any complete round or series of occurrences that repeats or is repeated.
2.
a round of years or a recurring period of time, esp. one in which certain events or phenomena repeat themselves in the same order and at the same intervals.
3.
any long period of years; age.
4.
a bicycle, motorcycle, tricycle, etc.
5.
a group of poems, dramas, prose narratives, songs etc., about a central theme, figure, or the like: the Arthurian cycle.
6.
Physics.
a.
a sequence of changing states that, upon completion, produces a final state identical to the original one.
b.
one of a succession of periodically recurring events.
c.
a complete alteration in which a phenomenon attains a maximum and minimum value, returning to a final value equal to the original one.
7.
Mathematics. a permutation of a set of elements that leaves the original cyclic order of the elements unchanged.
8.
Computers.
a.
the smallest interval of time required to complete an operation in a computer.
b.
a series of computer operations repeated as a unit.
–verb (used without object)
9.
to ride or travel by bicycle, motorcycle, tricycle, etc.
10.
to move or revolve in cycles; pass through cycles.
—Idiom
11.
hit for the cycle, Baseball. (of one player) to hit a single, double, triple, and home run in one game.
[Origin: 1350–1400; ME cicle < LL cyclus < Gk kýklos cycle, circle, wheel, ring, disk, orb; see wheel]
An interval of time during which a characteristic, often regularly repeated event or sequence of events occurs: Sunspots increase and decrease in intensity in an 11-year cycle.
A single complete execution of a periodically repeated phenomenon: A year constitutes a cycle of the seasons.
A periodically repeated sequence of events: the cycle of birth, growth, and death; a cycle of reprisal and retaliation.
The aggregate of traditional poems or stories organized around a central theme or hero: the Arthurian cycle.
A series of poems or songs on the same theme: Schubert's song cycles.
The orbit of a celestial body.
A long period of time; an age.
The aggregate of traditional poems or stories organized around a central theme or hero: the Arthurian cycle.
A series of poems or songs on the same theme: Schubert's song cycles.
A bicycle, motorcycle, or similar vehicle.
Botany A circular or whorled arrangement of flower parts such as those of petals or sepals.
Linguistics In generative grammar, the principle that allows an ordered set of linguistic rules or operations to apply repeatedly to successive stages of a derivation. Often used with the.
v.
cy·cled, cy·cling, cy·cles
v.
intr.
To occur in or pass through a cycle.
To move in or as if in a cycle.
To ride a bicycle, motorcycle, or similar vehicle.
v.
tr.
To use in or put through a cycle: cycled the heavily soiled laundry twice; cycling the recruits through eight weeks of basic training.
[Middle English, from Late Latin cyclus, from Greek kuklos, circle; see kwel-1 in Indo-European roots.]
1387, from L.L. cyclus, from Gk. kyklos "circle, wheel," from PIE *kwel-, *kwol- "to roll, to move around, wheel" (cf. Skt. cakram "circle, wheel," carati "he moves, wanders;" Avestan caraiti "applies himself," c'axra "chariot, wagon;" Gk. polos "a round axis" (PIE *kw- becomes Gk. p- before some vowels), polein "move around;" L. colere "to frequent, dwell in, to cultivate, move around," cultus "tended, cultivated," hence also "polished," colonus "husbandman, tenant farmer, settler, colonist;" Lith. kelias "a road, a way;" O.N. hvel, O.E. hweol "wheel;" O.Rus., Pol. kolo, Rus. koleso "a wheel"). The verb meaning "to ride a bicycle" is from 1883; cyclist in this sense is from 1882; cyclical is from 1817; cyclorama is from 1840.
