Rondel

Alternative forms

• rondelle (uncommon in the musical or poetic senses)
• (dagger) roundel

Origin

From Middle English, from Old French, a diminutive of ronde, the feminine of ront ("circular"), probably originally *redond, from Latin rotundus ("like a wheel, circular, round")., related to rota ("wheel").

Full definition of rondel

Noun

1. A metric form of verse using two rhymes, usually fourteen 8- to 10-syllable lines in three stanzas, with the first lines of the first stanza returning as refrain of the next two.
2. A poem in the above form.
3. The verse form rondeau.
4. A poem in the above rondeau form.
5. A rondelle, (small) circular object.
6. A long thin medieval dagger with a circular guard and a circular pommel (hence the name).
7. A small round tower erected at the foot of a bastion.

Synonyms

• roundel

Related terms

• rondelet
• rondo
• roundelay
• roundlet