Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 11th Edition
ROAST
I. verb
Etymology: Middle English rosten, from Anglo-French rostir, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German rōsten to roast
Date: 13th century
transitive verb
1. to cook by exposing to dry heat (as in an oven or before a fire) or by surrounding with hot embers, sand, or stones , to dry and parch by exposure to heat , to heat (inorganic material) with access of air and without fusing to effect change (as expulsion of volatile matter, oxidation, or removal of sulfur from sulfide ores), to heat to excess , to subject to severe criticism or ridicule , to honor (a person) at a roast, intransitive verb to cook food by heat, to undergo being roasted,
II. noun
Date: 14th century
a piece of meat suitable for roasting, a gathering at which food is roasted before an open fire or in hot ashes or sand, an act or process of roasting, a banquet honoring a person (as a celebrity) who is subjected to humorous tongue-in-cheek ridicule by friends,
III. adjective
Date: 14th century
that has been roasted