WordWeight : Weighing the Words

Pronunciation : Os"cil*late
Part of Speech : v.
Etymology : [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.]
Definition : 1. To move backward and forward; to vibrate like a pendulum; to swing; to sway.

2. To vary or fluctuate between fixed limits; to act or move in a fickle or fluctuating manner; to change repeatedly, back and forth. The amount of superior families oscillates rather than changes, that is, it fluctuates within fixed limits. Dc Quincey.

i. [imp. & p. p. Oscillated; p. pr. & vb. n. Oscillating.]
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913