rondeau

views updated May 23 2018

ron·deau / ˈrändō; ränˈdō/ • n. (pl. -deaux / -dōz; ˈdōz/ ) a thirteen-line poem, divided into three stanzas of 5, 3, and 5 lines, with only two rhymes throughout and with the opening words of the first line used as a refrain at the end of the second and third stanzas.

rondeau

views updated May 21 2018

rondeau poem with two rhymes throughout and the opening words used twice as a refrain. XVI (rare before late XVII). — (O)F. rondeau, later form of rondel (f. rond ROUND1) whence rondel (-EL2) XIV.

rondeau

views updated May 23 2018

rondeau (Fr.). Mus. form so called because of its circle of recurrence.
1. Type of medieval song (also rondel) sung by troubadours in which sections of both words and mus. recurred.

2. Instr. form in 17th and later cents. in which the first section recurs. See rondo.

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