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oscillatemore about oscillate

oscillate


  2  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Oscillate  \Os"cil*late\,  v.  i.  [imp.  &  p.  p.  {Oscillated};  p. 
  pr  &  vb  n.  {Oscillating}.]  [L.  oscillare  to  swing,  fr 
  oscillum  a  swing,  a  little  mask  or  puppet  made  to  be  hung 
  from  trees  and  swing  in  the  wind,  prob.  orig.,  a  little 
  mouth,  a  dim.  from  os  mouth.  See  {Oral},  and  cf  {Osculate}.] 
  1.  To  move  backward  and  forward;  to  vibrate  like  a  pendulum; 
  to  swing;  to  sway. 
 
  2.  To  vary  or  fluctuate  between  fixed  limits;  to  act  or  move 
  in  a  fickle  or  fluctuating  manner;  to  change  repeatedly, 
  back  and  forth. 
 
  The  amount  of  superior  families  oscillates  rather 
  than  changes,  that  is  it  fluctuates  within  fixed 
  limits.  --Dc  Quincey. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  oscillate 
  v  :  move  or  swing  from  side  to  side  regularly;  as  of  a  pendulum, 
  for  example  [syn:  {vibrate}] 




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