Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

roundelay

/ˈɹaʊndəˌleɪ/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.48 in modern English

Syllables: rounde-lay
IPA: /ˈɹaʊndəˌleɪ/

13

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

2

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A poem or song having a line or phrase repeated at regular intervals.

noun

A dance in a circle.

noun

Anything having a round form; a roundel.

Example Sentences

"It fell upon a holly eve, Hey ho, hollidaye! When holly fathers wont to shrieve, Now gynneth this roundelay."
"When merry milkmaids click the latch And rarely smells the new-mown hay, And the cock hath sung beneath the thatch Twice or thrice his roundelay, Twice or thrice his roundelay; Alone and warming his five wits, The white owl in the belfry sits."
""Ay, fool," said Tristram, "but 'tis eating dry To dance without a catch, a roundelay To dance to." Then he twangled on his harp, And while he twangled little Dagonet stood Quiet as any water-sodden log Stay'd in the wandering warble of a brook;[…]"
"For then the little birds do sing their sweetest song, all joining in one joyous medley, whereof one may scarce tell one note from another, so multitudinous is that pretty roundelay;[…]"
""Instead of being a rollicking bull-necked quarterstaff player with an eye for a wench and a good but untutored voice for roaring a roundelay, he's nothing but a weasel-faced herring-gutted wowser deliberately stuck in a cell to mislead travellers.""

Etymology

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

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈɹaʊndəˌleɪ/
British English: /ˈɹaʊndɪˌleɪ/

Inflected Forms

roundelays (plural) rondelay (alternative)

Frequently Paired Words

rondeau roundel

Questions

How do you pronounce roundelay?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈɹaʊndəˌleɪ/.
What does roundelay mean?: A poem or song having a line or phrase repeated at regular intervals.
Where does roundelay come from?: From Middle French rondelet, diminutive of Old French rondel (French: rondeau). Ending -lay either from lay (“ballad or sung poem”), or from virelay.

How to pronounce roundelay

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “roundelay”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈɹaʊndəˌleɪ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “roundelay”.
Repeat and practice — Say “roundelay” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.