PULSE

pulse, pulsation, heartbeat, beat

(noun) the rhythmic contraction and expansion of the arteries with each beat of the heart; “he could feel the beat of her heart”

pulsation, pulsing, pulse, impulse

(noun) (electronics) a sharp transient wave in the normal electrical state (or a series of such transients); “the pulsations seemed to be coming from a star”

pulse

(noun) edible seeds of various pod-bearing plants (peas or beans or lentils etc.)

pulse, pulse rate, heart rate

(noun) the rate at which the heart beats; usually measured to obtain a quick evaluation of a person’s health

pulse, pulsate

(verb) produce or modulate (as electromagnetic waves) in the form of short bursts or pulses or cause an apparatus to produce pulses; “pulse waves”; “a transmitter pulsed by an electronic tube”

pulsate, throb, pulse

(verb) expand and contract rhythmically; beat rhythmically; “The baby’s heart was pulsating again after the surgeon massaged it”

pulse

(verb) drive by or as if by pulsation; “A soft breeze pulsed the air”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology 1

Noun

pulse (plural pulses)

(physiology) A normally regular beat felt when arteries are depressed, caused by the pumping action of the heart.

A beat or throb.

• Tennyson

• Burke

(music) The beat or tactus of a piece of music.

An autosoliton

Etymology 2

Verb

pulse (third-person singular simple present pulses, present participle pulsing, simple past and past participle pulsed)

To beat, to throb, to flash.

To flow, particularly of blood.

To emit in discrete quantities.

(cooking) To operate a blender in short bursts, to break down ingredients without liquidizing them.

Etymology 3

Noun

pulse (plural pulses)

Any annual legume yielding from 1 to 12 grains or seeds within a pod, and used as food for humans or animals, especially in the mature, dry condition.

Anagrams

• Lepus, pules, pusle

Source: Wiktionary


Pulse, n. Etym: [OE. puls, L. puls, pultis, a thick pap or pottage made of meal, pulse, etc. See Poultice, and cf. Pousse.]

Definition: Leguminous plants, or their seeds, as beans, pease, etc. If all the world Should, in a pet of temperance, feed on pulse. Milton.

Pulse, n. Etym: [OE. pous, OF. pous, F. pouls, fr. L. pulsus (sc. venarum), the beating of the pulse, the pulse, from pellere, pulsum, to beat, strike; cf. Gr. Appeal, Compel, Impel, Push.]

1. (Physiol.)

Definition: The beating or throbbing of the heart or blood vessels, especially of the arteries.

Note: In an artery the pulse is due to the expansion and contraction of the elastic walls of the artery by the action of the heart upon the column of blood in the arterial system. On the commencement of the diastole of the ventricle, the semilunar valves are closed, and the aorta recoils by its elasticity so as to force part of its contents into the vessels farther onwards. These, in turn, as they already contain a certain quantity of blood, expand, recover by an elastic recoil, and transmit the movement with diminished intensity. Thus a series of movements, gradually diminishing in intensity, pass along the arterial system (see the Note under Heart). For the sake of convenience, the radial artery at the wrist is generally chosen to detect the precise character of the pulse. The pulse rate varies with age, position, sex, stature, physical and psychical influences, etc.

2. Any measured or regular beat; any short, quick motion, regularly repeated, as of a medium in the transmission of light, sound, etc.; oscillation; vibration; pulsation; impulse; beat; movement. The measured pulse of racing oars. Tennyson. When the ear receives any simple sound, it is struck by a single pulse of the air, which makes the eardrum and the other membranous parts vibrate according to the nature and species of the stroke. Burke. Pulse glass, an instrument consisting to a glass tube with terminal bulbs, and containing ether or alcohol, which the heat of the hand causes to boil; -- so called from the pulsating motion of the liquid when thus warmed. Pulse wave (Physiol.), the wave of increased pressure started by the ventricular systole, radiating from the semilunar valves over the arterial system, and gradually disappearing in the smaller branches. the pulse wave travels over the arterial system at the rate of about 29.5 feet in a second. H. N. Martin.

– To feel one's pulse. (a) To ascertain, by the sense of feeling, the condition of the arterial pulse. (b) Hence, to sound one's opinion; to try to discover one's mind.

Pulse, v. i.

Definition: To beat, as the arteries; to move in pulses or beats; to pulsate; to throb. Ray.

Pulse, v. t. Etym: [See Pulsate, Pulse a beating.]

Definition: To drive by a pulsation; to cause to pulsate. [R.]

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

29 March 2024

FAULTFINDING

(adjective) tending to make moral judgments or judgments based on personal opinions; “a counselor tries not to be faultfinding”


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Coffee Trivia

Coffee dates back to the 9th century. Goat herders in Ethiopia noticed their goats seem to be “dancing” after eating berries from a particular shrub. They reported it to the local monastery, and a monk made a drink out of it. The monk found out he felt energized and kept him awake at night. That’s how the first coffee drink was born.

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