oscillate
American Heritage Dictionary:
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os·cil·late
(ŏs'ə-lāt') 
intr.v., -lat·ed, -lat·ing, -lates.
oscillatory os'cil·la·to'ry (-lə-tôr'ē, -tōr'ē) adj.
intr.v., -lat·ed, -lat·ing, -lates.
- To swing back and forth with a steady, uninterrupted rhythm.
- To waver, as between conflicting opinions or courses of action; vacillate: "The court has oscillated over the decades from more liberal to less, more conservative to less, depending upon who was president at the time of vacancies" (Gordon J. Humphrey). See synonyms at swing.
- Physics. To vary between alternate extremes, usually within a definable period of time.
[Latin ōscillāre, ōscillāt-, from ōscillum, swing, probably from ōscillum, small mask of Bacchus, diminutive of ōs, mouth.]
oscillator os'cil·la'tor n.oscillatory os'cil·la·to'ry (-lə-tôr'ē, -tōr'ē) adj.
WORD HISTORY The rather dry word oscillate may become a bit less dry when we learn its story. It is possible that it goes back to the Latin word ōscillum, a diminutive of ōs, "mouth," meaning "small mouth." In a passage in the Georgics, Virgil applies the word to a small mask of Bacchus hung from trees to move back and forth in the breeze. From this word ōscillum may have come another word ōscillum, meaning "something, such as a swing, that moves up and down or back and forth." And this ōscillum was the source of the verb ōscillāre, "to ride in a swing," and the noun (from the verb) ōscillātiō, "the action of swinging or oscillating." The words have given us, respectively, our verb oscillate, first recorded in 1726, and our noun oscillation, first recorded in 1658. The next time one sees something oscillating, one might think of that small mask of Bacchus swinging from a pine tree in the Roman countryside.
Computer Desktop Encyclopedia:
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oscillate
To swing back and forth between the minimum and maximum values. An oscillation is one cycle, typically one complete wave in an alternating frequency.
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Roget's Thesaurus:
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oscillate
verb
- To move rhythmically back and forth suspended or as if suspended from above: sway, swing. See move/halt, repetition.
Electronics Dictionary:
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oscillate
To produce a continuous output waveform without an input signal present.
Word Tutor:
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oscillate
IN BRIEF: To waver back and forth.
He oscillated between wanting to go and wanting to stay home.
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Oxford Dictionary of Biochemistry:
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oscillator
an instrument or device for producing oscillations, especially an electronic device that produces an alternating output of known frequency.
| osazone, osamine, osM | |
| oscillin, oscillograph, oscilloscope |
Saunders Veterinary Dictionary:
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oscillatory
Characterized by oscillation.
- o. nystagmus — see pendular nystagmus.
Random House Word Menu:
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categories related to 'oscillator'
- Electricity and Electronics - oscillator: wave generator
- Sound Reproduction Technology - oscillator: tone generator, either sine or square wave
See crossword solutions for the clue Translations:
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Oscillate
Dansk (Danish)
v. intr. - svinge, oscillere, hyle (om radio)
Nederlands (Dutch)
oscilleren, trillen, slingeren
Français (French)
v. intr. - (gén, Phys, Tech) osciller
Deutsch (German)
v. - oszillieren, schwingen, schwanken
Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - ταλαντεύω/-ομαι, δονώ/-ούμαι, πάλλομαι, διακυμαίνομαι
Italiano (Italian)
oscillare, tentennare
Português (Portuguese)
v. - oscilar, hesitar
Русский (Russian)
колебаться, вибрировать
Español (Spanish)
v. intr. - oscilar
Svenska (Swedish)
v. - oscillera, svänga, pendla, sätta i svängning
中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
摆动, 振荡, 游移不定
中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
v. intr. - 擺動, 振蕩, 遊移不定
한국어 (Korean)
v. intr. - 진동 시키다
日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 振動する, 往復する, ぐらつく, 振動させる, 動揺する
العربيه (Arabic)
(فعل) يتذبذب
עברית (Hebrew)
v. intr. - התנודד, היטלטל, נענע, היסס, פקפק
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American Heritage Dictionary
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary 3rd Edition. Copyright © 2007 by D.C. Blood, V.P. Studdert and C.C. Gay, Elsevier. All rights reserved.
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