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pendulum

   Also found in: Medical, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.02 sec.
pen·du·lum  (pnj-lm, pndy-, pnd-)
n.
1. A body suspended from a fixed support so that it swings freely back and forth under the influence of gravity, commonly used to regulate various devices, especially clocks. Also called simple pendulum.
2. Something that swings back and forth from one course, opinion, or condition to another: the pendulum of public opinion.

[New Latin, probably from Italian pendolo, pendulous, pendulum, from Latin pendulus, hanging; see pendulous.]

pendulum
Noun
1. a weight suspended so it swings freely under the influence of gravity
2. such a device used to regulate a clock mechanism
3. a movement from one attitude or belief towards its opposite: the pendulum has swung back to more punitive measures

pendulum  (pnj-lm)
A mass hung from a fixed support so that it is able to swing freely under the influence of gravity. Since the motion of pendulums is regular and periodic, they are often used to regulate the action of various devices, especially clocks.
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.pendulumpendulum - an apparatus consisting of an object mounted so that it swings freely under the influence of gravity
apparatus, setup - equipment designed to serve a specific function
bob - a hanging weight, especially a metal ball on a string
Foucault pendulum - pendulum with a long wire; can swing in any direction; the change in the swing plane demonstrates the earth's rotation
metronome - clicking pendulum indicates the exact tempo of a piece of music
compound pendulum, physical pendulum - pendulum consisting of an actual object allowed to rotate freely around a horizontal axis
simple pendulum - a hypothetical pendulum suspended by a weightless frictionless thread of constant length
Translations
Spanish pendulum [ˈpɛndjuləm] npéndulo
French pendulum [ˈpɛndjuləm] npendule m [of clock]; balancier m
German pendulum [ˈpɛndjuləm] nPendel nt
Italian pendulum [ˈpɛndjuləm] npendolo

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? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
He appeared to have an intelligent expression about him of knowing that he was not a lamp at all; that he was a Pendulum; a pendulum disguised, for prodigious and inscrutable purposes of his own deep devising, and not a common pendulum either, but the old original patriarchal Pendulum--the Abraham Pendulum of the world.
It was the painted figure of Time as he is commonly represented, save that, in lieu of a scythe, he held what, at a casual glance, I supposed to be the pictured image of a huge pendulum such as we see on antique clocks.
The pendulum beat the seconds, which each player eagerly counted, as he listened, with mathematical regularity.
 
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