Hypertext Webster Gateway: "oscillate"
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) 1.7 (wn)
oscillate
v : move or swing from side to side regularly; "the needle on
the meter was oscillating" [syn: {vibrate}]
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