oscillate

os·cil·late  (s-lt)

intr.v. os·cil·lat·ed, os·cil·lat·ing, os·cil·lates

1. To swing back and forth with a steady, uninterrupted rhythm.

2. 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.

3. Physics To vary between alternate extremes, usually within a definable period of time.

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[Latin scillre, scillt-, from scillum, swing, probably from scillum, small mask of Bacchus, diminutive of s, mouth; see s- in Indo-European roots.]

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oscil·lator n.

oscil·la·tory (-l-tôr, -tr) 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 scillum, a diminutive of s, "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 scillum may have come another word scillum, meaning "something, such as a swing, that moves up and down or back and forth." And this scillum was the source of the verb scillre, "to ride in a swing," and the noun (from the verb) scillti, "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.

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oscillate [oss-ill-late]

Verb

[-lating, -lated]

1. to swing repeatedly back and forth: its wings oscillate up and down many times a second

2. to waver between two extremes of opinion, attitude, or behaviour: the government oscillates between a desire for reform and a desire to keep its powers intact

3. Physics (of an electric current) to vary between minimum and maximum values [Latin oscillare to swing]

oscillation n
oscillator n

Thesaurus

Verb	1.	oscillate - be undecided about something; waver between conflicting positions or courses of action; "He oscillates between accepting the new position and retirement" hover, vacillate, vibrate hesitate, waffle, waver - pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness; "Authorities hesitate to quote exact figures" shillyshally - be uncertain and vague
	2.	oscillate - move or swing from side to side regularly; "the needle on the meter was oscillating" vibrate sway, swing - move or walk in a swinging or swaying manner; "He swung back" hunt - oscillate about a desired speed, position, or state to an undesirable extent; "The oscillator hunts about the correct frequency" librate - vibrate before coming to a total rest; "the children's swing librated"

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oscillate

verb 1. fluctuate, swing, vary, sway, waver, veer, rise and fall, vibrate, undulate, go up and down, seesaw

2. waver, change, swing, shift, vary, sway, alternate, veer, ebb and flow, vacillate, seesaw << OPPOSITE settle

Translations

oscillate [ˈɔsɪleɪt] vi → oscilar; [person] → vacilar

oscillate [ˈɔsɪleɪt] vi → osciller

oscillate [ˈɔsɪleɪt] vi (Elec, Phys) → schwingen, oszillieren (fig); schwanken

oscillate [ˈɔsɪleɪt] vi → oscillare