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rodeo

 - 3 dictionary results

ro⋅de⋅o

[roh-dee-oh, roh-dey-oh] noun, plural -de⋅os, verb, -de⋅oed, -de⋅o⋅ing.
–noun
1. a public exhibition of cowboy skills, as bronco riding and calf roping.
2. a roundup of cattle.
3. Informal. any contest offering prizes in various events: a bicycle rodeo for kids under twelve.
4. (initial capital letter, italics) a ballet (1942) choreographed by Agnes de Mille, with musical score by Aaron Copland.
–verb (used without object)
5. to participate or compete in a rodeo or rodeos: He's been rodeoing since he was twelve.

Origin:
1825–35; < Sp: cattle ring, deriv. of rodear to go round, itself deriv. of rueda wheel < L rota


ro⋅de⋅o⋅er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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ro·de·o   (rō'dē-ō', rō-dā'ō)   
n.   pl. ro·de·os
  1. A public competition or exhibition in which skills such as riding broncos or roping calves are displayed.

  2. A cattle roundup.

  3. An enclosure for keeping cattle that have been rounded up.


[Spanish, corral, rodeo, from rodear, to surround, from rueda, wheel, from Latin rota; see ret- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

rodeo 
1914 as public entertainment show of horse-riding skill, from earlier meaning "cattle round-up" (1834), from Sp., "pen for cattle at a fair or market," lit. "a going round," from rodear "go round, surround," related to rodare "revolve, roll," from L. rotare "go around" (see rotate).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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