The word roster can be used both as a noun and as a verb. As a noun, roster corresponds to a list or plan that shows turns of duty or leave for individuals or groups in an organisation. In sports, it could also be a list of members available for team selection. As a verb, roster denotes placing or assigning based on a duty roster.
Origin:
The word has been in recorded usage since 1727. It derives from the Dutch rooster meaning “table, list”, originally “gridiron,” from Middle Dutch rooster “to roast”. It is so called from the grid of lines drawn on a paper to make a list.
The word roster picked up in usage in the second half of the 19th Century and enjoyed its peak around the 1950s. While its usage has come down since then, it still remains a popular word.
Usage
The teacher asked the students to check the term’s duty roster to see when each of them would be the class monitor.
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