What is "round table"

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.

Table \Ta"ble\, n. [F., fr. L. tabula a board, tablet, a painting. Cf. Tabular, Taffrail, Tavern.]

1. A smooth, flat surface, like the side of a board; a thin, flat, smooth piece of anything; a slab.

   A bagnio paved with fair tables of marble.
   --Sandys.

2. A thin, flat piece of wood, stone, metal, or other material, on which anything is cut, traced, written, or painted; a tablet; pl. a memorandum book. ``The names . . . written on his tables.''
   --Chaucer.

   And the Lord said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first, and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest.
   --Ex. xxxiv. 1.

   And stand there with your tables to glean The golden sentences.
   --Beau. & Fl.

3. Any smooth, flat surface upon which an inscription, a drawing, or the like, may be produced. ``Painted in a table plain.''
   --Spenser.

   The opposite walls are painted by Rubens, which, with that other of the Infanta taking leave of Don Philip, is a most incomparable table.
   --Evelyn.

   St. Antony has a table that hangs up to him from a poor peasant.
   --Addison.

4. Hence, in a great variety of applications: A condensed statement which may be comprehended by the eye in a single view; a methodical or systematic synopsis; the presentation of many items or particulars in one group; a scheme; a schedule. Specifically:

   1. (Bibliog.) A view of the contents of a work; a statement of the principal topics discussed; an index; a syllabus; a synopsis; as, a table of contents.

   2. (Chem.) A list of substances and their properties; especially, the a list of the elementary substances with their atomic weights, densities, symbols, etc.

   3. (Mach.) Any collection and arrangement in a condensed form of many particulars or values, for ready reference, as of weights, measures, currency, specific gravities, etc.; also, a series of numbers following some law, and expressing particular values corresponding to certain other numbers on which they depend, and by means of which they are taken out for use in computations; as, tables of logarithms, sines, tangents, squares, cubes, etc.; annuity tables; interest tables; astronomical tables, etc.

   4. (Palmistry) The arrangement or disposition of the lines which appear on the inside of the hand.

      Mistress of a fairer table Hath not history for fable.
      --B. Jonson.

5. An article of furniture, consisting of a flat slab, board, or the like, having a smooth surface, fixed horizontally on legs, and used for a great variety of purposes, as in eating, writing, or working.

   We may again Give to our tables meat.
   --Shak.

   The nymph the table spread.
   --Pope.

6. Hence, food placed on a table to be partaken of; fare; entertainment; as, to set a good table.

7. The company assembled round a table.

   I drink the general joy of the whole table.
   --Shak.

8. (Anat.) One of the two, external and internal, layers of compact bone, separated by diplo["e], in the walls of the cranium.

9. (Arch.) A stringcourse which includes an offset; esp., a band of stone, or the like, set where an offset is required, so as to make it decorative. See Water table.

10. (Games)

    1. The board on the opposite sides of which backgammon and draughts are played.

    2. One of the divisions of a backgammon board; as, to play into the right-hand table.

    3. pl. The games of backgammon and of draughts. [Obs.]
       --Chaucer.

       This is the ape of form, monsieur the nice, That, when he plays at tables, chides the dice.
       --Shak.

11. (Glass Manuf.) A circular plate of crown glass.

    A circular plate or table of about five feet diameter weighs on an average nine pounds.
    --Ure.

12. (Jewelry) The upper flat surface of a diamond or other precious stone, the sides of which are cut in angles.

13. (Persp.) A plane surface, supposed to be transparent and perpendicular to the horizon; -- called also perspective plane.

14. (Mach.) The part of a machine tool on which the work rests and is fastened.

    Bench table, Card table, Communion table, Lord's table, etc. See under Bench, Card, etc.

    Raised table (Arch. & Sculp.), a raised or projecting member of a flat surface, large in proportion to the projection, and usually rectangular, -- especially intended to receive an inscription or the like.

    Roller table (Horology), a flat disk on the arbor of the balance of a watch, holding the jewel which rolls in and out of the fork at the end of the lever of the escapement.

    Round table. See Dictionary of Noted Names in Fiction.

    Table anvil, a small anvil to be fastened to a table for use in making slight repairs.

    Table base. (Arch.) Same as Water table.

    Table bed, a bed in the form of a table.

    Table beer, beer for table, or for common use; small beer.

    Table bell, a small bell to be used at table for calling servants.

    Table cover, a cloth for covering a table, especially at other than mealtimes.

    Table diamond, a thin diamond cut with a flat upper surface.

    Table linen, linen tablecloth, napkins, and the like.

    Table money (Mil. or Naut.), an allowance sometimes made to officers over and above their pay, for table expenses.

    Table rent (O. Eng. Law), rent paid to a bishop or religious, reserved or appropriated to his table or housekeeping.
    --Burrill.

    Table shore (Naut.), a low, level shore.

    Table talk, conversation at table, or at meals.

    Table talker, one who talks at table.

