roundelay

noun

roun·​de·​lay ˈrau̇n-də-ˌlā 

1

: a simple song with a refrain

2

: a poem with a refrain recurring frequently or at fixed intervals as in a rondel

Examples of roundelay in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The story itself is pure Western pulp, a dime-store roundelay of banditos, lost dreams, and femme fatales. — Leah Greenblatt, EW.com, 17 Sep. 2021

The house had a feeling of being offstage, at least compared with the comic roundelay of Turtle Bay. — D. T. Max, The New Yorker, 14 Feb. 2022

At Houlihan Lokey, Swain persists in the headlong roundelay of networking that’s his calling card. — Shawn Tully, Fortune, 1 Nov. 2025

Kusijanović, making her feature directing debut, plots the family’s dynamic through a roundelay of gazes and with near-geometric precision. — Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 15 July 2022

What followed was a frustrating roundelay in which Chime directed Robertson to the IRS, and the IRS directed her to Chime. — Carson Kessler, ProPublica, 6 July 2021

The other two notable participants in the nearly farcical roundelay of romances are Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm (Cooper Grodin) and his wife, Charlotte (Sierra Boggess). — Charles Isherwood, WSJ, 18 Aug. 2022

At the time, Garry Marshall’s star-studded roundelay of couples and non-couples making their way through Valentine’s Day was compared to Love, Actually, which had a similarly intercutting, multicharacter structure. — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 10 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, modification of Middle French rondelet, diminutive of rondel

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for roundelay

• aaa
• alleyway
• alumnae
• anime
• anyway
• arete
• attache
• axillae
• baa
• beaujolais
• bouvier
• breakaway

Kids Definition

roundelay

noun

roun·​de·​lay ˈrau̇n-də-ˌlā 

: a simple song with refrain