rondeau

[ ron-doh, ron-doh ]

noun

, plural ron·deaux [ron, -dohz, ron-, dohz].

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. a 17th-century musical form consisting of a refrain alternating with contrasting couplets, developing in the 18th century into the sonata-rondo form.

rondeau

/ ˈrɒndəʊ /

noun

1. a poem consisting of 13 or 10 lines with two rhymes and having the opening words of the first line used as an unrhymed refrain See also roundel

Word History and Origins

Origin of rondeau¹

1515–25; < Middle French: little circle; rondel

Word History and Origins

Origin of rondeau¹

C16: from Old French, from rondel a little round, from rond round

Example Sentences

In this Rondeau a la Mazur the individuality of Chopin and with it his nationality begin to reveal themselves unmistakably.

From Project Gutenberg

The rondeau was revived in great splendour in the middle of the seventeenth century.

From Project Gutenberg

It begins, like the Rondeau Redoublé, with a quatrain, here called the texte;—this is usually a quotation from a former poet.

From Project Gutenberg

The Rondel is merely the old form of the word rondeau; like oisel for oiseau, chastel for chateau so rondel has become rondeau.

From Project Gutenberg

The Rondeau after Voiture's model is without doubt the most popular variety of the form now in use.

From Project Gutenberg