Etymology

roundelay

R1O1U1N1D2E1L1A1Y4

Today it means: A poem or song having a line or phrase repeated at regular intervals. Full definition →

Middle French rondelet ← Old French rondel
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The story

  1. Old French · derived fromrondel
  2. Middle French · derived fromrondelet
  3. English todayroundelay

From Middle French rondelet, diminutive of Old French rondel (French: rondeau). Ending -lay either from lay (“ballad or sung poem”), or from virelay.

Words from the same roots

Middle Frenchrondelet all →

rondeletroundlet

Old Frenchrondel all →

rondeauroundelrondel

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.