round robin

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

• Received-Pronunciation: /ˌɹaʊnd ˈɹɒbɪn/
  Play
• General-American: /ˌɹaʊn(d)ˈɹɑbən/
  Play
• Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  Play
• rhymes with -ɒbɪn
  Play

From round (adjective) + robin. Sense 1 (“senses relating to something with a round shape, or which goes around”) is connected with the word round, while sense 2 (“senses relating to people, animals, or plants”) is connected with some English regional senses of the word robin where it is used in the names of various fish and plants which are not related to the red-breasted bird. However, apart from the alliteration, it is not clear why the two words came to be linked together in compounds. It is possible that the term was first used to refer to sense 1.13.1 (“consecrated host”) which appears to be the earliest attested sense, and then extended to other senses either having the sense of round or robin. Alternatively, it has been suggested that the term is a corruption of French ruban rond (literally “round ribbon”), referring to the practice in 17th-century France of signing on ribbons which were then attached to petitions of grievances in a circular manner: see sense 1.1. However, this etymology does not explain the senses of the term unrelated to a signed document.

26 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Finnish: kehän muotoon allekirjoitettu kirje — document with signatures arranged to disguise the order of signing
• French: round-robin — document with signatures arranged to disguise the order of signing
• German: Runder Robin — document with signatures arranged to disguise the order of signing
• Hebrew: ראונד רובין — document with signatures arranged to disguise the order of signing
• Korean: 사발통문 (sabaltongmun) — document with signatures arranged to disguise the order of signing
• Finnish: kiertävä adressi — letter or piece of writing circulated among members of a group, to which each person makes a contribution; packet of letters circulated among a group
• French: round-robin — letter or piece of writing circulated among members of a group, to which each person makes a contribution; packet of letters circulated among a group
• Finnish: ketjuvaihto — form of trading involving a packet of items circulated among members of a group
• Finnish: kiertovuorottelu — method of making use of several similar subsystems, assigning tasks to each of them in turn
• Finnish: round robin -järjestelmäveto — form of bet on the full set of possible combinations from a group of events, etc.
• Finnish: ääninäytteiden vuorottelu — MIDI technique of using different sampled versions of the same sound for successive notes
• Finnish: jako kiertäen — method of dividing loot among a party of players
• Finnish: vuorottelu — group activity in which the members take turns to perform an action
• Danish: round robin — part of a tournament in which every player or team competes against each of the others in turn
• Dutch: round-robin — part of a tournament in which every player or team competes against each of the others in turn
• Finnish: kaikki kaikkia vastaan (vaihe, lohko) — part of a tournament in which every player or team competes against each of the others in turn
• French: poule — part of a tournament in which every player or team competes against each of the others in turn
• Galician: liga — part of a tournament in which every player or team competes against each of the others in turn
• German: Round Robin — part of a tournament in which every player or team competes against each of the others in turn
• Norwegian Bokmål: round robin — part of a tournament in which every player or team competes against each of the others in turn
• Portuguese: pontos corridos — part of a tournament in which every player or team competes against each of the others in turn
• Russian: круг (krug) — part of a tournament in which every player or team competes against each of the others in turn
• Spanish: round-robin — part of a tournament in which every player or team competes against each of the others in turn
• Spanish: liguilla — part of a tournament in which every player or team competes against each of the others in turn
• Finnish: pyöreä kala — any of various other fish regarded as having a somewhat round shape
• Finnish: ailakki (campion) — any of various hedgerow plants with pink flowers