Paul Schleifer

According to etymonline.com, the word rotund comes into English around 1705 from the “Latin rotundus “rolling, round, circular, spherical, like a wheel,” from rota “wheel” (see rotary). Earlier was rotound (1610s); rotounde (early 15c.).” But Robert E. Lewis’s Middle English Dictionary quotes a 1425 translation of Guy de Chauliac’s Chirurgia Magna, which uses rotund instead of either rotound or rotounde. In any case, we shouldn’t get too caught up in spelling variances in Middle or Early Modern English.

Rotund, then, means 1. round in shape, 2. plump, fat, 3. Full-toned or sonorous (when used about speech).

March 6 is celebrated as The Day of the Dude, the highest holy day of Dudeism, a religion founded in 2005 by Oliver Benjamin, a journalist in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Here is Amazon.com’s description of Benjamin’s 2015 book The Tao of the Dude:

“In their 1998 film, “The Big Lebowski,” the Coen Brothers introduced one of the most beloved cult icons of modern cinema, Jeff “The Dude” Lebowski − a deeply casual, comically earnest fellow who never let an uptight world get him down.

“Today there are major festivals held in the film’s honor (Lebowskifests), a religion inspired by The Dude’s example (Dudeism), and several books which take stock of the growing Lebowski phenomenon.

“Nevertheless, we contend that the Dude is only the latest in a long line of pioneering dudes, both fictional and real. Throughout history, these lounge-chair revolutionaries have helped correct civilization’s ills and excesses with a mellow, lighthearted, live-and-let live attitude. From Lao Tzu to Lebowski, Epicurus to Einstein, The Buddha to Bob Dylan, all have reminded humanity what is most important in life: personal liberty, peace of mind, leisure time and good friends.

“Bringing together some of the greatest ideas, quotes and insights Dudeosophy has had to offer, The Tao of the Dude is not only a virtual Ph.D in Dudeism, but also a soothing sectional sofa for the soul.

“Each chapter contains an essay and illustration by the founder of Dudeism, followed by an assortment of quotes and passages that show how Dudeism has existed throughout history, down through the generations, across the sands of time….”

This “religion” based on a comic movie has been around for less than 13 years, and according to its website, Dudeism.com, Dudeism already has over 450,000 priests around the world. Among other things, these priests can marry people in at least some U.S. states, making the whole notion of legal marriage questionable.

March 6, The Day of the Dude, is the culmination of Hangover, a weeklong, Lent-like period during which the followers of Dudeism “kick back and appreciate the simple pleasures of life instead of chasing after the more complicated and painful ones.” About The Day of the Dude the website says, “This is the day when our founding text, The Big Lebowski was released in the theaters. It’s also a day of great easy taking as we strive to do as little as possible. It’s our main holiday, so don’t be sacrilegious and work too hard at it.”

Sounds kind of stupid, doesn’t it? Is it a parody? Here is what the website says: “The original intent was not to mock religion, but to provide a religion for people who like some of the aspects of religion but didn’t really like any of the stuff that was available.

“It was also designed to be a group exercise in trying to figure out what the pragmatic and rational aspects of religion were. The fact that we parody a lot of established religions isn’t so much to make fun of them but to draw light to how arbitrary and illogical many dogmas are. Perhaps we are “pulling the rug” out from under the sacred cows from time to time, but not before snagging some of their milk for our beverages. Anyway, no harm intended. Mostly, we’re sympathizing here. Religion is a complicated case. Lotta ins and outs and what-have-yous.” It goes on.

So, is there a connection between Dudeism and the word of the day? Well, all I can say is that I thank God I am not a follower of Dudeism. If I kicked back as that “religion” encourages people to do, I’d be even more rotund than I already am.

By the way, for those of you worried about my health, I consider myself to be in really good shape. After all, round is a shape, right?

 

The image is Jeff Bridges (The Dude in The Big Lebowski) at the 2011 Lebowskifest. The photo was taken by Joe Polletta on 16 August 2011.