Round
ROUND (O. Fr. rond, Lat. rolundus, the Fr. is the source also of Du. rond; Ger.-, Swed., Dan. and Nor. rund), circular, spherical, globular. As a substantive, the word has several specific applications; thus it is used of the rung of a ladder, of a rounded cross-bar connecting the legs of a chair, of the circuit of the watch under an officer which patrols the sentries in a fortress, fortified town, camp or other military station, and hence of the beat or customary course of a policeman, a postman, or a tradesman, and of the full course at such a game as golf. Similarly there were old dances called " rounds," in which the dancers stood in a circle or ring. They were popular in the 16th and 17th centuries. Later the name was also applied to country dances where the dancers stood in two lines. For the " round " in music see CANON. A complaint or remonstrance signed by a number of persons is commonly known as a "round robin "; properly such a document should have the signatures arranged in a circle, the idea being that thus the order in which the complainants signed should be unknown. In the 16th century " round robin " was a name of mockery given to the Eucharist.
Note - this article incorporates content from Encyclopaedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, (1910-1911)
