an actor's portrayal of someone in a play
"she played the part of Desdemona"
normal or customary activity of a person in a particular social setting
"what is your role on the team?"
A character or part played by a performer or actor.
"The archivist carefully counted out a role of medieval parchments to restore the damaged manuscript."
An ancient unit of quantity, 72 sheets of parchment.
In plain English: A role is the part you play or the job you do within a group or situation.
"Each person has a specific role to play in the play."
Usage: Use this noun to describe an assigned function, duty, or position within a group rather than just the specific job title someone holds. It is often interchangeable with "part," but emphasize that it refers to how a person acts in relation to others during performance or social interaction.
The word entered English from the French term rôle, which originally referred to a small rolled-up paper scroll used for lists or accounts. This usage evolved into our modern sense of an assigned part in a play or film, distinct but related to the separate word "roll."