round
n. countablen. one part of a game or competition. It can also be a series of actions, like one person buying drinks for everyone in a group.
n. A distinct stage in a competition, game, or negotiation. It can also refer to a single sequence of actions within a larger, often recurring, activity, such as serving drinks to a group.
He wins the first round of the match.
The boxer was knocked out in the third round of the championship fight.
After several rounds of intense negotiation, the two parties finally reached an agreement that satisfied their core demands without conceding too much on secondary issues.
From Middle English round, rounde, from Old Northern French roünt, rund, Old French ront, runt, reont ( > French rond), from both Late Latin retundus and the original Latin rotundus. The noun developed partly from the adjective and partly from the corresponding French noun rond. Doublet of rotund.
From Middle English rounen, from Old English rūnian (“to whisper, talk low, talk secrets, consipre, talk secretly”), from Proto-Germanic rūnōną (“to talk secrets, whisper, decide”), raunijaną (“to investigate, examine, prove”), from Proto-Indo-European (e)rewə-, (e)rwō- (“to trace, find out, look out”). Cognate with Scots roun (“to converse with in whispers, speak privately”), Middle Low German rūnen (“to whisper”), Middle Dutch ruinen (“to whisper”), German raunen (“to whisper, murmur”), Old English rūn (“whisper, secret, mystery”), Swedish röna (“to meet with, experience”). More at rune.