What is "round"

Round \Round\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Rounded; p. pr. & vb. n. Rounding.]

1. To make circular, spherical, or cylindrical; to give a round or convex figure to; as, to round a silver coin; to round the edges of anything.

   Worms with many feet, which round themselves into balls, are bred chiefly under logs of timber.
   --Bacon.

   The figures on our modern medals are raised and rounded to a very great perfection.
   --Addison.

2. To surround; to encircle; to encompass.

   The inclusive verge Of golden metal that must round my brow.
   --Shak.

3. To bring to fullness or completeness; to complete; hence, to bring to a fit conclusion.

   We are such stuff As dreams are made on, and our little life Is rounded with a sleep.
   --Shak.

4. To go round wholly or in part; to go about (a corner or point); as, to round a corner; to round Cape Horn.

5. To make full, smooth, and flowing; as, to round periods in writing.
   --Swift.

   To round in (Naut.) To haul up; usually, to haul the slack of (a rope) through its leading block, or to haul up (a tackle which hangs loose) by its fall.
   --Totten. (b) To collect together (cattle) by riding around them, as on cattle ranches. [Western U.S.]

Round \Round\, v. i.

1. To grow round or full; hence, to attain to fullness, completeness, or perfection.

   The queen your mother rounds apace.
   --Shak.

   So rounds he to a separate mind, From whence clear memory may begin.
   --Tennyson.

2. To go round, as a guard. [Poetic]

   They . . . nightly rounding walk.
   --Milton.

3. To go or turn round; to wheel about.
   --Tennyson.

   To round to (Naut.), to turn the head of a ship toward the wind.

Round \Round\, adv.

1. On all sides; around.

   Round he throws his baleful eyes.
   --Milton.

2. Circularly; in a circular form or manner; by revolving or reversing one's position; as, to turn one's head round; a wheel turns round.

3. In circumference; as, a ball is ten inches round.

4. From one side or party to another; as to come or turn round, -- that is, to change sides or opinions.

5. By or in a circuit; by a course longer than the direct course; back to the starting point.

6. Through a circle, as of friends or houses.

   The invitations were sent round accordingly.
   --Sir W. Scott.

7. Roundly; fully; vigorously. [Obs.] --Chaucer. All round, over the whole place; in every direction. All-round, of general capacity; as, an all-round man. To bring one round.

   1. To cause one to change his opinions or line of conduct.

   2. To restore one to health. [Colloq.]

Round \Round\, prep. On every side of, so as to encompass or encircle; around; about; as, the people atood round him; to go round the city; to wind a cable round a windlass.

The serpent Error twines round human hearts.
--Cowper.

Round about, an emphatic form for round or about. ``Moses . . . set them [The elders] round about the tabernacle.''
--Num. xi. 24.

To come round, to gain the consent of, or circumvent, (a person) by flattery or deception. [Colloq.]

Round \Round\ (round), n.

1. Anything round, as a circle, a globe, a ring. ``The golden round'' [the crown].
   --Shak.

   In labyrinth of many a round self-rolled.
   --Milton.

2. A series of changes or events ending where it began; a series of like events recurring in continuance; a cycle; a periodical revolution; as, the round of the seasons; a round of pleasures.

3. Hence: A course ending where it began; a circuit; a beat; especially, one freguently or regulary traversed; also, the act of traversing a circuit; as, a watchman's round; the rounds of the postman.

4. A series of duties or tasks which must be performed in turn, and then repeated.

   the trivial round, the common task.
   --Keble.

5. Hence: (Mining, Tunneling) One work cycle, consisting of drilling blast holes, loading them with explosive, blasting, mucking out, and, if necessary, installing temporary support.

   . . . Inco is still much more advanced than other mining companies. He says that the LKAB mine in Sweden is the closest rival. He predicts that, by 2008, Inco can reach a new productivity plateau, doubling the current mining productivity from 3,350 tonnes to 6,350 tonnes per person per year. Another aim is to triple the mine cycle rate (the time to drill, blast and muck a round) from one cycle to three complete cycles per 24 hours.
   --http://www.canadianminingjournal.com/issues/apr00/page10.asp

6. A course of action or conduct performed by a number of persons in turn, or one after another, as if seated in a circle.

   Women to cards may be compared: we play A round or two; which used, we throw away.
   --Granville.

   The feast was served; the bowl was crowned; To the king's pleasure went the mirthful round.
   --Prior.

7. Hence: A complete set of plays in a game or contest covering a standard number of individual plays or parts; as, a round of golf; a round of tennis.

8. Hence: One set of games in a tournament.

9. The time during which prize fighters or boxers are in actual contest without an intermission, as prescribed by their rules; a bout.

