pulsation

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English

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Middle French pulsacion, and its source, Latin pulsātiō (a beating or striking).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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pulsation (countable and uncountable, plural pulsations)

  1. The regular throbbing of the heart, an artery etc. in a living body; the pulse. [from 15th c.]
    • 1844, Edgar Allan Poe, The Premature Burial:
      Pulsation had ceased. For three days the body was preserved unburied, during which it had acquired a stony rigidity.
  2. Any rhythmic beating, throbbing etc. [from 17th c.]
    • 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, [], →OCLC, Canto XII:
      Lo! as a dove when up she springs
      ⁠To bear thro’ Heaven a tale of woe,
      ⁠Some dolorous message knit below
      The wild pulsation of her wings;
      Like her I go; I cannot stay;
      ⁠I leave this mortal ark behind […]
  3. (now rare) Physical striking; a blow. [from 17th c.]
  4. A single beat, throb or vibration. [from 19th c.]

Translations

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Anagrams

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French

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Etymology

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From Latin pulsātiōnem.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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pulsation f (plural pulsations)

  1. pulsation

Further reading

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