roundnessn.
/ˈraʊn(d)nəs/, U.S. /ˈraʊn(d)nəs/ 1. The circumference or outer surface of something, esp. the earth. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > curvature > roundness > [noun] > circularity > a circle > circumference
compass1340
circuita1382
roundnessa1382
circumference1393
circlea1400
round?a1500
circumstance1509
apsis1601
ambit1655
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Wisd. i. 7 The Spirit of the Lord fulfilde the rondnesse of londis [L. orbem terrarum].
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Dan. iii. 45 Thou art the Lord God aloone, and glorious vpon the roundenesse of erthes [L. orbem terrarum].
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 45 Þe roundenesse [?a1475 anon. tr. compasse; L. ambitus] of þe worlde aboute is þre hundred siþes and fiftene siþes an hondred þowsand paas.
?a1425 (c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 124 (MED) Þan þei ben xxxj ml. & dc myles, euery of viij furlonges..So moche hath the erthe in roundness [Fr. reondure].
a1532 R. Thorne in R. Hakluyt Diuers Voy. (1582) sig. C Under the which is comprehended al the roundnesse of the earth.
1591 E. Spenser Ruines of Time in Complaints sig. R2v One would weene, that one sole Cities strength Both land and sea in roundnes had suruew'd.
1604 E. Grimeston tr. J. de Acosta Nat. & Morall Hist. Indies i. ii. 6 These two elements, having their bounds and limits within their own roundnes and greatnes.
1694 P. A. Motteux tr. F. Rabelais 5th Bk. Wks. xliii. 196 Each pillar's length..was near seven Hands, taking an exact Demension of its Diameter through the Centre of its Circumference and inward Roundness.
1748 T. Nugent tr. C. Lancelot et al. Primitives Greek Tongue 85 Ίπυς, circumfrentia, roundness, circumference.
1861 Harper's Mag. Sept. 483 That far horizon which seemed to compass the roundness of the globe.
1915 F. T. Jesse Beggars on Horseback 166 The shining network of railroads formed a web over the roundness of the world.
2005 J. Iversen 21 151 Carved white heads sat on plinths, spaced evenly around the roundness of the room.
2. † b. In the geocentric model of the universe: one of the concentric spheres surrounding and revolving around the earth, in which the moon, sun, planets, and fixed stars were thought to be set. Cf. sphere n. 2a. Obsolete.† c. A circular course; an orbit; a spiral or ring. Obsolete.
a. A round object; something having a rounded shape or form, (in early use esp.) the end of a bone.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > curvature > roundness > [noun] > a circle, ring, or sphere
trendlea900
roundnessa1382
compassc1384
rotundity?a1425
rundlea1425
rondure1609
rotundant1661
rotund1729
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1963) 3 Kings vii. 35 In þe cop..of þe foot was a maner roundnesse [L. rotunditas] of a cubite & half so forgid þat þe watir vessel myȝte be sett þer abouen.
a1400 tr. Lanfranc Sci. Cirurgie (Ashm.) (1894) 23 (MED) Summe [bones] þer ben þat þe roundnes of þe boon myȝte entre into þe holownes of þat oþer boon.
?c1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (Paris) (1971) 65 (MED) In þe vttre partye ben holownesses icleped pixides..in þe whiche þe roundenessis of þe bones beþ receyued of the þighes.
a1500 (?c1425) Speculum Sacerdotale (1936) 116 (MED) The cresome þat is put on the childis hede haþ withyn it a roundnys, and þat roundenes betokeneþ the crowne of lyf.
c1550 Complaynt Scotl. (1979) vi. 43 Ane grit roundnes of lycht, sal gyf lycht to mair nor the half of ane les roundnes.
1580 C. Hollyband Treasurie French Tong Condyle, the roundenesse or knots in the knee, anckle, elbow, and knuckles.
1627 R. Bernard Guide Grand-iury Men ii. 18 A poore boy of Fichley in Northamptonshire,..was suddenly surprised with a vehement conuulsion, drawing his head and heeles violently backward, carrying his whole body into a roundnesse.
1631 D. Widdowes tr. W. A. Scribonius Nat. Philos. (new ed.) 45 Lettise hath his leaves gathered into a curled roundnesse.
1708 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 26 112 'Twas all over cover'd with a great number of exceeding small rising roundnesses.
1799 S. T. Coleridge Let. 19 May in New Monthly Mag. (1835) 45 223 Now they were in cones, now in roundnesses, now in tongue-like lengths.