10. A circular dance.

    Come, knit hands, and beat the ground, In a light fantastic round.
    --Milton.

11. That which goes round a whole circle or company; as, a round of applause.

12. Rotation, as in office; succession.
    --Holyday.

13. The step of a ladder; a rundle or rung; also, a crosspiece which joins and braces the legs of a chair.

    All the rounds like Jacob's ladder rise.
    --Dryden.

14. (Mil.)

    1. A walk performed by a guard or an officer round the rampart of a garrison, or among sentinels, to see that the sentinels are faithful and all things safe; also, the guard or officer, with his attendants, who performs this duty; -- usually in the plural.

    2. A general discharge of firearms by a body of troops in which each soldier fires once.

    3. One piece of ammunition for a firearm, used by discharging one piece at a time; as, each soldier carried a hundred rounds of ammunition.

15. (Mus.) A short vocal piece, resembling a catch in which three or four voices follow each other round in a species of canon in the unison.

16. A brewer's vessel in which the fermentation is concluded, the yeast escaping through the bunghole.

17. A vessel filled, as for drinking; as, to drink a round od ale together. [R.]

18. An assembly; a group; a circle; as, a round of politicians.
    --Addison.

19. (Naut.) See Roundtop.

20. Same as Round of beef, below. Gentlemen of the round.

    1. Gentlemen soldiers of low rank who made the rounds. See 10 (a), above.

    2. Disbanded soldiers who lived by begging. [Obs.]

       Worm-eaten gentlemen of the round, such as have vowed to sit on the skirts of the city, let your provost and his half dozen of halberdiers do what they can.
       --B. Jonson.

       Round of beef, the part of the thigh below the aitchbone, or between the rump and the leg. See Illust. of beef.

       Round steak, a beefsteak cut from the round.

       Sculpture in the round, sculpture giving the full form, as of man; statuary, distinguished from relief.

Round \Round\, v. i. & t. [From Roun.] To whisper. [obs.]
--Shak. Holland.

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?''
--Calderwood.

Round \Round\, a. [OF. roond, roont, reond, F. rond, fr. L. rotundus, fr. rota wheel. See Rotary, and cf. Rotund, roundel, Rundlet.]

1. Having every portion of the surface or of the circumference equally distant from the center; spherical; circular; having a form approaching a spherical or a circular shape; orbicular; globular; as, a round ball. ``The big, round tears.''
   --Shak.

   Upon the firm opacous globe Of this round world.
   --Milton.

2. Having the form of a cylinder; cylindrical; as, the barrel of a musket is round.

3. Having a curved outline or form; especially, one like the arc of a circle or an ellipse, or a portion of the surface of a sphere; rotund; bulging; protuberant; not angular or pointed; as, a round arch; round hills. ``Their round haunches gored.''
   --Shak.

4. Full; complete; not broken; not fractional; approximately in even units, tens, hundreds, thousands, etc.; -- said of numbers.

   Pliny put a round number near the truth, rather than the fraction.
   --Arbuthnot.

5. Not inconsiderable; large; hence, generous; free; as, a round price.

   Three thousand ducats; 'tis a good round sum.
   --Shak.

   Round was their pace at first, but slackened soon.
   --Tennyson.

6. Uttered or emitted with a full tone; as, a round voice; a round note.

7. (Phonetics) Modified, as a vowel, by contraction of the lip opening, making the opening more or less round in shape; rounded; labialized; labial. See Guide to Pronunciation, [sect] 11.

8. Outspoken; plain and direct; unreserved; unqualified; not mincing; as, a round answer; a round oath. ``The round assertion.''
   --M. Arnold.

   Sir Toby, I must be round with you.
   --Shak.

9. Full and smoothly expanded; not defective or abrupt; finished; polished; -- said of style, or of authors with reference to their style. [Obs.]

   In his satires Horace is quick, round, and pleasant.
   --Peacham.

10. Complete and consistent; fair; just; -- applied to conduct. Round dealing is the honor of man's nature. --Bacon. At a round rate, rapidly. --Dryden. In round numbers, approximately in even units, tens, hundreds, etc.; as, a bin holding 99 or 101 bushels may be said to hold in round numbers 100 bushels. Round bodies (Geom.), the sphere right cone, and right cylinder. Round clam (Zo["o]l.), the quahog. Round dance one which is danced by couples with a whirling or revolving motion, as the waltz, polka, etc. Round game, a game, as of cards, in which each plays on his own account. Round hand, a style of penmanship in which the letters are formed in nearly an upright position, and each separately distinct; -- distinguished from running hand. Round robin. [Perhaps F. round round + ruban ribbon.]

