oscillate

verb

/ˈɑsɪleɪt/US

Etymology

First attested in 1726; borrowed from Latin ōscillātus, perfect passive participle of Latin ōscillō (“to swing”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from ōscillum (“a swing”), usually identified with ōscillum (“a little face or mask hung on a tree that sways with the wind”), diminutive of ōs (“mouth, face”). See also osculate.

borrowed from ōscillātus

Definitions

1
To swing back and forth, especially if with a regular rhythm.
- A pendulum oscillates slower as it gets longer.
- By placing the 0.02μF capacitor on top of the whistle chip, the circuit oscillates at a lower frequency.
2
To vacillate between conflicting opinions, etc.
- The mood for change oscillated from day to day.
To vary above and below a mean value.

The neighborhood

synonymvacillate
neighboroscillation
neighborundulate

Derived

oscillative, oscillaton, oscillator, unoscillated

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for oscillate. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA