variants
or rondelle
1
usually rondelle
: a circular object
especially
: a circular jewel or jeweled ring
2
a
usually rondel
: a fixed form of verse based on two rhyme sounds and consisting usually of 14 lines in three stanzas in which the first two lines of the first stanza are repeated as the refrain of the second and third stanzas
b
: a poem in this form
c
Examples of rondel in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The imposing gothic details of Victor’s castle-laboratory—a portentous warrior-angel statue that comes to life, a screaming Medusa rondel carved in stone—vibrate with gloomy baroque majesty.
—
Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 30 Aug. 2025
But the showstoppers are the windows: high, arched, and set with leaded glass that includes rondels of colorful scenes (a white castle under attack by griffins, a golden lion wearing a tiny golden crown).
—Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 19 Jan. 2023
Some store fronts are embellished with elaborate sculptures, like a rondel depicting a pair of women exchanging scandalous gossip.
—New York Times, 20 May 2022
Testifying to flexible convictions, the Morgan show includes a rondel painting by Holbein, circa 1532, of Erasmus’s thin-faced, pointy-nosed mien, and also a small portrayal, circa 1535, of Luther’s most efficacious disciple, Philipp Melanchthon.
—Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 21 Feb. 2022
Crown of Emara features a meaty double rondel that sprawls across two central boards.
—Nate Anderson, Ars Technica, 8 Dec. 2018
The Asian rondel is a coffee table top that originally belonged to Jen’s grandmother but had become too fragile to stand on its own.
—Star-Telegram, star-telegram.com, 3 May 2017
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Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 30 Aug. 2025
But the showstoppers are the windows: high, arched, and set with leaded glass that includes rondels of colorful scenes (a white castle under attack by griffins, a golden lion wearing a tiny golden crown).
—Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 19 Jan. 2023
Some store fronts are embellished with elaborate sculptures, like a rondel depicting a pair of women exchanging scandalous gossip.
—New York Times, 20 May 2022
Testifying to flexible convictions, the Morgan show includes a rondel painting by Holbein, circa 1532, of Erasmus’s thin-faced, pointy-nosed mien, and also a small portrayal, circa 1535, of Luther’s most efficacious disciple, Philipp Melanchthon.
—Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 21 Feb. 2022
Crown of Emara features a meaty double rondel that sprawls across two central boards.
—Nate Anderson, Ars Technica, 8 Dec. 2018
The Asian rondel is a coffee table top that originally belonged to Jen’s grandmother but had become too fragile to stand on its own.
—Star-Telegram, star-telegram.com, 3 May 2017
Cite this Entry
“Rondel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rondel. Accessed 28 Oct. 2025.
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