1876 W. E. Wilcox Spa Sketches 35 He seems to be made up of all imaginable delicate curves, and roundnesses.
1896 E. A. Vizetelly tr. E. Zola Rome xiv. 507 The dome was but a huge roundness scarcely discernible against the moonless sky.
1925 D. H. Lawrence St. Mawr 77 The rocks..heavy with age-moulded roundnesses.
1986 F. Adcock Incident Bk. 159 After that rippling smoothness, after nothing but a flow of curves and roundnesses in water.
1989 C. Shields Orange Fish 23 His scalp, a large roundness resembling..a wreath of pink plastic.
2004 W. J. Jackson Heaven's Fractal Net 268/1 Fruits and nuts, the sun and moon and other roundnesses which mean much to humans.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > celestial sphere > zone of celestial sphere > sphere of ancient astronomy > [noun]
liftOE
heavenOE
wheelc1175
welkina1325
spherec1374
elementc1384
firmamentc1386
roundnessa1398
movablec1400
orbc1449
concavity1483
concameration1625
subcelestial1644
orbit1727
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. viii. vi. 457 Þe seuen roundenes of planetes beþ vndir [the] spere, eueryche metinge and croisinge oþir.
?a1425 Mandeville's Trav. (Egerton) (1889) 90 (MED) We schuld hafe sene all þe roundeness of þe firmament, þat es to say, bathe þe emisperies, þe vppermare and þe nedermare.
c1450 (?a1422) J. Lydgate Life Our Lady (Durh.) v. l. 3 (MED) Thow lord, whose light discendyth fro so ferre With-howten whome phebus ne no sterre Thorowe the roundenesse of the speres nyne, Vpon heven power hath to shyne.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > movement in circle or curve > [noun] > movement in circle > circular course
ringeOE
virona1380
environa1382
roundness?c1425
circuit1483
orbicular1523
round1539
bouta1542
rundle1574
ring road1828
orbit1831
ring-around1894
the world > space > shape > curvature > coil > [noun]
rundlec1300
waif1513
enwrapping1543
convolution1545
entrail?a1549
wreath1555
roundness1572
spire1572
rolling1576
enfold1578
infold1578
obvolution1578
gyre1590
whorl1592
enfoldment1593
twine1600
turn1625
volume1646
volution1752
swirl1786
coil1805
swirling1825
convolute1846
whirl1862
enfolding1873
snaking1888
?c1425 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Cambr. Ii.3.21) (1886) iv. met. vi. 112 Yif þat he ne constreynede hem nat efte sones in to Rowndnesses [?c1400 BL Add. roundenesse] enclynede the thinges þat ben now continued by stable ordinaunce, they sholden departen from hir welle.
1572 J. Jones Bathes of Bathes Ayde ii. f. 14 They framed brasen pypes, which they rouled into many roundnesses, so ye pypes did resemble the Spyres of a Dragon.
3.
a. The quality or condition of being round or curved in shape.out-of-roundness: see out-of-roundness n. at out-of-round adj. and n. Derivatives.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > curvature > roundness > [noun]
roundnessa1387
rotunditya1513
roundure1600
globiness1611
orbicularness1611
rotundness1727
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1871) III. 427 (MED) Þe bal, for þe roundenesse [L. rotunditatem] þerof, tokeneþ þat I schal be lord and emperour of al þe worlde wyde.
?c1400 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (BL Add. 10340) (1868) v. pr. iv. l. 4764 Þe same roundenes of a body..oþer weyes þe syȝt of þe eye knoweþ it, and oþer weyes þe touching.
c1475 ( Surg. Treat. in MS Wellcome 564 f. 113v (MED) Þis fisch Cancer or crabbe passiþ in roundnesse alle oþir fischis.
1483 ( tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage of Soul (Caxton) v. xiv. f. cvijv In a round spere ne ben no mo partes of shap but only the roundenes.
1545 R. Ascham Toxophilus ii. f. 14 Roundnesse..is fittest shappe and forme..for fast mouing.
1590 J. Stockwood Eng. Accidence 48 The depth, height, squarenes, roundnes, of a thing.
1642 T. Fuller Holy State iii. xxii. 213 The diamond hinders the roundnesse of the ring.
a1681 G. Wharton Eclipses in Wks. (1683) 103 That the Mountains of the Earth are not to be compared to the bigness thereof, the equal roundness of the Shadow tells us.
1701 J. Norris Ess. Ideal World I. ii. 99 Roundness being comprehended in the idea of a circle.
1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth VIII. 149 A figure which bears some resemblance to..the roundness of a kernel.
