Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
rondel [ron-dl, ron-del] ExamplesWord Origin noun
- Prosody. a short poem of fixed form, consisting usually of 14 lines on two rhymes, of which four are made up of the initial couplet repeated in the middle and at the end, with the second line of the couplet sometimes being omitted at the end.
- Theater. roundel(def 4).
Origin of rondel 1250–1300; Middle English Old French rondel, diminutive of rond round1 Examples from the Web for rondel Historical Examples of rondel
What shall I weave for thee—what shall I spin— Rondel, or rondeau, or virelai?
Various
She had saved the rondel, and it had been printed in the Monthly.
Julia Augusta Schwartz
Now young Rondel in this Precipice of his has done some splendid work.
Hugh Walpole
This he followed by English versions of the rondel, rondeau and villanelle.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 5
Various
Mr. Rondel would as soon have thought of buying a book as of paying for a stall.
Richard Le Gallienne
British Dictionary definitions for rondel rondel noun
- a rondeau consisting of three stanzas of 13 or 14 lines with a two-line refrain appearing twice or three times
- a figure in Scottish country dancing by means of which couples change position in the set
Word Origin for rondel C14: from Old French, literally: a little circle, from rond round Word Origin and History for rondel n.
late 14c. as a type of verse, from Old French rondel “short poem,” literally “small circle” (13c.), diminutive of roont (fem. roonde) “circular” (see round (adj.)). Metrical form of 14 lines with only two rhymes. So called because the initial couplet is repeated at the end.