roundelay

[ roun-dl-ey ]

noun

a song in which a phrase, line, or the like, is continually repeated.
the music for such a song.

a dance in a circle; round dance.

Origin of roundelay

1565–75; alteration (influenced by lay⁴) of Middle French rondelet, diminutive of rondelroundel

Words Nearby roundelay

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use roundelay in a sentence

Nellie Thomas' bird-like tones thrilled their roundelay of worship with the silvery clearness of the skylark.
Southern Hearts | Florence Hull Winterburn
And by night about the crackling camp fire our happy voices, all united, are uplifted in song and roundelay.
Fibble, D. D. | Irvin Shrewsbury Cobb
During the day it gets on a neighboring brush or tree and sings its roundelay of song for hours at a time.
Birds and all Nature, Vol. IV, No. 1, July 1898 | Various
Why sing a roundelay that means no more than Choctaw to a Turk?
Uncle Walt [Walt Mason] | Walt Mason
Voices rippled from chantey to roundelay and back to chantey again.
Strange Stories of the Great Valley | Abbie Johnston Grosvenor

British Dictionary definitions for roundelay

roundelay

/ (ˈraʊndɪˌleɪ) /

noun

Also called: roundel a slow medieval dance performed in a circle
a song in which a line or phrase is repeated as a refrain

Origin of roundelay

C16: from Old French rondelet a little rondel, from rondel; also influenced by lay 4

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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