round

adj

Etymology: From Middle English round, rounde, from Old Northern French roünt, rund, Old French ront, runt, reont ( > French rond), from both Late Latin retundus and the original Latin rotundus. The noun developed partly from the adjective and partly from the corresponding French noun rond. Doublet of rotund.

1. Of shape:

   “We sat at a round table to make conversation easier.”

   “The flowers glowed red and golden: snapdragons and sunflowers, and nasturtians^([sic]) trailing all over the turf walls and peeping in at the round windows.”

2. Of shape:

   “The ancient Egyptian demonstrated that the Earth is round, not flat.”

3. Of shape:

   “a round belly”

   “a round face”

4. Of shape:

   “Our child's bed has round corners for safety.”

5. Of shape:

   “He was tall and thin but his wife was short and round.”

6. Complete, whole, not lacking.

   “The baker sold us a round dozen.”

   “Round was their pace at first, but slackened soon: / A stranger meeting them had surely thought, / They rode so slowly and they look'd so pale, / That each had suffer'd some exceeding wrong.”

7. Convenient for rounding other numbers to; for example, ending in a zero.

   “One hundred is a nice round number.”

8. Pronounced with the lips drawn together; rounded.

   “"Supposing somebody sees you, with all those flowers too? Supposing somebody writes him a letter? Ooooh!" (a pure round open Tamil O.)”

9. Outspoken; plain and direct; unreserved; not mincing words.

   “a round answer”

   “a round oath”

10. Finished; polished; not defective or abrupt; said of authors or their writing style.

    “In his satires Horace is quick, round, and[…]pleasant.”

11. Consistent; fair; just; applied to conduct.

    “Round dealing is the honour of man's nature.”

12. Large in magnitude.

    “I have a good banker in this city, but I would not wish to draw upon the house until the time when I shall draw for a round sum.”

    “By raising turkeys the farmers were able the more surely to pay their rents. Young girls often acquired a very sufficient dowry, and towns-folk who wished to eat them had to pay round prices for them.”

13. Well-written and well-characterized; complex and reminiscent of a real person.
14. Vaulted.
15. Returning to its starting point.

    “round trip, round journey, round walk”

adv

Etymology: From Middle English round, rounde, from Old Northern French roünt, rund, Old French ront, runt, reont ( > French rond), from both Late Latin retundus and the original Latin rotundus. The noun developed partly from the adjective and partly from the corresponding French noun rond. Doublet of rotund.

1. Alternative form of around.

   “The invitations were sent round accordingly.”

   “They travelled for thirteen hours down-hill, whilst the streams broadened and the mountains shrank, and the vegetation changed, and the people ceased being ugly and drinking beer, and began instead to drink wine and to be beautiful. And the train which had picked them at sunrise out of a waste of glaciers and hotels was waltzing at sunset round the walls of Verona.”

name

1. A surname.

noun

Etymology: From Middle English rounen, from Old English rūnian (“to whisper, talk low, talk secrets, consipre, talk secretly”), from Proto-Germanic *rūnōną (“to talk secrets, whisper, decide”), *raunijaną (“to investigate, examine, prove”), from Proto-Indo-European *(e)rewə-, *(e)rwō- (“to trace, find out, look out”). Cognate with Scots roun (“to converse with in whispers, speak privately”), Middle Low German rūnen (“to whisper”), Middle Dutch ruinen (“to whisper”), German raunen (“to whisper, murmur”), Old English rūn (“whisper, secret, mystery”), Swedish röna (“to meet with, experience”). More at rune.

1. A whisper; whispering.
2. Discourse; song.

prep

Etymology: From Middle English round, rounde, from Old Northern French roünt, rund, Old French ront, runt, reont ( > French rond), from both Late Latin retundus and the original Latin rotundus. The noun developed partly from the adjective and partly from the corresponding French noun rond. Doublet of rotund.

1. Alternative form of around.

   “I look round the room quickly to make sure it's neat.”

   “The serpent Error twines round human hearts.”

2. Alternative form of around.

   “The farmer fed his cow hay all the year round.”

verb

Etymology: From Middle English rounen, from Old English rūnian (“to whisper, talk low, talk secrets, consipre, talk secretly”), from Proto-Germanic *rūnōną (“to talk secrets, whisper, decide”), *raunijaną (“to investigate, examine, prove”), from Proto-Indo-European *(e)rewə-, *(e)rwō- (“to trace, find out, look out”). Cognate with Scots roun (“to converse with in whispers, speak privately”), Middle Low German rūnen (“to whisper”), Middle Dutch ruinen (“to whisper”), German raunen (“to whisper, murmur”), Old English rūn (“whisper, secret, mystery”), Swedish röna (“to meet with, experience”). More at rune.

1. To speak in a low tone; whisper; speak secretly; take counsel.
2. To address or speak to in a whisper, utter in a whisper.

   “rounded in the ear”

   “The Bishop of Glasgow rounding in his ear, "Ye are not a wise man," […] he rounded likewise to the bishop, and said, "Wherefore brought ye me here?"”