rock-and-roll
UK[ˌrɒk ən ˈrəʊl]US[ˌrɑːk ən ˈroʊl]
n
A style of popular music that developed in the 1950s, characterized by a strong beat and simple melodies, often played on electric guitars and drums.
n
The culture, lifestyle, or spirit associated with this music.
Etymology
The term "rock and roll" originated in African American Vernacular English as a euphemism for sexual intercourse, drawing on the literal meanings of the verbs "to rock" and "to roll." In the early 1950s, disc jockey Alan Freed began using the phrase to describe the new, rhythmically driven music he promoted, aiming to market it to a broader, white teenage audience while distancing it from its racially charged origins. The name effectively captured the music's energetic, rolling beat and rebellious spirit. Over time, it shed most of its original risqué connotation to become the definitive label for a genre and the entire youth culture it spawned.
Analysis
This is a compound term formed from two English words, 'rock' and 'roll', which are themselves simplex words. 'Rock' (from Old English roccian, meaning "to move to and fro") and 'roll' (from Old French roller, ultimately from Latin rotulus, "a little wheel") are combined to create a new, fixed lexical unit.
Examples
Elvis Presley is often called the King of Rock-and-Roll.
The museum has an exhibit on the history of rock-and-roll fashion.
They spent the night listening to classic rock-and-roll records.