1832 D. Brewster Lett. Nat. Magic vi. 148 Distant objects concealed by the roundness of the earth.
1883 G. Stables Our Friend the Dog vii. 59 Apple-headed, the roundness of the top of the skull.
1910 Amer. Engineer & Railroad Jrnl. Nov. 425/2 The tests effectively demonstrated the necessity for improvement in the roundness of car wheels.
1966 ‘Han Suyin’ Mortal Flower viii. 174 In all the markets, the mooncakes..parade their roundness in all the foodshops, light, feathery, moon-white.
2003 R. MacFarlane Mountains of Mind (2004) ii. 50 My most sought-after specimens from the hillsides were lumps of rose quartz, tumbled into roundness by the rivers.
b. Plumpness; fullness (of figure, etc.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > bodily shape or physique > broad shape or physique > [noun] > fat or plump shape or physique > state of having
fatnessc1000
greasea1340
corsiousnessc1440
fleshiness1541
plumpness1545
corporateness1547
fogginess1547
fleshliness1552
corpulency1577
corpulence1581
corsiness1587
fullness1599
obesity1611
pinguitude1623
obeseness1653
aletude1656
portliness1658
eventriqueness1667
rotundity1684
fat1726
rotundness1727
bloatedness1732
embonpoint1751
roundness1763
repleteness1770
plumpitude1828
corporosity1837
stoutness1838
crumb1843
plumptitude1843
roundedness1849
chubbiness1850
adiposeness1868
roundliness1870
buxomness1875
bloat1905
tubbiness1906
poundage1915
overweight1917
endomorphy1940
plumpishness1947
pudge1967
morbid obesity1969
1566 T. Blundeville Bredynge of Horses iv. f. 14, in Fower Offices Horsemanshippe Let hys whole body together, haue roundenes according to his length.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Pommelure, plumpenesse, roundnesse; also daplenesse.
1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 38. ⁋1 Her Fan was to point to somewhat at a Distance, that in the Reach she may discover the Roundness of her Arm.
1763 H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Painting III. i. 51 He..caught the roundness of his flesh, but with a disagreable lividness.
1829 E. Bulwer-Lytton Devereux I. i. ii. 13 His figure..destitute of the roundness and elasticity of youth.
1886 G. R. Sims Ring o' Bells ii. iv. 64 Of late the little face had lost its roundness.
1940 W. H. Sheldon Varieties of Human Physique i. 5 Endomorphy means relative predominance of soft roundness throughout the various regions of the body.
1964 McCall's Sewing in Colour i. 11/1 Select medium-weight fabrics which drape nicely and add roundness.
1988 W. Horwood Duncton Quest xiii. 190 His stomach had a pleasing roundness and his face was cheerful.
2009 B. Popkin World is Fat v. 116 BMI is a measure of body roundness. It's a crude approximation of the amount of our body fat.
4.
a. The quality of being skilfully expressed; elegance of language or style. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > elegance > [noun]
facunda1340
rhetoricc1405
elegancy?a1475
elegance?1504
facundity1530
grace1530
festivity1542
roundness1557
concinnity1577
style1589
comptness1611
politeness1627
concinneness1655
speakingness1851
style1851
daintiness1878
yugen1921
simplex munditiis1933
1557 J. Cheke Let. 16 July in T. Hoby tr. B. Castiglione Courtyer (1561) (ad fin.) The roundnes of your saienges and welspeakinges of the saam.
1579 E. K. in E. Spenser Shepheardes Cal. Ep. Ded. §1 The whole Period and compasse of speache so delightsome for the roundnesse.
a1620 M. Fotherby Atheomastix (1622) Pref. sig. B5v I haue..hindered not the context, and roundnesse of the speech.
1698 W. Turner Let. in M. Henry Acct. Life & Death P. Henry 214 I never found any every way so accomplished, for clearness and quickness of apprehension, solidity of Judgment, and roundness of Style.
1727 N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict. II. at Stile The roundness of periods charms the ear, and affects the mind.
1741 C. Middleton Hist. Life Cicero (1742) III. xii. 321 That roundness of speaking, as the ancients called it, where there was nothing either redundant or deficient.
1856 R. W. Emerson Eng. Traits xiv. 235 A good writer, if he has indulged in a Roman roundness, makes haste to chasten and nerve his period by English monosyllables.
1871 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues I. 568 Are you and I expected to praise..only the clearness, and roundness, and accuracy, and tournure of the language?