Main Entry: 1cy·cle Pronunciation: 'sI-k&l Function: noun 1: a recurring series of events: as a (1) : a
series of stages through which an organism tends to pass once in a fixed order <the common cycle of birth, growth, senescence and death —T. C. Schneirla & Gerard Piel>;
also: a series of stages through which a population of organisms tends to pass more or less in synchrony <the mosquito-hatching cycle> —see LIFE CYCLE (2) : a series of physiological, biochemical, or psychological stages that recur in the same individual
—see CARDIAC CYCLE, MENSTRUAL CYCLE;
KREBS CYCLEb: one complete performance of a vibration, electric oscillation, current alternation, or other
periodic process c: a series of ecological stages through which a substance tends to pass and which usually but not always leads back to the starting point <the cycle of
nitrogen in the living world> 2:RING 2 —cy·clic/'sI-klik also
'sik-lik/orcy·cli·cal/'sI-kli-k&l, 'sik-li-/adjective —cy·cli·cal·ly/-k(&-)lE/alsocy·clic·ly/'sI-kli-klE, 'sik-li-/adverb
cycleunit A basic unit of computation, one period of a computer clock. Each instruction takes a number of clock cycles. Often the computer can access its memory once on every clock cycle, and so one speaks also of "memory cycles". Every hacker wants more cycles (noted hacker Bill Gosper describes himself as a "cycle junkie"). There are only so many cycles per second, and when you are sharing a computer the cycles get divided up among the users. The more cycles the computer spends working on your program rather than someone else's, the faster your program will run. That's why every hacker wants more cycles: so he can spend less time waiting for the computer to respond. The use of the term "cycle" for a computer clock period can probably be traced back to the rotation of a generator generating alternating current though computers generally use a clock signal which is more like a square wave. Interestingly, the earliest mechanical calculators, e.g. Babbage's Difference Engine, really did have parts which rotated in true cycles. [The Jargon File] (1997-09-30)
1. n. The basic unit of computation. What every hacker wants more of (noted hacker Bill Gosper described himself as a "cycle junkie"). One can describe an instruction as taking so many `clock cycles'. Often the computer can access its memory once on every clock cycle, and so one speaks also of `memory cycles'. These are technical meanings of cycle. The jargon meaning comes from the observation that there are only so many cycles per second, and when you are sharing a computer the cycles get divided up among the users. The more cycles the computer spends working on your program rather than someone else's, the faster your program will run. That's why every hacker wants more cycles: so he can spend less time waiting for the computer to respond. 2. By extension, a notional unit of _human_ thought power, emphasizing that lots of things compete for the typical hacker's think time. "I refused to get involved with the Rubik's Cube back when it was big. Knew I'd burn too many cycles on it if I let myself." 3. vt. Syn. bounce (sense 4), 120 reset; from the phrase `cycle power'. "Cycle the machine again, that serial port's still hung."
Cy"cle\ (s?"k'l), n. [F. ycle, LL. cyclus, fr. Gr. ky`klos ring or circle, cycle; akin to Skr. cakra wheel, circle. See Wheel.]1. An imaginary circle or orbit in the heavens; one of the celestial spheres. --Milton. 2. An interval of time in which a certain succession of events or phenomena is completed, and then returns again and again, uniformly and continually in the same order; a periodical space of time marked by the recurrence of something peculiar; as, the cycle of the seasons, or of the year. Wages . . . bear a full proportion . . . to the medium of provision during the last bad cycle of twenty years. --Burke. 3. An age; a long period of time. Better fifty years of Europe than a cycle of Cathay. --Tennyson. 4. An orderly list for a given time; a calendar. [Obs.] We . . . present our gardeners with a complete cycle of what is requisite to be done throughout every month of the year. --Evelyn. 5. The circle of subjects connected with the exploits of the hero or heroes of some particular period which have served as a popular theme for poetry, as the legend of Arthur and the knights of the Round Table, and that of Charlemagne and his paladins. 6. (Bot.) One entire round in a circle or a spire; as, a cycle or set of leaves. --Gray. 7. A bicycle or tricycle, or other light velocipede. Calippic cycle, a period of 76 years, or four Metonic cycles; -- so called from Calippus, who proposed it as an improvement on the Metonic cycle. Cycle of eclipses, a period of about 6,586 days, the time of revolution of the moon's node; -- called Saros by the Chaldeans. Cycle of indiction, a period of 15 years, employed in Roman and ecclesiastical chronology, not founded on any astronomical period, but having reference to certain judicial acts which took place at stated epochs under the Greek emperors. Cycle of the moon, or Metonic cycle, a period of 19 years, after the lapse of which the new and full moon returns to the same day of the year; -- so called from Meton, who first proposed it. Cycle of the sun, Solar cycle, a period of 28 years, at the end of which time the days of the month return to the same days of the week. The dominical or Sunday letter follows the same order; hence the solar cycle is also called the cycle of the Sunday letter. In the Gregorian calendar the solar cycle is in general interrupted at the end of the century.
