A round of applause is a short period or burst of applause. What are the origins of the meaning of round in this phrase, and indeed the phrase itself?
Are there any other phrases that use round in the same sense? I know of round of artillery and round of golf, for instance. For these phrases we might just as easily say an artillery round or golf round, but I don't think I've ever heard the expression applause round. So, do they have different meanings?
Best Answer
Several of the meanings of round as a noun refer to something that is repeated. You would for instance have a round of drinks, and then have a round of drinks, and then have a round of drinks.
Applause can come in such repeated bursts with for example a show of several acts; act, applause, act, applause, or a series of speeches; speech, applause, speech, applause.
Now we would speak of a "round of applause" even if there was only one.
Likewise with firearms, "rounds" would once have been a more literal description when the time to reload meant that guns would be fired in more clearly defined volleys than they would be today. The word was extended from the act of firing, to the projectile itself.