cycle

cycle (ˈsaɪkəl)
—n
1.	a recurring period of time in which certain events or phenomena occur and reach completion or repeat themselves in a regular sequence
2.	a completed series of events that follows or is followed by another series of similar events occurring in the same sequence
3.	the time taken or needed for one such series
4.	a vast period of time; age; aeon
5.	a group of poems or prose narratives forming a continuous story about a central figure or event: the Arthurian cycle
6.	a series of miracle plays: the Chester cycle
7.	See song cycle a group or sequence of songs
8.	bicycle tricycle short for motorcycle
9.	astronomy the orbit of a celestial body
10.	a recurrent series of events or processes in plants and animals: a life cycle; a growth cycle; a metabolic cycle
11.	physics a continuous change or a sequence of changes in the state of a system that leads to the restoration of the system to its original state after a finite period of time
12.	one of a series of repeated changes in the magnitude of a periodically varying quantity, such as current or voltage
13.	computing
	a.  a set of operations that can be both treated and repeated as a unit
	b.  the time required to complete a set of operations
	c.  one oscillation of the regular voltage waveform used to synchronize processes in a digital computer
14.	(in generative grammar) the set of cyclic rules
—vb
15.	(tr) to process through a cycle or system
16.	(intr) to move in or pass through cycles
17.	to travel by or ride a bicycle or tricycle
[C14: from Late Latin cyclus, from Greek kuklos cycle, circle, ring, wheel; see wheel]
'cycling
—n, —adj

cycle

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.

cycle cy·cle (sī'kəl)
n.

1. An interval of time during which a characteristic, often regularly repeated event or sequence of events occurs.

2. A single complete execution of a periodically repeated phenomenon.

3. A periodically repeated sequence of events.

cycle   (sī'kəl)  Pronunciation Key  A single complete execution of a periodically repeated phenomenon. See also period. A circular or whorled arrangement of flower parts such as those of petals or stamens.

cycle

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."

cycle definition

unit
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.
[Jargon File]
(1997-09-30)