Cy"cle\ (s?"k'l), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Cycled. (-k'ld); p. pr. & vb. n. Cycling (-kl?ng).]1. To pass through a cycle of changes; to recur in cycles. --Tennyson. Darwin. 2. To ride a bicycle, tricycle, or other form of cycle.
Cyc"lic\ (s?k"l?k or s?"kl?k), Cyclical \Cyc"lic*al\ (s?k"l?-kal), a. [Cf. F. cycluque, Gr. kykliko`s, fr. ky`klos See Cycle.] Of or pertaining to a cycle or circle; moving in cycles; as, cyclical time. --Coleridge. Cyclic chorus, the chorus which performed the songs and dances of the dithyrambic odes at Athens, dancing round the altar of Bacchus in a circle. Cyclic poets, certain epic poets who followed Homer, and wrote merely on the Trojan war and its heroes; -- so called because keeping within the circle of a single subject. Also, any series or coterie of poets writing on one subject. --Milman.
Cy`clo*pe"di*a\ Cyclopaedia \Cy`clo*p[ae]"di*a\(s?`kl?-p?"d?-?), n. [NL., from Gr. ky`klos circle + paidei`a the bringing up of a child, education, erudition, fr. paidey`ein to bring up a child. See Cycle, and cf. Encyclopedia, Pedagogue.] The circle or compass of the arts and sciences (originally, of the seven so-called liberal arts and sciences); circle of human knowledge. Hence, a work containing, in alphabetical order, information in all departments of knowledge, or on a particular department or branch; as, a cyclopedia of the physical sciences, or of mechanics. See Encyclopedia.
Do*min"ic*al\, a. [LL. dominicalis, for L. dominicus belonging to a master or lord (dominica dies the Lord's day), fr. dominus master or lord: cf. F. dominical. See Dame.]1. Indicating, or pertaining to, the Lord's day, or Sunday. 2. Relating to, or given by, our Lord; as, the dominical (or Lord's) prayer. --Howell. Some words altered in the dominical Gospels. --Fuller. Dominical altar (Eccl.), the high altar. Dominical letter, the letter which, in almanacs, denotes Sunday, or the Lord's day (dies Domini). The first seven letters of the alphabet are used for this purpose, the same letter standing for Sunday during a whole year (except in leap year, when the letter is changed at the end of February). After twenty-eight years the same letters return in the same order. The dominical letters go backwards one day every common year, and two every leap year; e. g., if the dominical letter of a common year be G, F will be the dominical letter for the next year. Called also Sunday letter. Cf. Solar cycle, under Cycle, n.
E*clipse"\, n. [F. ['e]clipse, L. eclipsis, fr. Gr. ?, prop., a forsaking, failing, fr. ? to leave out, forsake; ? out + ? to leave. See Ex-, and Loan.]1. (Astron.) An interception or obscuration of the light of the sun, moon, or other luminous body, by the intervention of some other body, either between it and the eye, or between the luminous body and that illuminated by it. A lunar eclipse is caused by the moon passing through the earth's shadow; a solar eclipse, by the moon coming between the sun and the observer. A satellite is eclipsed by entering the shadow of its primary. The obscuration of a planet or star by the moon or a planet, though of the nature of an eclipse, is called an occultation. The eclipse of a small portion of the sun by Mercury or Venus is called a transit of the planet. Note: In ancient times, eclipses were, and among unenlightened people they still are, superstitiously regarded as forerunners of evil fortune, a sentiment of which occasional use is made in literature. That fatal and perfidious bark, Built in the eclipse, and rigged with curses dark. --Milton. 2. The loss, usually temporary or partial, of light, brilliancy, luster, honor, consciousness, etc.; obscuration; gloom; darkness. All the posterity of our fist parents suffered a perpetual eclipse of spiritual life. --Sir W. Raleigh. As in the soft and sweet eclipse, When soul meets soul on lovers' lips. --Shelley. Annular eclipse. (Astron.) See under Annular. Cycle of eclipses. See under Cycle.
