roundel

American  

[roun-dl] / ˈraʊn dl /

noun

1. something round or circular.

2. a small, round pane or window.

3. a decorative plate, panel, tablet, or the like, round in form.

4. Theater. Also a round piece of colored gelatin or glass placed over stage lights as a color medium to obtain lighting effects.

5. Armor.

   1. a metal disk that protects the armpit.

   2. a metal disk on a hafted weapon or a dagger to protect the hand.

6. Heraldry. a small circular charge.

7. Prosody.

   1. a rondel or rondeau.

   2. a modification of the rondeau, consisting of nine lines with two refrains.

8. a round dance.

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roundel British  

/ ˈraʊndəl /

noun

1. a form of rondeau consisting of three stanzas each of three lines with a refrain after the first and the third

2. a circular identifying mark in national colours on military aircraft

3. a small ornamental circular window, panel, medallion, plate, disc, etc

4. a round plate of armour used to protect the armpit

5. heraldry a charge in the shape of a circle

6. another word for roundelay

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Etymology

Origin of roundel

1250–1300; Middle English roundele, rundel ( le ) < Old French rondel, derivative of rond round ¹ (adj.)

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

roundel

Among the show’s principal series are a few deviations: pictures with multiple soft-edged rings, and another whose central roundel is overlapped by another, off-kilter one.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 13, 2023

Nearly 20 years ago, a curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art led efforts to acquire an Italian Renaissance roundel that dates back to about 1500.

From New York Times ● Feb. 23, 2022

The right side of the helmets and the shoulders of the jerseys display the roundel.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 10, 2021

So nice to see the faux heraldic crest and the currently ubiquitous roundel eschewed for something a bit more abstract.

From The Guardian ● Jan. 23, 2021

"Who well loves, late forgets;" the refrain of the roundel inculcates the duty of constancy, which has been imposed on the three tercels by the decision of the Court.

From The Canterbury Tales, and Other Poems by Purves, D. Laing