periodicity
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of periodicity
From the French word périodicité, dating back to 1825–35. See periodic 1, -ity
Explanation
The characteristic of happening regularly is periodicity. In a given school day, you're sure to notice the periodicity of the bells ringing after class at predictable, regular intervals. The adjective periodicity is almost always used in a scientific or technical context (in more casual conversation, you'd be more likely to say regularity or even rhythm). In nature, there are many examples of periodicity, from the daily sunrise and sunset to the phases of the moon and the recurrence of the seasons. Periodicity is closely related to periodic, from the Greek root periodos, "cycle."
Vocabulary lists containing periodicity
The ACT Math Test: Functions
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Functions - High School
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This Week In Culture: February 8–14, 2020
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
There seems to be a seven-year periodicity with these fireballs.
From BBC • Nov. 9, 2024
Annual cicadas do not have the periodicity of the magicicada that are emerging soon.
From New York Times • May 8, 2024
However, these were systems that -- unlike Wilczek's original idea -- are subjected to a temporal excitation with a specific periodicity, but then react with another period twice as long.
From Science Daily • Feb. 1, 2024
But human influence is affecting the dynamics of weather systems, the periodicity of the jet stream and the moisture-holding capacity of the atmosphere.
From Washington Post • Aug. 23, 2022
We perceive, in the actual universe, the fact of a certain imperfect periodicity.
From A Review of the Systems of Ethics Founded on the Theory of Evolution by Williams, C. M.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
