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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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