pendulum (n.)

"anything that hangs down from a point of attachment and is free to swing;" specifically, in mechanics, "a body so suspended from a fixed point as to move to and fro by the alternate action of gravity and its acquired energy of motion," 1660, from Modern Latin pendulum (1643), noun use of neuter of Latin adjective pendulus "hanging down," from pendere "to hang, cause to hang" (from PIE root *(s)pen- "to draw, stretch, spin"). The Modern Latin word is perhaps a Latinization of Italian pendolo.

also from 1660

Entries linking to pendulum

*(s)pen-

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to draw, stretch, spin."

It forms all or part of: append; appendix; avoirdupois; compendium; compensate; compensation; counterpoise; depend; dispense; equipoise; expend; expense; expensive; hydroponics; impend; painter (n.2) "rope or chain that holds an anchor to a ship's side;" pansy; penchant; pend; pendant; pendentive; pending; pendular; pendulous; pendulum; pension; pensive; penthouse; perpendicular; peso; poise; ponder; ponderous; pound (n.1) "measure of weight;" prepend; prepense; preponderate; propensity; recompense; span (n.1) "distance between two objects;" span (n.2) "two animals driven together;" spangle; spanner; spend; spider; spin; spindle; spinner; spinster; stipend; suspend; suspension.

It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Latin pendere "to hang, to cause to hang," pondus "weight" (perhaps the notion is the weight of a thing measured by how much it stretches a cord), pensare "to weigh, consider;" Greek ponos "toil," ponein "to toil;" Lithuanian spendžiu, spęsti "lay a snare;" Old Church Slavonic peti "stretch, strain," pato "fetter," pina "I span;" Old English spinnan "to spin," spannan "to join, fasten; stretch, span;" Armenian henum "I weave;" Greek patos "garment," literally "that which is spun;" Lithuanian pinu "I plait, braid," spandau "I spin;" Middle Welsh cy-ffiniden "spider;" Old English spinnan "draw out and twist fibers into thread," spiðra "spider," literally "spinner."

Trends of pendulum

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/. Ngrams are probably unreliable.

More to Explore

wag

Wag-at-the-wall (1825) was an old name for a hanging clock with pendulum and weights exposed....

bob

various senses connected by the notion of "round, hanging mass," as of weights at the end of a fishing line (1610s), a pendulum...

metronome

mechanical musical time-keeper, 1815, coined in English from Greek metron "measure" (from PIE root *me- (2) "to measure") + nomos "regulating," verbal adjective of nemein "to regulate" (from PIE root *nem- "assign, allot; take"). The device was patented in England in 1815 by Joha

monotreme

"animal of the lowest order of mammals," native to Australia and New Zealand, which have one opening for the genital, urinary, and digestive organs, 1833, from Monotremata, the order name, Modern Latin, neuter plural of monotrematus, from Greek monos "single, alone" (see mono-) +

set-up

1890, "arrangement," from the verbal phrase set up, which is attested from c. 1200 as "place in an erect position, place upright, make ready for use;" from set (v.) + up (adv.). From 19c. also "a favorable arrangement of the balls in billiards, etc., especially when left by one p

eerie

also eery, c. 1300, "timid, affected by superstitious fear," north England and Scottish variant of Old English earg "cowardly, fearful, wretched; slow, indolent, useless," from Proto-Germanic *arh- (source also of Old Frisian erg "evil, bad," Middle Dutch arch "bad," Dutch arg, O

spruce

"type of evergreen tree, spruce-fir," 1660s, from spruse (adj.) "made of spruce wood" (early 15c.), originally that imported from Prussia. It is literally "from Prussia," from Middle English Spruce, Sprws (late 14c.), unexplained alterations of Pruce "Prussia," which is from an O

Florida

U.S. state, formerly a Spanish colony, probably from Spanish Pascua florida, literally "flowering Easter," a Spanish name for Palm Sunday, and so named because the peninsula was discovered on that day (March 20, 1513) by the expedition of Spanish explorer Ponce de León. From Lati

drone

Middle English drane, drone, "male honeybee," from Old English dran, dræn, from Proto-Germanic *dran- (source also of Middle Dutch drane; Old High German treno; German Drohne, which is from Middle Low German drone), probably imitative (compare Lithuanian tranni, Greek thronax "a

echo

mid-14c., "sound repeated by reflection," from Latin echo, from Greek ēkhō, personified in classical mythology as a mountain nymph who pined away for love of Narcissus until nothing was left of her but her voice, from or related to ēkhē "sound," ēkhein "to resound," from PIE *wag

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updated on March 20, 2020

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Dictionary entries near pendulum

pending

pendragon

pen-driver

pendular

pendulous

pendulum

Penelope

penetrable

penetralia

penetrate

penetrating