet panty. Bruisey-Q is assisting her, helping her get through the pack by knocking the formidable ass of ThunderSmack out of the way.

2010, Pamela Ribon, Going in Circles, page 200:

"If you get jammed in, hand me the panty. You can't throw it at me."

2018, Elicia Hyder, Lights Out Lucy: Roller Derby 101:

(informal, roller derby) A helmet cover.


jammer

(roller derby) A player who attempts to score points by making their way past other players.


can opener

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-can opener.wav

(roller derby) A shoulder hit to the chest, usually accomplished while moving from a crouched to a standing position.


merby

Men's roller derby, known as "merby", is an emerging version of the ladies' roller derby, which has taken south-east Queensland by storm in recent years.

2011 August 21, Ellen Lutton, Sydney Morning Herald:


boutfit

It wasn't just the skater's athletic prowess that was enviable... it was her sporty fishnets and hot-pants "boutfit."

2009 November 29, Sophia Kercher, Los Angeles Times:

We bump into the dressing room with our skate bags and boutfits. I have new pair of tights that look like dragon tattoos.

(roller derby) An outfit chosen for a bout.


cougaring

(roller derby) The act of deliberately picking up a minor penalty in order to visit the penalty box at a convenient time.


jetter

/ˈd͡ʒɛtə(ɹ)/

Despite new terminology (the jammer is now the jetter, the pack has become the power guard), the game essentially remains the same: four on four, with points scored when the jetter passes opposing players. Points also will awarded^([sic – meaning be awarded]) in “RollerGames” if the jetter “survives” the wall of death.

1989 June 11, Jeff Meyers, “Same Game, Different Tunes: Roller Derby—updated as RollerGames—is back with a rock ’n’ roll beat”, in Los Angeles Times, page 69:

At the beginning of a period, players begin from a standing start on the main concourse, with blockers up front and the jetters (jammers) a few feet behind. During subsequent cycles in a period, blockers and jetters begin from a rolling start near the start line. Play begins on a single whistle. The cycle ends when 45 seconds have expired or the lead jetter ends the cycle.

2012 December 12, Steven Rodriguez, “Another Derby #2: Rollergames”, in Roller Derby Notes:

“Jetters”, the new term for jammers, received extra points if they skated above the lines on the steep Wall of Death. They were then faced with the “Jet Jump”, which would net the jetter six points if he or she cleared a 12-foot marker, and two if the jetter landed in front of it safely without falling.

(roller derby) A jammer (player who attempts to score points by making their way past other players) on the televised version of the game.


power jam

"Emma S. Enforcer's power jam also gave her the opportunity to claim nine more points for Black."

2012 February 19, Rachel Scott, Santa Cruz Sentinel:

(roller derby) A period during which only one jammer is on the track.


minimum skills

(roller derby) The test of roller skating ability which all competitors must pass in order to play.


star pass

[A pivot] "Can be involved in a "star pass" where the jammer can pass her star panty to the pivot, who then becomes the jammer for that jam."

2011, Mandy Osipenko, Rolling On: A Roller Derby League Surivial Guide:

(roller derby) The transfer of jammer status to a team's pivot, accomplished by passing a helmet cover marked with a star.


truck and trailer

(roller derby) The situation where one player skates directly behind a teammate and holds onto their hips in order to pivot.


NSO

(roller derby) Initialism of non-skating official.


eat the baby

en-verb

eat the baby (third-person singular simple present eats the baby, present participle eating the baby, simple past ate the baby, past participle eaten the baby)

eats the baby (present singular third-person)
eating the baby (participle present)
ate the baby (past)
eaten the baby (participle past)

(roller derby, slang) To draw a jammer who has broken out of the pack back into the pack.


hip whip

(roller derby) The act of grabbing a teammate's hips in order to propel oneself forward.


rink rash

Coordinate term: road rash

(roller derby, slang) Skin injury caused by abrasion against the floor of the rink.