pendulum

pen·du·lum

A pendulum in an old fashioned clock.

noun

The definition of a pendulum is an object that has been mounted to a fixed point that swings freely back and forth under the influence of gravity, or the tendency of trends or situations to shift from one extreme to another.

The weights fixed to a pivot point on the end of a chain in a grandfather clock that pivot back and forth to help regulate the clock mechanism is an example of a pendulum.
When popular home furniture styles shift from modern to traditional and back again, this is an example of the pendulum of taste.

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"pendulum." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 21 March 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/pendulum>.

APA Style

pendulum. (n.d.). Retrieved March 21st, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/pendulum

pendulum

a weight hung from a fixed point so as to swing freely to and fro under the combined forces of gravity and momentum: often used in regulating the movement of clocks

Origin of pendulum

Modern Latin from neuter of Classical Latin pendulus: see pendulous

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"pendulum." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 21 March 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/pendulum>.

APA Style

pendulum. (n.d.). Retrieved March 21st, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/pendulum

pendulum

noun

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 .
Something that swings back and forth from one course, opinion, or condition to another: the pendulum of public opinion.

Origin of pendulum

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

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"pendulum." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 21 March 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/pendulum>.

APA Style

pendulum. (n.d.). Retrieved March 21st, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/pendulum

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.

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"pendulum." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 21 March 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/pendulum>.

APA Style

pendulum. (n.d.). Retrieved March 21st, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/pendulum

Noun

(plural pendulums or pendula) (See usage notes.)

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 such as clocks.

Usage notes

The plural form pendula is significantly rarer than pendulums; see etymology at pendula for details. However, pendula is occasionally used in physics.

Origin

Neuter of Latin pendulus, "hanging".

English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.