Roundnesse

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The quality of being circular, curved or spherical in shape, as an archaic spelling of the modern term for that property
2. The state of having a curved, spherical or circular form rather than angular or flat edges, a term found in older English writing
3. An archaic form denoting the characteristic of a body or object whose outline curves evenly like a circle or ball

Etymology: Roundness is built from "round" and the suffix "-ness," and the two parts have very different histories. The suffix comes from Old English "-nes(s)," which turned adjectives into nouns of quality, so "good" became "goodness" and "wild" became "wildness" in the same way. The final "e" in this spelling is an older Middle English form. "Round" arrived later, borrowed from Old French "rond," which descends from Latin "rotundus," meaning wheel-shaped or circular. That Latin word comes from "rota," meaning wheel.