roundel

[ roun-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. Also Theater. 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.

roundel

/ 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of roundel¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of roundel¹

C13: from Old French rondel a little circle; see rondel

Example Sentences

One passenger told the BBC when the train came into the station "I noticed that Westminster station looked unusual and as the train slowed, I noticed the roundels said Charing Cross and not Westminster".

From BBC

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

The most recent canvases extrapolate from smaller painting-drawings in which some of the roundels are outlined in graphite, and other pencil strokes jut among the circular forms.

From Washington Post

It unfolds in a lively if unsettling roundel of debates.

From Washington Post

There’s nothing wrong with the roundel on Dylan’s forehead, of course, nor with the other circles that the designer Martin Sharp used to depict the musician’s hair.

From New York Times