Literary notes about Rotund (AI summary)
The term "rotund" in literature is often employed to evoke a vivid sense of fullness or roundedness, frequently highlighting a character’s physicality or even extending to intonation and form. Authors use it to paint pictures of jovial, sometimes comical figures—with robust, plump countenances that underscore their presence, as seen in the depiction of a portly skipper [1] or the gentleman with a rotund smile [2]. At times, its use is more abstract, hinting at a robust, well-developed character or even describing a speech style that carries an imposing, rounded cadence [3, 4]. The word also appears in non-human contexts, describing objects or forms with a circular shape, reinforcing its versatility as both a marker of physical volume and a stylistic device to enrich narrative texture [5, 6].
- "Tug, ahoy!" hailed the skipper of the barge, a short, rotund man, clad in a blue jersey, tanned trousers and sea-boots, and wearing a billy-cock hat.
— from Sea Scouts All: How the "Olivette" was won by Percy F. (Percy Francis) Westerman - At the appointed time they found the little German awaiting them, a rotund smile of false good-nature illuminating his rosy face.
— from The Riverman by Stewart Edward White - That is a detail; what we desire in our Judges are, a certain impressive air, a striking presence, and an art of rotund speech.
— from Punch, or, the London Charivari, Volume 98, March 8, 1890. by Various - He regained some of his plump, sage swagger, his rotund phraseology, his autocratic dogmatism in matters Æsculapian.
— from Love Among the Ruins by Warwick Deeping - Isidorus derives the word from ampla bulla , in reference to its rotund form ( Etym.
— from History of Ancient Pottery: Greek, Etruscan, and Roman. Volume 2 (of 2) by H. B. (Henry Beauchamp) Walters - The larva is rather heavy, and rotund in form, tapering toward both head and posterior segment.
— from The Kansas University Quarterly, Vol. I, No. 1 (1892) by Various