Dudley was sniffling in the back seat; his father had hit him round the head for holding them up while he tried to pack his television, VCR, and computer in his sports bag. (Harry Potter 1, Scholastic Paperbacks p41)
My guess about the meaning of this sentence was his father hit his son’s head with his palm once.
However, the more I think about it, the more ideas I get from it. I’d like to know if the following guesses of mine are correct or not.
1. hitting times
Dudley's father hit Dudley only one time because the writer uses the verb “hit” instead of “beat, etc.” and because “round” doesn’t add some information, like times, to the verb, since it’s not an adverb but a preposition.
2. Why does the writer use “round” instead of other prepositions? -- because
1). the head is cylindrical (or spherical), not flat. In other words, the shape of the target goes well with “round.”
2). the father hit his son’s head not with his fist, but with his palm which is along the head for a short moment. That is, the easy-to-bend quality of the hitting tool agrees with “round.”
3). the target area for the father to aim at is vague, not pinpoint. So, the hitter’s intention requires “round.”
4). as the father swings widely his hand (fist or palm whichever he likes), the path from the launching point to the head describes a circle. That means the shape of the orbit needs “round.”
5). Nope. 1-4 don't matter. British English sometimes uses ”round” for “on”, so there’s virtually no difference from “hit him on the head”. Take it easy.
Other ideas are always welcome. I’d appreciated it if you could help me.