名詞 role:

1. the actions and activities assigned to or required or expected of a person or group
   同義詞：function, office, part
2. an actor's portrayal of someone in a play
   同義詞：character, theatrical role, part, persona
3. what something is used for
   同義詞：function, purpose, use
4. normal or customary activity of a person in a particular social setting

1. His dual role as a composer and a conductor made him very busy.
   他作曲家和指揮家的雙重身份使他非常繁忙。
2. He's a natural for the role of Lear.
   他是李爾王這一角色的理想人選。
3. The Panama Canal has played a very important role in transportation.
   巴拿馬運(yùn)河在運(yùn)輸上起到了非常重要的作用。
4. She acted as a minor role in the play.
   她在劇中扮演了一個(gè)次要的角色。
5. He played a passive role in the marriage.
   他在婚姻中扮演了一個(gè)被動(dòng)的角色。
6. She played a thankless role.
   她扮演了一個(gè)受累不討好的角色。
7. The key role of the teacher in the learning process should not be neglected.
   教師在學(xué)習(xí)中的關(guān)鍵作用是不該忽視的。
8. The role of the railways declined in the transport system.
   在運(yùn)輸系統(tǒng)中，鐵路的重要性逐漸下降。

role 也作 rôle

n.（名詞）
A character or part played by a performer.
角色：表演者扮演的角色或劇中人物
The characteristic and expected social behavior of an individual.
職分，責(zé)任：個(gè)人特征或期望的社會(huì)行為
A function or position.See Synonyms at function
功能，職位參見(jiàn) function

來(lái)源：
French rôle
法語(yǔ) rôle
from Old French rolle [roll of parchment (on which an actor`s part was written)]
源自 古法語(yǔ) rolle [羊皮紙卷（上面寫(xiě)著演員的臺(tái)詞）]
from Latin rotula [diminutive of] rota [wheel] * see roll
源自 拉丁語(yǔ) rotula [] rota的小后綴 [車(chē)輪] *參見(jiàn) roll

<注釋>Considering the various great roles in the theater,such as Hamlet or Lear, or the various roles we play, such as parent or teacher, employer or employee,it is difficult to think back to a time in the history of the wordrole when none of these important associations was present. Role, which is first recorded in English in '0', came to us from French with the sense .a part one has to play..Obviously the development of the sense familiar to us had already occurred in French,where the wordrôle in its earlier history (Old French rolle ) had meant .a roll, as of parchment,. particularly with reference to a manuscript roll.The word could also mean .a legal document. or .a list or register..From such use it also came to refer to the text from which an actor learned a part.This use brought the word into the world of the theater where it has played an important role ever since.
考慮到劇中各種各樣的偉大人物，如哈姆萊特或李爾王或我們所扮演的家長(zhǎng)、老師、老板或雇員等各種角色，如果不想到這些重要的聯(lián)系，便很難追憶起role 在歷史上使用的時(shí)間。 Role 一詞源于法語(yǔ)，意為.某人不得不扮演的角色.，于'0'年首次載入英語(yǔ)。顯然，我們所熟悉的詞義發(fā)展已出現(xiàn)在法語(yǔ)中。法語(yǔ)中Role 一詞在更早的時(shí)候（古法語(yǔ) rolle )就表示.羊皮紙卷.， 尤指羊皮紙手稿。該詞也可指.法律文件.或.名錄，記錄.。由此而引申為演員所背的臺(tái)詞全文。從此，該用法把該詞引入戲劇界，并在劇院扮演了重要角色