Why Do We Say ‘Round Robin’?
"Round robin" is a versatile noun phrase in modern English, but it has a long history. It originated in the late 17th century as a nautical term for a document signed by sailors. The signatures were arranged in a circle to disguise the order of signing. This process was detailed
in a witness deposition from a maritime case in England, published in 1698: "Some of them drew up a paper commonly called a Round Robin, and signed the same whereby they intimated that if the Captaine would not give them leave to goe a shore, they would take leave." This...
