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 (?), 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 (?), 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. 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.
4. A series of duties or tasks which must be
performed in turn, and then repeated.
the trivial round, the common task.
Keble.
5. A circular dance.
Come, knit hands, and beat the ground,
In a light fantastic round.
Milton.
6. That which goes round a whole circle or
company; as, a round of applause.
7. Rotation, as in office; succession.
Holyday.
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. (Mil.) (a) 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. (b) A
general discharge of firearms by a body of troops in which each
soldier fires once. (c) Ammunition for
discharging a piece or pieces once; as, twenty rounds of
ammunition were given out.
11. (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.
12. The time during which prize fighters or
boxers are in actual contest without an intermission, as prescribed by
their rules; a bout.
13. A brewer's vessel in which the
fermentation is concluded, the yeast escaping through the
bunghole.
14. A vessel filled, as for drinking.
[R.]
15. An assembly; a group; a circle; as, a
round of politicians. Addison.
16. (Naut.) See
Roundtop.
17. Same as Round of beef,
below.
Gentlemen of the round. (a)
Gentlemen soldiers of low rank who made the rounds. See 10
(a), above. (b) 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, 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. [Colloq.] -- To
bring one round. (a) To cause one to
change his opinions or line of conduct. (b)
To restore one to health. [Colloq.]
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, 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, § 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
(Zoöl.), 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.] (a)
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.
(b) (Zoöl.) 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.
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.]