pulsation

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun (electronics) a sharp transient wave in the normal electrical state (or a series of such transients)
  2. noun a periodically recurring phenomenon that alternately increases and decreases some quantity
  3. noun the rhythmic contraction and expansion of the arteries with each beat of the heart

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English pulsacioun (“pulsing of the blood, throbbing”), borrowed from Middle French pulsacion (“(of bells) a striking (end of 14th c.); (of a diseased part of the body) a throbbing (1377); pulsation (1575)”), and its source, Latin pulsātiō (“(classical Latin) a beating or striking; (Medieval Latin, medical) rhythmical expansion and contraction (1363 in Chauliac)”). By surface analysis, pulsate + -ion.

In classic literature

Synonyms

pulsing, pulse, impulse

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