rondeau
Americannoun
plural
rondeaux-
Prosody. a short poem of fixed form, consisting of 13 or 10 lines on two rhymes and having the opening words or phrase used in two places as an unrhymed refrain.
-
a 13th-century monophonic song form consisting of two phrases, each repeated several times, and occurring in the 14th and 15th centuries in polyphonic settings.
-
a 17th-century musical form consisting of a refrain alternating with contrasting couplets, developing in the 18th century into the sonata-rondo form.
noun
Etymology
Origin of rondeau
1515–25; < Middle French: little circle; rondel
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In a large skillet or rondeau, heat olive oil until hot.
From Seattle Times
Ms. Parker asks, “Who knows what ‘rondeau’ means?”
From Literature
![]()
And he has also put his stamp on some shapes like a wide, two-handled rondeau and a saucier, new to Hestan’s inventory.
From New York Times
My grandpa would listen to bob rondeau through his headphones.
From Seattle Times
With the scrum and tumble of robust political debate: this messy mix, this redneck rondeau, this barbaric yawp.
From Washington Post
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.