round

Pronunciation

• IPA: /raʊnd/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English round, borrowed from Anglo-Norman rounde and roont, earlier reont,^[2][3][4] from Vulgar Latin *retundus,^[2][5][6] a dissimilated form of Latin rotundus (“wheel-shaped, round”), from rota (“wheel”).^[2][6][7] The French word was also borrowed into Dutch rond and German rund.^[2] The preposition is perhaps partly an aphetic form of around.^[8][4][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Spherical or circular: before 1300, in Kyng Alisaunder,^[3] or about 1290;^[9] and of persons, “plump”, about 1290.^[9] It occurs as a surname in the early 13th century.^[2]

Semantic evolution

As an adverb it is from about 1300.^[2] The noun, “a spherical body”, is from the early 14th century.^[2] Of numbers, “entire, complete”, it is from the mid-14th century, and round number, an approximate one, by the 1640s.^[2] The verb “to make round” is from the late 14th century,^[2] “to make a circuit of” from the 1590s,^[2] and “to express as an approximate number” from 1934.^[2] Many noun senses developed from the idea of a circle or circuit: a round dance and a song sung in canon from the 1520s, a sentry's circuit from the 1590s, hence make one's rounds, a round of drinks from the 1630s, a round of ammunition from 1725, a round of golf from 1775, and a bout in boxing from 1812.^[2] The preposition, as in round the world, is from about 1600.^[2] Round trip is by 1844.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 1290 – spherical; plump.^[9]
• mid-14th century – of numbers, complete.^[2]
• late 14th century – verb, to make round.^[2]
• 1520s – a round dance; a sung round.^[2]
• c. 1600 – preposition.^[2]
• 1630s – a round of drinks.^[2]
• 1725 – a round of ammunition.^[2]
• 1812 – a round in boxing.^[2]
• 1844 – round trip.^[2]
• 1934 – verb, to round a number.^[2]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Shaped like a circle, ball or cylinder; curved.
2. Plump; full.
3. Complete, whole; of a number, expressed approximately.
4. Moving in a circle; going and returning: a round trip.

Noun

1. Something round, as a circle, disk or ring.
2. A series of regular visits or events; a circuit: the doctor's rounds.
3. A single stage of a competition or a bout in a boxing match.
4. A drink for each member of a group.
5. A single shot or unit of ammunition.
6. (music) A song in which voices enter in turn with the same melody; a canon.

Verb

1. To make or become round.
2. To go round: round the corner.
3. To express as a round number: round up, round down.
4. To complete: round off.

Adverb

1. In a circle; around.

Preposition

1. Around; throughout: round the clock.

Word family

• roundness
• all-round
• roundabout
• roundwood
• roundworm
• semiround
• subround
• unround

Related words

• rotund
• rotunda
• rotary
• rota
• roll
• around
• rondo

Usage notes

An archaic verb round, “to whisper”, is a different word, from Old English rūnian, from rūn (“secret”) (see rune), with a parasitic d.^[5][4][6]

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
6. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
7. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press