    Table tipping, Table turning, certain movements of tables, etc., attributed by some to the agency of departed spirits, and by others to the development of latent vital or spriritual forces, but more commonly ascribed to the muscular force of persons in connection with the objects moved, or to physical force applied otherwise.

    Tables of a girder or Tables of a chord (Engin.), the upper and lower horizontal members.

    To lay on the table, in parliamentary usage, to lay, as a report, motion, etc., on the table of the presiding officer, -- that is, to postpone the consideration of, by a vote; -- also called to table . It is a tactic often used with the intention of postponing consideration of a motion indefinitely, that is, to kill the motion.

    To serve tables (Script.), to provide for the poor, or to distribute provisions for their wants.
    --Acts vi. 2.

    To turn the tables, to change the condition or fortune of contending parties; -- a metaphorical expression taken from the vicissitudes of fortune in gaming.

    Twelve tables (Rom. Antiq.), a celebrated body of Roman laws, framed by decemvirs appointed 450 years before Christ, on the return of deputies or commissioners who had been sent to Greece to examine into foreign laws and institutions. They consisted partly of laws transcribed from the institutions of other nations, partly of such as were altered and accommodated to the manners of the Romans, partly of new provisions, and mainly, perhaps, of laws and usages under their ancient kings.
    --Burrill.

n. 1 A conference at which participants of similar status discuss and exchange views 2 A television show segment in which pundits or reporters discuss current events. 3 (&lit round table English)

1. n. a meeting of peers for discussion and exchange of views; "a roundtable on the future of computing" [syn: roundtable, round-table conference]

2. the legendary circular table for King Arthur and his knights [syn: King Arthur's Round Table]

The Round Table is King Arthur's famed table in the Arthurian legend, around which he and his Knights congregate. As its name suggests, it has no head, implying that everyone who sits there has equal status. The table was first described in 1155 by Wace, who relied on previous depictions of Arthur's fabulous retinue. The symbolism of the Round Table developed over time; by the close of the 12th century it had come to represent the chivalric order associated with Arthur's court, the Knights of the Round Table.

The Round Table is the legendary gathering place of King Arthur's knights in the Arthurian legend.

Round Table or roundtable may also refer to:

• Round table (discussion), an assembly for discussion of a particular topic among participants, especially at an academic conference
• Round table (furniture), a circular table with no straight-edged sides

Round Table (April 6, 1954 – June 13, 1987) was an American Thoroughbred Hall of Fame racehorse. He is considered the greatest turf horse in American racing history.

A Round Table was a festive event during the Middle Ages that involved jousting, feasting, and dancing in imitation of King Arthur's legendary court. Named for Arthur's famed Round Table, the festivals generally involved jousts with blunted weapons, and often celebrated weddings or victories. In some cases participants dressed in the costume of such well-known knights as Lancelot, Tristan, and Palamedes. The first recorded instance of this activity was in 1223, when the Crusader lord of Beirut held one in Cyprus to celebrate the knighting of his eldest sons.

Round Table is a Japanese pop band known mostly for their Anime soundtracks. They are most popularly known in the Anime demographic for their hit single, "Let Me Be With You" - the opening song for the anime Chobits. The band was formed in 1997 with Katsutoshi Kitagawa (vocals, guitar, and bass guitar) and Rieko Ito (vocals and keyboard) as band members. In 2002, Nino joined as a guest vocalist. Nino provides the main vocals for the songs while Kitagawa provides backing vocals. Since then their songs have often been credited as "ROUND TABLE featuring Nino". The name of the album April came from Nino's birth-month.

Round Table is a social networking and charitable organisation for men in their 20s, 30s and early 40s, founded in Norwich, in 1927. It is open to all men aged between 18 and 45 (originally 40, which is still retained as the age limit in most countries outside the United Kingdom and Ireland). Membership of Table provides a selection of social and community service related opportunities for its members, who come from all parts of the community.

The name "Round Table" is not directly drawn from Arthurian Legend; rather both its title and its maxim comes from a speech made to the British Industries Fair in 1927 by the then HRH Prince Edward, Prince of Wales 'The young business and professional men of this country must get together round the table, adopt methods that have proved so sound in the past, adapt them to the changing needs of the times and wherever possible, improve them'. The phrase "adopt, adapt, improve" is a key facet of the organisation, and is often seen on Round Table literature and regalia.

Round table is a form of academic discussion. Participants agree on a specific topic to discuss and debate. Each person is given equal right to participate, as illustrated by the idea of a circular layout referred to in the term round table.

Round-table discussions, together with houses of hospitality and agronomic universities, is one of the key elements of the Catholic Worker Movement, as formulated by Peter Maurin, one of the co-founders of the movement.

Round table discussions are also a common feature of political talk shows. Talk shows such as Washington Week and Meet the Press have roundtables of reporters or pundits. Most of these are done around a table in a studio, but occasionally they report in split-screen from remote locations. Some sports shows, such as ESPN's Around the Horn, employ the round table format.