Runde

Pronunciation

• [ˈʁʊndə]^[1]

Forms

Runde f (genitive Runde, plural Runden, diminutive Ründchen n)^[1] An umlauted form Ründe was used in the sense “roundness” from the 16th to the 18th century, by Stieler and Schiller among others.^[2][3] In the military sense the French spelling Ronde came first and remained usual in the army language of the 19th century.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German runde (“circle, surroundings”), an abstract noun of the adjective runt (“round”), the ancestor of rund.^[4][2][5][1] The adjective was borrowed in the 13th century from Old French reont (“round”), older roont, which goes back to Vulgar Latin *retundus, a dissimilated form of Latin rotundus (“round”), from rota (“wheel”).^[4][2] The same French word was known earlier in the knightly term Middle High German tavelrunde (“Round Table”), from the Old French name of King Arthur's Round Table.^[4][2]

The military sense “round of the watch”, recorded from the early 17th century, is a separate loan of Middle French ronde.^[4][2] The French noun was felt to be the adjective rond used as a noun, but Pfeifer explains it as a back-formation of ronder (“to inspect the sentries”), which rests on the Spanish verb rondar (“to patrol”) and ultimately on an Arabic word for a group of horses kept ready for border watch;^[2] Kluge also traces it through Spanish ronda to Arabic.^[4] The Grimms' dictionary thinks the German word arose on its own and was then influenced by the French one, so that the two lines of meaning can no longer be separated.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Middle High German runde is recorded in the second quarter of the 15th century in Oswald von Wolkenstein, in the phrase ze rund “all around”.^[6][7] In the 16th century, as in Luther, it meant roundness, round shape or circle.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Adelung records the circular movement (in die Runde gehen, in die Runde tanzen) and, in military use, the round of the watch that inspects the posts at night, also the patrol itself.^[8] The phrase die Runde gehen “inspect the posts” dates from the 17th century and was widened to die Runde machen “go round”;^[2][9] Goethe uses it of a cup passed round.^[2][9] A circle of people sitting together, above all eating and drinking, comes from Tafelrunde, which Wieland revived in the 18th century from the Arthurian Round Table.^[2] From the cup that goes in der Runde came the sense “a round of drinks for everyone present”.^[9]

In sport the word names a lap of a course, a round of a contest and, in boxing, a period of a bout; earlier it was used in horse racing and card games.^[9][5] The phrase über die Runden kommen “to make ends meet, get through” comes from boxing: whoever lasts the rounds has at least not been knocked out.^[10] Czech and Slovak took German Runde as runda “round of beer or schnapps”, and Slovene as runda.^[11]

Timeline

• 13th century – Middle High German borrows the adjective runt “round” from French.^[4]
• 2nd quarter of the 15th century – runde is recorded in Oswald von Wolkenstein.^[6]
• 16th century – Runde (also Ründe) means roundness, round shape or circle.^[2]
• Early 17th century – The military round of the watch is borrowed as Ronde.^[2]
• 1642 – Runda is first recorded as a refrain of students' drinking songs.^[9]
• Late 17th century – Runde also names the soldiers who make the round.^[2]
• 18th century – Wieland revives Tafelrunde, the model for a convivial circle.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A small circle of people, a company: In der Runde wurde viel gelacht.^[5][1]
2. The people and things around someone, the surroundings: Sie blickte fragend in die Runde.^[5]
3. A round, a circuit that returns to its starting point, such as a walk or a guard's patrol: eine Runde durch den Park drehen.^[5][1]
4. (sports) A lap of a track or course.^[5][1]
5. (sports, games) A round of a game or competition: Die Mannschaft ist in der zweiten Runde ausgeschieden.^[5][1]
6. (boxing) One of the timed periods of a bout.^[5][1]
7. A round of drinks bought for everyone present: eine Runde Bier ausgeben.^[1][9]

Word family

• Tafelrunde
• Endrunde
• Vorrunde
• Ehrenrunde
• Gesprächsrunde
• Lokalrunde
• Nullrunde
• überrunden

Related words

• rund
• runden
• rotieren
• English round

Usage notes

Die Runde machen means both “to be passed from one to the next” and “to spread quickly”, as of a rumour.^[5] Über die Runden kommen (colloquial) is to cope with one's difficulties, especially to manage on one's money.^[5][10]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
3. ^ a b c d Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 14, 1507
4. ^ a b c d e f Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 777
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
6. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Mittelhochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
7. ^ Lexer, Matthias (1872–1878), Mittelhochdeutsches Handwörterbuch, 3 vols., Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 2, 538
8. ^ Adelung, Johann Christoph (1793–1801), Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart, 2nd ed., 4 vols., Leipzig: Breitkopf
9. ^ a b c d e f Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
10. ^ a b Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2020), 6th ed., Duden vol. 7, Berlin: Dudenverlag, p. 706
11. ^ Lehnwortportal Deutsch (2012–), Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache, Mannheim, lwp.ids-mannheim.de