Category:Oscillate

Os"cil*late, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Oscillated; p. pr. & vb. n. Oscillating.] Etym: [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.