En*cyc"lic\, Encyclical \En*cyc"li*cal\, a. [L. encyclios of a circle, general, Gr. ?; ? in + ? circle: cf. F. encyclique. See Cycle.] Sent to many persons or places; intended for many, or for a whole order of men; general; circular; as, an encyclical letter of a council, of a bishop, or the pope.
Ep"i*cy`cle\, n. [L. epicyclus, Gr. ?; 'epi` upon + ? circle. See Cycle.]1. (Ptolemaic Astron.) A circle, whose center moves round in the circumference of a greater circle; or a small circle, whose center, being fixed in the deferent of a planet, is carried along with the deferent, and yet, by its own peculiar motion, carries the body of the planet fastened to it round its proper center. The schoolmen were like astronomers which did feign eccentries, and epicycles, and such engines of orbs. --Bacon. 2. (Mech.) A circle which rolls on the circumference of another circle, either externally or internally.
In*dic"tion\, n. [L. indictio: cf. F. indiction. See Indict, Indite.]1. Declaration; proclamation; public notice or appointment. [Obs.] "Indiction of a war." --Bacon. Secular princes did use to indict, or permit the indiction of, synods of bishops. --Jer. Taylor. 2. A cycle of fifteen years. Note: This mode of reckoning time is said to have been introduced by Constantine the Great, in connection with the payment of tribute. It was adopted at various times by the Greek emperors of Constantinople, the popes, and the parliaments of France. Through the influence of the popes, it was extensively used in the ecclesiastical chronology of the Middle Ages. The number of indictions was reckoned at first from 312 a. d., but since the twelfth century it has been reckoned from the birth of Christ. The papal indiction is the only one ever used at the present day. To find the indiction and year of the indiction by the first method, subtract 312 from the given year a. d., and divide by 15; by the second method, add 3 to the given year a. d., and the divide by 15. In either case, the quotient is the number of the current indiction, and the remainder the year of the indiction. See Cycle of indiction, under Cycle.
Lu"nar\, a. [L. lunaris, fr. luna the moon. See Luna, and cf. Lunary.]1. Of or pertaining to the moon; as, lunar observations. 2. Resembling the moon; orbed. --Dryden. 3. Measured by the revolutions of the moon; as, a lunar month. 4. Influenced by the moon, as in growth, character, or properties; as, lunar herbs. --Bacon. Lunar caustic (Med. Chem.), silver nitrate prepared to be used as a cautery; -- so named because silver was called luna by the ancient alchemists. Lunar cycle. Same as Metonic cycle. See under Cycle. Lunar distance, the angular distance of the moon from the sun, a star, or a planet, employed for determining longitude by the lunar method. Lunar method, the method of finding a ship's longitude by comparing the local time of taking (by means of a sextant or circle) a given lunar distance, with the Greenwich time corresponding to the same distance as ascertained from a nautical almanac, the difference of these times being the longitude. Lunar month. See Month. Lunar observation, an observation of a lunar distance by means of a sextant or circle, with the altitudes of the bodies, and the time, for the purpose of computing the longitude. Lunar tables. (a) (Astron.) Tables of the moon's motions, arranged for computing the moon's true place at any time past or future. (b) (Navigation) Tables for correcting an observed lunar distance on account of refraction and parallax. Lunar year, the period of twelve lunar months, or 354 days, 8 hours, 48 minutes, and 34.38 seconds.
Cy"cle\, n. (a) (Thermodynamics) A series of operations in which heat is imparted to (or taken away from) a working substance which by its expansion gives up a part of its internal energy in the form of mechanical work (or being compressed increases its internal energy) and is again brought back to its original state. (b) (Elec.) A complete positive and negative wave of an alternating current; one period. The number of cycles (per second) is a measure of the frequency of an alternating current.
