rotundity

noun

ro·​tun·​di·​ty -ndətē 

-ətē, 

-i

plural -es

1

a

: the quality or state of being rotund : roundness

the thick rotundity o' the world

—Shakespeare

b

: a round mass or object

laid his hand caressingly upon the consoling rotundity of a five-gallon keg

—Elinor Wylie

2

a

: rounded fullness of language

scholars disputing … with leisured rotundity of phrase

—R. W. Southern

b

: a rotund phrase

its adorable simplicities compensate even for its Johnsonian rotundities

—H. J. Laski

3

a

: roundness of the body : plumpness

a sparer diet had checked the movement towards rotundity

—John Buchan

b

: a rounded part of the body

a cozy creased rotundity between waistcoat and table

—Clemence Dane

Word History

Etymology

Latin rotunditat-, rotunditas, from rotundus round + -itat-, -itas -ity

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1b

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Rhymes for rotundity

• fecundity
• profundity