    1. A written petition, memorial, remonstrance, protest, etc., the signatures to which are made in a circle so as not to indicate who signed first. ``No round robins signed by the whole main deck of the Academy or the Porch.''
       --De Quincey.

    2. (Zo["o]l.) The cigar fish.

       Round shot, a solid spherical projectile for ordnance.

       Round Table, the table about which sat King Arthur and his knights. See Knights of the Round Table, under Knight.

       Round tower, one of certain lofty circular stone towers, tapering from the base upward, and usually having a conical cap or roof, which crowns the summit, -- found chiefly in Ireland. They are of great antiquity, and vary in heigh from thirty-five to one hundred and thiry feet.

       Round trot, one in which the horse throws out his feet roundly; a full, brisk, quick trot.
       --Addison.

       Round turn (Naut.), one turn of a rope round a timber, a belaying pin, etc.

       To bring up with a round turn, to stop abruptly. [Colloq.]

       Syn: Circular; spherical; globular; globase; orbicular; orbed; cylindrical; full; plump; rotund.

late 14c., "to make round," from round (adj.). Sense of "make a circuit round" is from 1590s. Sense of "bring to completeness" is from c.1600; meaning "to approximate (a number)" is from 1934. Meaning "turn round and face, turn on and assault" is from 1882. Round out "fill up" is from 1856. Related: Rounded; rounding.

late 13c., from Anglo-French rounde, Old French roont (12c., Modern French rond), probably originally *redond, from Vulgar Latin *retundus (source also of Provençal redon, Spanish redondo, Old Italian ritondo), from Latin rotundus "like a wheel, circular, round," related to rota "wheel" (see rotary).\n

\nAs an adverb from c.1300; as a preposition from c.1600. In many uses it is a shortened form of around. The French word is the source of Middle Dutch ront (Dutch rond), Middle High German runt (German rund) and similar Germanic words.\n

\nOf numbers from mid-14c., from earlier sense "full, complete, brought to completion" (mid-14c., notion of symmetry extended to that of completeness). First record of round trip is from 1844, originally of railways. Round heels attested from 1926, in reference to incompetent boxers, 1927 in reference to loose women, in either case implying an inability to avoid ending up flat on one's back.

early 14c., "a spherical body," from round (adj.) and Old French roond. Compare Dutch rond, Danish and Swedish rund, German runde, all nouns from adjectives. Meaning "large round piece of beef" is recorded from 1650s. Theatrical sense (in phrase in the round) is recorded from 1944. Sense of "circuit performed by a sentinel" is from 1590s; that of "recurring course of time" is from 1710. Meaning "song sung by two or more, beginning at different times" is from 1520s. Golfing sense attested from 1775. Meaning "quantity of liquor served to a company at one time" is from 1630s; that of "single bout in a fight or boxing match" is from 1812; "single discharge of a firearm" is from 1725. Sense of "recurring session of meetings or negotiations" is from 1964.

Etymology 1

1. 1 (label en physical) Shape. 2 # circular or cylindrical; having a circular cross-section in one direction. 3 # spherical; shaped like a ball; having a circular cross-section in more than one direction. 4 # Lacking sharp angles; having gentle curves. 5 # plump. 6 complete, whole, not lacking. 7 (label en of a number) Convenient for #Verbing other numbers to; for example, ending in a zero. 8 (label en linguistics) pronounce with the lips drawn together. 9 Outspoken; plain and direct; unreserved; not mincing. 10 Finished; polished; not defective or abrupt; said of authors or their writing style. 11 Consistent; fair; just; applied to conduct. adv. (alternative form of around English) n. 1 A circular or spherical object or part of an object. 2 A circular or repetitious route. prep. (context rare in US English) Alternative form of around. v

2. 1 (context transitive English) To shape something into a curve. 2 (context intransitive English) To become shaped into a curve. 3 (context with "out" English) To finish; to complete; to fill out. 4 (context intransitive English) To approximate a number, especially a decimal number by the closest whole number. 5 (context transitive English) To turn past a boundary. 6 (context intransitive English) To turn and attack someone or something (used with ''on''). 7 (context transitive baseball English) To advance to home plate. 8 (context transitive English) To go round, pass, go past. Etymology 2

   vb. 1 (context intransitive archaic or dialectal Northern England Scotland English) To speak in a low tone; whisper; speak secretly; take counsel. 2 (context transitive archaic or dialectal Northern England Scotland English) To address or speak to in a whisper, utter in a whisper. Etymology 3

   n. 1 (context archaic or dialectal Northern England Scotland English) A whisper; whispering. 2 (context archaic or dialectal Northern England Scotland English) discourse; song.

