- varnish'd tale deliver. Ibid. (1605), King
Lear, i. 4. He answered me in the roundest manner, he would not.
1598. Florio, Worlde of Wordes, s.v. Crollare il pero. . . . To tickle a woman roundlie.
1620. Fletcher and Massinger, Little Fr. Lawyer, iii. 2. What a bold man of war! he invites me roundly.
d. 1626. Bacon, Works (1887), 'Truth.' Clear and round dealing is the honour of man's nature. Ibid. (Johnson). The Kings interfered in a round and princely manner. Ibid., Polit. Fables, ii. He roundly and openly avows what most . . . conceal.
1646. Browne, Vulg. Err., vi. 1. The age of Noah is delivered to be just five hundred when he begat Sem; whereas perhaps he might be somewhat above or below that round and complete number.
1700. Centlivre, Perjured Husband, iv. 2. Suppose I help you to a lady with a round sum; you'd keep your word, and marry her?
1751. Fielding, Amelia, vii. ix. I began to entertain some suspicions, and I took Mrs. Ellison very roundly to task upon them.
1779. Sheridan, Critic, i. 1. He roundly asserts that you had not the slightest invention or original genius.
1815. Scott, Guy Mannering, xliii. It's likely he might be brought to pay a round sum for restitution. Ibid. (1818), Rob Roy, vii. The self-willed girl told me roundly, that my dissuasions were absolutely in vain.
1847. Bronte, Jane Eyre, xxvii. You found ready and round answers.
1851-61. Mayhew, London Lab., II. 526. This . . . pursuing the round number system would supply nearly five articles, &c.
1859. Tennyson, Geraint. Round was their pace at first, but slackened soon.
18[?]. Sharp, Sermons, iv., ser. 18. Either a round oath or a curse.
1882. Beresford Hope, The Brandreths, I. v. Remonstrating . . . in round, bold, unconventional language.
c. 1891. Lancet [Century]. The destructors now consumed, roundly, about 500 loads of refuse a week.
d. 1898. Gladstone, Might of Right, 175. [The United States] has risen, during one simple Century of freedom, in round numbers, from two millions to forty-five.
2. (tailors').—Languid; Mondayish (q.v.)
Verb. (colloquial).—1. To betray; to peach (q.v.); (2) to turn upon and berate: also to round on.
1864. Cornhill Magazine, vi. 646. Rounding or treachery is always spoken of very indignantly, and often severely, and even murderously punished.
1877. Five Years' Penal Servitude, i. Both desisted from their own recriminations as to rounding and "blowing" on each other.
1882. D. Telegraph, 6 Oct., 6, 2. The prisoner . . . denied the charge, but afterwards asked who had rounded.
1889. Answers, 11 May, 380. He rounded on the warder, and the Governor, to catch the officer, ordered the prisoner to act as if the discovery had not been known.
1897. Maugham, Liza of Lambeth, xi. They've all rounded on me except you, Tom.
To round up, verb. phr. (colonial).—To collect cattle: for inspection, branding, &c.: also as subs. Whence (general) = to complete; to take stock.
1881. Grant, Bush Life. Round them up, if possible, and let them stand a few minutes to breathe.
1886. Roosevelt, Hunting Trips, ii. [A ranchman's] hardest work comes during the spring and fall round-ups.
1886. Philadelphia Times, 3 May [Century]. That exception . . . will probably be included in the general round-up [of an agreement among railroads] tomorrow.
1887. Francis, Saddle and Moccasin. As soon as the round up was completed, the branding was to take place.
To bet round, verb. phr. (racing).—To bet upon (or against) several horses in a race.
