roundelay
UK /ˈɹaʊndɪˌleɪ/ · US /ˈɹaʊndəˌleɪ/ noun
Forms roundelays rondelay
- noun (music) A poem or song having a line or phrase repeated at regular intervals.
- noun A dance in a circle.
- noun Anything having a round form; a roundel.
Etymology
From Middle French rondelet, diminutive of Old French rondel (French: rondeau). Ending -lay either from lay (“ballad or sung poem”), or from virelay.
Webster’s 1913
- noun See Rondeau, and Rondel.
- noun (a) A tune in which a simple strain is often repeated; a simple rural strain which is short and lively. Spenser. Tennyson.
Etymology [OF. rondelet, dim. of rondel. See Roundel, Roundeau, and cf. Roundlet, Rundlet.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “roundelay”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details