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Glite Dictionary
roller towel

roller towel

4.3
A long loop of cloth that turns on a roller for drying hands
  • noun
  • Archaic
translation icon : toalla de rodillo
  • The restroom still had an old-fashioned roller towel hanging by the sink.

Examples

  • They replaced the roller towel with individual paper towels for better hygiene.

  • Please use the roller towel after washing your hands.

  • He wiped his hands on the roller towel after washing up.

  • The bathroom has a new roller towel installed.

  • Please use the roller towel to dry your hands after using the sink.

  • The restroom was equipped with a roller towel for guests to dry their hands.

  • After washing up, he grabbed the roller towel to clean his wet hands.

Synonyms

towel
vsroller towel
565 1.0

A piece of cloth or paper used to dry people and objects

is a continuous loop hung on a roller for repeated public use

Surface Forms

roller towel singular
roller towels plural

Morphology

roller + towel

The compound is a straightforward noun+noun composition: 'roller' (a cylinder or rolling device) + 'towel' (an absorbent cloth) yields a towel associated with a roller—i.e. a towel mounted on or formed as a rolling loop. This compositional relation is predictable and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituent words would readily infer the meaning.

Etymology

Roller towel comes from the simple object: a long towel sewn into a loop and hung on a roller so people can pull a fresh part when they need it. That's why the word means the reusable towel on a roller used in public restrooms to 'dry hands'.