1. adj. having a circular shape [syn: circular] [ant: square]

2. (of sounds) full and rich; "orotund tones"; "the rotund and reverberating phrase"; "pear-shaped vowels" [syn: orotund, rotund, pear-shaped]

3. (of numbers) to the nearest ten, hundred, or thousand; "in round numbers"

adv. from beginning to end; throughout; "It rains all year round on Skye"; "frigid weather the year around" [syn: around]

1. n. a charge of ammunition for a single shot [syn: unit of ammunition, one shot]

2. an interval during which a recurring sequence of events occurs; "the neverending cycle of the seasons" [syn: cycle, rhythm]

3. a regular route for a sentry or policeman; "in the old days a policeman walked a beat and knew all his people by name" [syn: beat]

4. (often plural) a series of professional calls (usually in a set order); "the doctor goes on his rounds first thing every morning"; "the postman's rounds"; "we enjoyed our round of the local bars"

5. the activity of playing 18 holes of golf; "a round of golf takes about 4 hours" [syn: round of golf]

6. the usual activities in your day; "the doctor made his rounds" [syn: daily round]

7. (sports) a period of play during which one team is on the offensive [syn: turn, bout]

8. the course along which communications spread; "the story is going the rounds in Washington"

9. a serving to each of a group (usually alcoholic); "he ordered a second round" [syn: round of drinks]

10. a cut of beef between the rump and the lower leg

11. a partsong in which voices follow each other; one voice starts and others join in one after another until all are singing different parts of the song at the same time; "they enjoyed singing rounds" [syn: troll]

12. an outburst of applause; "there was a round of applause"

13. a crosspiece between the legs of a chair [syn: rung, stave]

14. any circular or rotating mechanism; "the machine punched out metal circles" [syn: circle]

1. v. wind around; move along a circular course; "round the bend"

2. make round; "round the edges" [syn: round out, round off]

3. be around; "Developments surround the town"; "The river encircles the village" [syn: surround, environ, encircle, circle, ring]

4. pronounce with rounded lips [syn: labialize, labialise]

5. attack in speech or writing; "The editors of the left-leaning paper attacked the new House Speaker" [syn: attack, assail, lash out, snipe, assault]

6. bring to a highly developed, finished, or refined state; "polish your social manners" [syn: polish, round off, polish up, brush up]

7. express as a round number; "round off the amount" [syn: round off, round down, round out]

8. become round, plump, or shapely; "The young woman is fleshing out" [syn: flesh out, fill out]

Round or rounds may refer to:

A round, in the esoteric cosmology of Theosophy, Anthroposophy and Rosicrucianism, is a cosmic cycle or sequence by which an evolving reincarnating being passes through the various stages of existence as the Earth, the Solar System or the Cosmos comes into and passes out of manifestation.

A round (also called a perpetual canon [canon perpetuus] or infinite canon) is a musical composition, a limited type of canon, in which a minimum of three voices sing exactly the same melody at the unison (and may continue repeating it indefinitely), but with each voice beginning at different times so that different parts of the melody coincide in the different voices, but nevertheless fit harmoniously together . It is one of the easiest forms of part singing, as only one line of melody need be learned by all parts, and is part of a popular musical tradition. They were particularly favoured in glee clubs, which combined amateur singing with regular drinking (, especially at 21: "Catch-singing is unthinkable without a supply of liquor to hand..."). The earliest known rounds date from the 12th century.

Though not all rounds are nursery rhymes, " Row, Row, Row Your Boat" is a well-known children's round for four voices. Other well-known examples are " Frère Jacques" and " Three Blind Mice" .

A catch is a round in which a phrase that is not apparent in a single line of lyrics emerges when the lyrics are split between the different voices. "Perpetual canon" refers to the end of the melody leading back to the beginning, allowing easy and immediate repetition. Often, "the final cadence is the same as the first measure" .

The surname Round may refer to:

• Barry Round (born 1950), Australian footballer (Australian rules football)
• Carina Round (born 1979), British singer-songwriter
• Charles Gray Round (1797–1867), British politician
• David Round (born 1978), Australian footballer (Australian rules football)
• Derek Round (c. 1935–2012), New Zealand journalist
• Gerry Round (1939–1969), English rugby league footballer
• H. J. Round (1881–1966), English engineer
• J. Horace Round (1854–1928), English genealogist and historian
• Jack Round (1903–1936), English footballer (association football)
• James Round (1842–1916), English cricketer and politician
• Jeffrey Round, Canadian writer, director and composer
• Nathan Round (born 1980), English cricketer
• Paul Round (born 1963), British rugby league footballer
• Steve Round (born 1970), English football player and coach (association football)
• Thomas Round (born 1915), English opera singer and actor