round robin

noun round robins · round-robin

1. also, attributive A document (usually containing a complaint or petition) originally with the signatures arranged in a circle, and later often alphabetically, to disguise the order of signing and to indicate that the signatories are collectively responsible for it. This being approved of, it vvas unanimouſly reſolved on, and the undervvritten Petition dravvn up and ſigned by the vvhole Company in the Manner of vvhat they call a Round Robin, that is, the Names vvere vvrit in a Circle, to avoid all Appearance of Pre-eminence, and leaſt any Perſon ſhould be mark'
2. also, attributive A letter which is reproduced and sent to several people; specifically, one containing personal news sent at a particular time of year, often Christmas; a circular letter.
3. also, attributive A letter or piece of writing which is circulated among members of a group, to which each person makes a contribution before sending it to another person; also, a packet of letters circulated regularly in a fixed order among a group (often family members), whereby each person replaces their previous contribution with a new letter, and then sends the packet to the next recipient. a round-robin novel

   Similar: circle letter

4. also, attributive A form of trading involving a packet of items which is circulated among members of a group, whereby each person take the items they want and replaces them with items of similar value, and then sends the packet to the next recipient. Stamp collectors sometimes exchange stamps with each other using a round-robin method.
5. also, attributive, figuratively A long, often tedious, list or piece of writing; a laundry list, a litany. Think only what your feelings would be if you heard a wretch deliberately perjure himself in support of an infamous accusation, so remote from all fact, so smooth and homogeneous in its untruth, such a round robin of mere lies, that you knew not which to begin with?
6. also, attributive A method of making use of several similar subsystems, assigning tasks to each of them in turn (for example, sending data to a destination down several communication links in turn to achieve greater combined speed).
7. also, attributive A form of bet on the full set of possible combinations from a group of events, racehorses, teams, etc., such as the outcomes A and B, B and C, and A and C from a group consisting of A, B, and C.
8. also, attributive The MIDI technique of using different sampled versions of the same sound for successive notes, to avoid an unnaturally repetitive effect. If you load a saxophone sound, for example, the library gives you the entire range of the instrument, with round robins, and a depth of velocity-triggered samples for each note.
9. Internet, also, attributive A method of dividing loot among a party of players by having the game assign loot, or an enemy corpse to loot, to each player in turn.
10. Devon, also, archaic, attributive A small pancake.
11. also, attributive A group activity in which the members take turns to perform an action. Round robins are undertaken for a variety of motives: (1) to accumulate data that may be used to determine the precision and accuracy of a new or modified test procedure, (2) to recheck an established procedure to ascertain whether there has been a deterioration in the accuracy arising from departur
12. also, attributive, often The part of a tournament in which every player or team competes against each of the others in turn. At Tokyo's Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Japan defended well and attacked with ease, facing only moderate resistance in a 25-9, 25-19, 25-15 victory in the eight-team round robin, with two berths in next year's Paris Olympics up for grabs.
13. also, attributive, derogatory The consecrated host used in the Eucharist. [T]he Sacrament of the Altar, is nothing elſe but a piece of bread, or a little predie Round-Robin.
14. also, attributive A small ruff worn around the neck. In the dayes of King Arthur of Bradley, and his four hundred forty ſixe Elders of the Round Table, the firſt men that ever vvore Round-Robins, there lived a Paſtor vvhoſe Fame (you all have had a ſpice of) called Cornelius, […] it vvas his Fate by the heat of overmuch Devotion, to conclude his dayes
15. also, attributive, obsolete A rim attached to the end of an axle of a horse carriage to prevent dirt from obstructing the axle's rotation; also, a loop from which a component of a horse carriage (such as a pole or spring) is suspended. Cut′too-plate. A hood above the nave or hub of a vehicle, to prevent the street mud from falling upon the axle and becoming ground in between the axle-box and spindle. Otherwise called a dirt-board, or round robbin. It is attached to the axle or bolster.
16. Caribbean, US Any of various marine fish of the genus Decapterus often called scads which have a body with an almost round cross section, especially the round scad (Decapterus punctatus); also, any of various other fish regarded as having a somewhat round shape.
17. Cornwall, archaic The fishing frog or sea devil (Lophius piscatorius), a species of monkfish.
18. archaic Any of various hedgerow plants with pink flowers, especially a red campion (Silene dioica).
19. obsolete A chiefly derogatory nickname for a man.
20. Canada, US, obsolete, rare A freshwater sunfish native to eastern North America, either the pumpkinseed (Lepomis gibbosus) or the redbreast sunfish (Lepomis auritus).