1905 M. Winkler in tr. J. W. von Goethe Iphigenie auf Tauris p. lxv A greater roundness of expression and a larger epic breadth distinguish many passages of the final version.
b. The quality of being fully developed or realized; completeness, esp. of character.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > completeness > [noun]
wholeheadc1450
absoluteness1551
completeness1628
complement1643
impartialitya1716
completion1752
roundness1756
roundedness1849
completedness1862
1756 W. Guthrie tr. Quinctilianus Inst. Eloquence iv. iii. 250 Roundness in a Narrative..is a certain powerful Operation of Language, which not only speaks the Truth, but in some measure paints it to our Eyes.
1787 J. Whitaker Mary Queen of Scots Vindicated III. vi. 93 To lend a fullness and a roundness to this stroke of the pencil, I must add; that the anguish of mind..had a previous tendency to throw her into fits of fainting.
a1832 F. D. Maurice Moral & Metaphysical Philos. in Encycl. Metrop. (1845) II. 604/1 It is a set-off against this consideration, that roundness and completeness are the great characteristics of Aristotle.
1879 Academy 4 May 452/3 Her characters lack the roundness and fullness of actuality.
1927 E. M. Forster Aspects of Novel iv. 98 Dickens's people are nearly all flat (Pip and David Copperfield attempt roundness, but so diffidently that they seem more like bubbles than solids).
1995 Atlantic Oct. 40/1 (advt.) At twenty-nine Terfel has already proved himself the rare sort of artist who can capture complex characters in all their roundness.
2008 J. Belton in J. Beck & T. Grajeda Lowering Boom i. 29 Greed, lust, jealousy, or guilt—elements that are generally considered to supply psychological depth or roundness to characters.
5.
a. Uprightness, straightforwardness; openness. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > sincerity, freedom from deceit > [noun] > frankness, straightforwardness
plainness1465
plain dealinga1529
freeness1548
roundness1557
ingenuity1614
apertness1618
downrightness1628
unconspiringness1661
frankness1668
even downa1679
undisguise1804
forthcomingness1808
undisguisedness1814
overtness1865
forthrightness1873
1557 Bible (Whittingham) Rom. Argt. Euery man to walke in roundnes of conscience in his vocation.
1586 T. Bowes tr. P. de la Primaudaye French Acad. I. 424 Let all faining and dissimulation be banished from vs, and all roundnes and integritie of hart and manners appeere in all our actions.
1628 R. Le Grys tr. J. Barclay Argenis ii. 126 Gelanorus knowing him to be of a most cleare roundnesse, turned out of his way to him.
a1649 W. Drummond Hist. Scotl. (1655) 38 The roundness of his intentions and his honesty.
1710 E. Curll Impartial Exam. Lord Bishop of Salisbury's, Oxford's, Lincoln's & Norwich's Speeches 10 I shall endeavour to..the Subject with the plain Roundness it deserves.
a1847 T. Chalmers Serm. & Disc. (1873) I. ix. 437 I can only judge the roundness of your principles by their effects.
1931 E. Bliss Saraband iv. 212 There was a clarity, a roundness, a luminosity about early emotions, that later on, tinctured and muddied by a growing experience, one did not get.
b. Boldness or severity (of speech); vehemence.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > plainness > [noun] > bluntness or matter-of-factness
unmithea1325
roundness1568
plumpness1618
broadness1685
straightforwardness1805
matter-of-factness1816
flatness1887
1568 N. Throckmorton Let. 14 Mar. in F. Bacon Scrinia Ceciliana (1663) 157 You will use some roundness of speech by way of complaint there.
1619 Visct. Doncaster Let. in S. R. Gardiner Lett. Relations Eng. & Germany (1865) 1st Ser. 103 I returned this rough answere... For which roundnes, though I have sufficient warrant.., yet it may be I should have spared some part of the harshnes.
1624 E. Bolton Nero Caesar xxii. 69 Impudent vntruthes, or (to vse his owne rough roundnesse) lyes.
1786 Lady's Mag. Mar. 121/1 The charge is heavy and pointed, with a roundness of assertion which staggers me.
1847 J. Eccleston Introd. Eng. Antiq. vi. 319 The masculine daughter of the bluff Harry was particularly distinguished by the terrible vigour and roundness of her oaths.
1896 P. A. Bruce Econ. Hist. Virginia I. viii. 521 The sailors swore with equal roundness that they had transported themselves at their own expense.