So"lar\, a. [L. solaris, fr. sol the sun; akin to As. s[=o]l, Icel. s[=o]l, Goth. sauil, Lith. saule, W. haul,. sul, Skr. svar, perhaps to E. sun:F. solaire. Cf. Parasol. Sun.]1. Of or pertaining to the sun; proceeding from the sun; as, the solar system; solar light; solar rays; solar influence. See Solar system, below. 2. (Astrol.) Born under the predominant influence of the sun. [Obs.] And proud beside, as solar people are. --Dryden. 3. Measured by the progress or revolution of the sun in the ecliptic; as, the solar year. 4. Produced by the action of the sun, or peculiarly affected by its influence. They denominate some herbs solar, and some lunar. --Bacon. Solar cycle. See under Cycle. Solar day. See Day, 2. Solar engine, an engine in which the energy of solar heat is used to produce motion, as in evaporating water for a steam engine, or expanding air for an air engine. Solar flowers (Bot.), flowers which open and shut daily at certain hours. Solar lamp, an argand lamp. Solar microscope, a microscope consisting essentially, first, of a mirror for reflecting a beam of sunlight through the tube, which sometimes is fixed in a window shutter; secondly, of a condenser, or large lens, for converging the beam upon the object; and, thirdly, of a small lens, or magnifier, for throwing an enlarged image of the object at its focus upon a screen in a dark room or in a darkened box. Solar month. See under Month. Solar oil, a paraffin oil used an illuminant and lubricant. Solar phosphori (Physics), certain substances, as the diamond, siulphide of barium (Bolognese or Bologna phosphorus), calcium sulphide, etc., which become phosphorescent, and shine in the dark, after exposure to sunlight or other intense light. Solar plexus (Anat.), a nervous plexus situated in the dorsal and anterior part of the abdomen, consisting of several sympathetic ganglia with connecting and radiating nerve fibers; -- so called in allusion to the radiating nerve fibers. Solar spots. See Sun spots, under Sun. Solar system (Astron.), the sun, with the group of celestial bodies which, held by its attraction, revolve round it. The system comprises the major planets, with their satellites; the minor planets, or asteroids, and the comets; also, the meteorids, the matter that furnishes the zodiacal light, and the rings of Saturn. The satellites that revolve about the major planets are twenty-two in number, of which the Earth has one (see Moon.), Mars two, Jupiter five, Saturn nine, Uranus four, and Neptune one. The asteroids, between Mars and Jupiter, thus far discovered (1900), number about five hundred, the first four of which were found near the beginning of the century, and are called Ceres, Pallas, Juno, and Vesta. Note: The principal elements of the major planets, and of the comets seen at more than one perihelion passage, are exhibited in the following tables: -- I. -- Major Planets. Symbol.Name.Mean distance -- that of the Earth being unity.Period in days.Eccentricity.Inclination of orbit.Diameter in miles ????????????????????? II. -- Periodic Comets. Name.Greatest distance from sun.Least distance from sun.Inclination of orbit.Perihelion passage. [deg] [min] 54 Encke's3.314.100.34212 541885.2 ????????????????????? Solar telegraph, telegraph for signaling by flashes of reflected sunlight. Solar time. See Apparent time, under Time.
Wheel\, n. [OE. wheel, hweol, AS. hwe['o]l, hweogul, hweowol; akin to D. wiel, Icel. hv[=e]l, Gr. ky`klos, Skr. cakra; cf. Icel. hj[=o]l, Dan. hiul, Sw. hjul. [root]218. Cf. Cycle, Cyclopedia.]1. A circular frame turning about an axis; a rotating disk, whether solid, or a frame composed of an outer rim, spokes or radii, and a central hub or nave, in which is inserted the axle, -- used for supporting and conveying vehicles, in machinery, and for various purposes; as, the wheel of a wagon, of a locomotive, of a mill, of a watch, etc. The gasping charioteer beneath the wheel Of his own car. --Dryden. 2. Any instrument having the form of, or chiefly consisting of, a wheel. Specifically: (a) A spinning wheel. See under Spinning. (b) An instrument of torture formerly used. His examination is like that which is made by the rack and wheel. --Addison. Note: This mode of torture is said to have been first employed in Germany, in the fourteenth century. The criminal was laid on a cart wheel with his legs and arms extended, and his limbs in that posture were fractured with an iron bar. In France, where its use was restricted to the most atrocious crimes, the criminal was first laid on a frame of wood in the form of a St. Andrew's cross, with grooves cut transversely in it above and below the knees and elbows, and the executioner struck eight blows with an iron bar, so as to break the limbs in those places, sometimes finishing by two or three blows on the chest or stomach, which usually put an end to the life of the criminal, and were hence called coups-de-grace -- blows of mercy. The criminal was then unbound, and laid on a small wheel, with his face upward, and his arms and legs doubled under him, there to expire, if he had survived the previous treatment. --Brande. (c) (Naut.) A circular frame having handles on the periphery, and an axle which is so connected with the tiller as to form a means of controlling the rudder for the purpose of steering. (d) (Pottery) A potter's wheel. See under Potter. Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. --Jer. xviii. 3. Turn, turn, my wheel! This earthen jar A touch can make, a touch can mar. --Longfellow. (e) (Pyrotechny) A firework which, while burning, is caused to revolve on an axis by the reaction of the escaping gases. (f) (Poetry) The burden or refrain of a song. Note: "This meaning has a low degree of authority, but is supposed from the context in the few cases where the word is found." --Nares. You must sing a-down a-down, An you call him a-down-a. O, how the wheel becomes it! --Shak. 3. A bicycle or a tricycle; a velocipede. 4. A rolling or revolving body; anything of a circular form; a disk; an orb. --Milton. 5. A turn revolution; rotation; compass. According to the common vicissitude and wheel of things, the proud and the insolent, after long trampling upon others, come at length to be trampled upon themselves. --South. [He] throws his steep flight in many an a["e]ry wheel. --Milton. A wheel within a wheel, or Wheels within wheels, a complication of circumstances, motives, etc. Balance wheel. See in the Vocab. Bevel wheel, Brake wheel, Cam wheel, Fifth wheel, Overshot wheel, Spinning wheel, etc. See under Bevel, Brake, etc. Core wheel. (Mach.) (a) A mortise gear. (b) A wheel having a rim perforated to receive wooden cogs; the skeleton of a mortise gear. Measuring wheel, an odometer, or perambulator. Wheel and axle (Mech.), one of the elementary machines or mechanical powers, consisting of a wheel fixed to an axle, and used for raising great weights, by applying the power to the circumference of the wheel, and attaching the weight, by a rope or chain, to that of the axle. Called also axis in peritrochio, and perpetual lever, -- the principle of equilibrium involved being the same as in the lever, while its action is continuous. See Mechanical powers, under Mechanical. Wheel animal, or Wheel animalcule (Zo["o]l.), any one of numerous species of rotifers having a ciliated disk at the anterior end. Wheel barometer. (Physics) See under Barometer. Wheel boat, a boat with wheels, to be used either on water or upon inclined planes or railways. Wheel bug (Zo["o]l.), a large North American hemipterous insect (Prionidus cristatus) which sucks the blood of other insects. So named from the curious shape of the prothorax. Wheel carriage, a carriage moving on wheels. Wheel chains, or Wheel ropes (Naut.), the chains or ropes connecting the wheel and rudder. Wheel cutter, a machine for shaping the cogs of gear wheels; a gear cutter. Wheel horse, one of the horses nearest to the wheels, as opposed to a leader, or forward horse; -- called also wheeler. Wheel lathe, a lathe for turning railway-car wheels. Wheel lock. (a) A letter lock. See under Letter. (b) A kind of gunlock in which sparks were struck from a flint, or piece of iron pyrites, by a revolving wheel. (c) A kind of brake a carriage. Wheel ore (Min.), a variety of bournonite so named from the shape of its twin crystals. See Bournonite. Wheel pit (Steam Engine), a pit in the ground, in which the lower part of the fly wheel runs. Wheel plow, or Wheel plough, a plow having one or two wheels attached, to render it more steady, and to regulate the depth of the furrow. Wheel press, a press by which railway-car wheels are forced on, or off, their axles. Wheel race, the place in which a water wheel is set. Wheel rope (Naut.), a tiller rope. See under Tiller. Wheel stitch (Needlework), a stitch resembling a spider's web, worked into the material, and not over an open space. --Caulfeild & S. (Dict. of Needlework). Wheel tree (Bot.), a tree (Aspidosperma excelsum) of Guiana, which has a trunk so curiously fluted that a transverse section resembles the hub and spokes of a coarsely made wheel. See Paddlewood. Wheel urchin (Zo["o]l.), any sea urchin of the genus Rotula having a round, flat shell. Wheel window (Arch.), a circular window having radiating mullions arranged like the spokes of a wheel. Cf. Rose window, under Rose.
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