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. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. To move backward and forward; to vibrate like a pendulum; to swing; to sway. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To vary or fluctuate between fixed limits; to act or move in a fickle or fluctuating manner; to change repeatedly, back and forth. [ 1913 Webster ]

The amount of superior families oscillates rather than changes, that is, it fluctuates within fixed limits. De Quincey. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. That oscillates; vibrating; swinging. [ 1913 Webster ]

. (Elec.) A current alternating in direction. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

Oscillating engine, a steam engine whose cylinder oscillates on trunnions instead of being permanently fixed in a perpendicular or other direction. Weale. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. oscillatio a swinging. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. The act of oscillating; a swinging or moving backward and forward, like a pendulum; vibration. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Fluctuation; variation; change back and forth. [ 1913 Webster ]

His mind oscillated, undoubtedly; but the extreme points of the oscillation were not very remote. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

Axis of oscillation,
Center of oscillation. See under Axis, and Center. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Tending to oscillate; vibratory. [ R. ] I. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. One that oscillates; specif.: (Electronics) Any device or circuit for producing electric oscillations, whether of current or voltage; esp., an apparatus for generating electric waves in a system of wireless telegraphy. Oscillators are essential components of radio transmission devices and digital computers, as well as many other types of electronic device. In computers the oscillator provides the voltage impulses which permit information bits to be transferred between parts of the computer in a defined sequence. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC ]

2. (Mech.) An instrument for measuring rigidity by the torsional oscillations of a weighted wire. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

‖n. pl. [ NL. See Oscillatory. ] (Bot.) Same as Oscillaria. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. oscillatoire. See Oscillate. ] Moving, or characterized by motion, backward and forward like a pendulum; swinging; oscillating; vibratory; as, oscillatory motion. [ 1913 Webster ]