1946 G. Woodcock W. Godwin iv. 118 The faithful Marshal..took it upon himself to condemn the novel with all the roundness that Godwinian sincerity demanded.
1998 A. Peredes Shadow 110 The brigadier..swore with the roundness and verve of a Spaniard.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > vigour or energy > [noun] > vigour or intensity of action
keenness1600
emphasis1604
roundness1616
vigoura1630
vivacity1652
intensity1830
incision1862
intensiveness1892
1616 G. Hakewill Answere Treat. D. Carier ii. 206 What Henry the VIII acted in that regard, was but a manifestation of the intents and desires of his predecessors, which they durst not fully expresse, and what they enacted, a preparatiue to the roundnesse of his proceedings.
1629 Decl. Apprehension Bp. Chalcedon 36 [That] they and every of them proceed with all diligence and roundness..against the said Smith.
1709 J. Strype Ann. Reformation iv. 83 Had it not been for Cecyl's Widsom, Diligence, and Interest with the Queen, in all likelihood it had not proceeded with that Roundness it did.
7. The quality or property of being a round number. Frequently with of.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > [noun] > particular qualities > whole
unitya1398
integer1571
integrum1594
roundnessa1654
unit1679
lateral1706
natural number1763
natural1971
a1654 J. Richardson Choice Observ. & Explan. Old Test. (1655) 65 [Three hundred years] And four or five over, which are omitted for the roundnesse of the number.
1694 J. Edwards Disc. conc. Old & New-Test. II. iv. 136 Some think the Year of Iubilee is call'd the Fiftieth Year, Lev. 25. 10. meerly for the Evenness or Roundness of the Number.
1718 J. Chamberlayne tr. B. Nieuwentyt Relig. Philosopher I. ii. xvii. 379 To avoid any mistake, and for the roundness of Number, we will suppose it to be no more than 20,000 Pounds.
1797 J. Bentham in Ann. Agric. 29 417 The rate of mortality [was] taken from Dr. Halley's Breslaw Table, which on account of the roundness of the assumed number of influents (1000) seemed most convenient.
1841–8 F. Myers Catholic Thoughts II. iv. §34. 352 A certain roundness of numbers..we may readily anticipate, when whole centuries are in question.
1897 F. W. Maitland Domesday Bk. & Beyond 202 The roundness of the sum that they pay seems indeed to hint at some arrangement between the king and the burgesses taken in mass.
1917 Trans. Amer. Soc. Civil Engineers 81 1515 The roundness of these sums suggests that they were not arrived at by mathematically capitalizing earnings.
1973 Stephens Sources Eng. Local Hist. ii. 32 Some, by reason of the roundness of the figures, are clearly estimates.
2009 G. Sams Sun of God 232 It is often apparent, from the roundness of astronomical numbers, that there is considerable uncertainty over actual distance, size, etc.
8.
a. Fullness, mellowness, or clarity of sound.
ΚΠ
1732 A. Hill Let. 5 Jan. in Wks. (1753) I. 114 He will throw it off, with a good intelligible roundness of voice.
1815 Times 5 Jan. 3/4 Her voice, gradually more accustomed to the capacity of the house, is acquiring the roundness that was alone wanting to her perfect delivery.
1876 Ladies' Repository July 48/2 Connoisseurs have at all times preferred the tone of Antonio Amati's violins, with their soft and yet full roundness,..to the tone of his brother's instruments.
1961 Galpin Soc. Jrnl. 14 24 Reeds with a ‘cover’, i.e. a tube in which the air vibrates only in a secondary sense, not producing the sound but simply adding roundness and timbre.
2006 C. Walton Sound Bites i. 13 Popov's tessitura had been violated, but all other features of his voice—his phrasing, his roundness of tone, his agility—had not.
b. Mellowness or richness of flavour.
ΚΠ
1826 Times 6 Nov. 4/2 A roundness and an uniformity of flavour is produced, which otherwise would be unattainable.
1904 B. Kennedy Tramp in Spain xiv. 222 I had been told that grapes when treated in this manner produced the best wine. The foot of the stamper, I was assured, gave to the wine a certain roundness of flavour.
1963 Observer 24 Nov. 13/7 (advt.) Croft is the portliest port because it has ‘body’. It's a kind of roundness, a three dimensional taste that reflects the care and experience which have gone into its blending.
2001 G. Kunz & P. Kaminsky Elem. Taste 54 Sweet creamy roundness and the burned light bitterness of chocolate begin the taste.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2011; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.a1382