cycle en · NOUN · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- [ˈsaɪ.kɫ̩] (Received-Pronunciation)
- [ˈsɑe̯.kɫ̩] (New-Zealand)
- /ˈsɑe.kəl/ (Australia)
- /ˈsaɪ.kəl/ (New-Zealand)
- [ˈsɑe.kɫ̩] (Australia)
- [ˈsɑe̯.ko] (New-Zealand)
- [ˈsʌɪ.kəl] (Canada, General-American)
- /ˈsaɪ.kəl/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- [ˈsɑe̯.kʊ] (New-Zealand)
- (California) audio
- /ˈsaɪ.kəl/ (Canada, General-American)
Etymology
From Middle English cicle (“fixed length period of years”), from Late Latin cyclus, from Ancient Greek κύκλος (kúklos, “circle”), from Proto-Hellenic *kúklos, *kʷókʷlos, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷékʷlos (“circle, wheel”). Doublet of chakra, chakram, charkha, chukker, cyclus, kike, and wheel (see there for more).
Meanings
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An interval of space or time in which one set of events or phenomena is completed.
the cycle of the seasons, or of the year
VVages have been tvvice raiſed in my time, and they bear a full proportion, or even a greater than formerly, to the medium of proviſion during the laſt bad cycle of tvventy years.
1795 November (date written), Edmund Burke, Thoughts and Details on Scarcity, […], London: […] [T. Gillet] for F[rancis] and C[harles] Rivington, […]; and J[ohn] Hatchard, […], published 1800, →OCLC, page 6:
- A complete rotation of anything.
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A process that returns to its beginning and then repeats itself in the same sequence.
No sooner has a [synthetic] drug been blacklisted than chemists adjust their recipe and start churning out a subtly different one. These “legal highs” are sold for the few months it takes the authorities to identify and ban them, and then the cycle begins again.
2013 August 10, “Legal highs: A new prescription”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8848:electoral cycle menstrual cycle news cycle
Ice is one of a slate of young, idealistic candidates for Move Forward who have joined mainstream politics in the hope that this election allows Thailand to break the cycle of military coups […]
2023 May 8, Jonathan Head, “Thailand election: The young radicals shaking up politics”, in BBC News (World):
- The members of the sequence formed by such a process.
-
A series of poems, songs or other works of art, typically longer than a trilogy.
The Ring of the Nibelung is a cycle of four operas by Richard Wagner.
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A programme on a washing machine, dishwasher, or other such device.
the spin cycle
Put the washing in on a warm cycle.
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A single, a double, a triple, and a home run hit by the same player in the same game.
Jones hit for the cycle in the game.
- A closed walk or path, with or without repeated vertices allowed.
- A chain whose boundary is zero.
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An imaginary circle or orbit in the heavens; one of the celestial spheres.
There appears to be no absolute cycle in the universe; all is change and progression. No planet ever revolves twice precisely in the same orbit.
1858, [anonymous], “Appendix”, in Edmund Burke, The Inherent Evils of All State Governments Demonstrated; Being a Reprint of Edmund Burke’s Celebrated Essay, Entitled “A Vindication of Natural Society:” […], London: Holyoake and Company, […], →OCLC, page 54:With centric and eccentric scribbled o'er, Cycle and epicycle, orb in orb
1667, John Milton, “(please specify the page number)”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
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An age; a long period of time.
Thro' the shadow of the world we sweep into the younger day: / Better fifty years of Europe than a cycle of Cathay.
1835, Alfred Tennyson, “Locksley Hall”, in Poems. […], volume II, London: Edward Moxon, […], published 1842, →OCLC, page 110:
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An orderly list for a given time; a calendar.
[H]ere we endeavour to preſent our Gard'ners with a compleat Cycle of what is requiſite to be done throughout every Moneth of the Year: […]
1664, J[ohn] E[velyn], “Kalendarium Hortense: Or, The Gard’ners Almanac; […] [Introduction to the Kalendar.]”, in Sylva, or A Discourse of Forest-trees and the Propagation of Timber in His Majesties Dominions. […], London: […] Jo[hn] Martyn, and Ja[mes] Allestry, printers to the Royal Society, […], →OCLC, page 56:
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One entire round in a circle or a spire.
a cycle or set of leaves
1857, Asa Gray, First Lessons in Botany and Vegetable Physiology:
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A discharge of a taser.
Officers have made the mistake of applying many Taser cycles, expecting the suspect to relent.
2014, R.T. Wyant, Thomas Burns, Risk Management of Less Lethal Options, CRC Press, →ISBN, page 211:
- One take-off and landing of an aircraft, referring to a pressurisation cycle which places stresses on the fuselage.
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A scheduled period of time of weeks or months wherein a performance-enhancing substance or, by extension, supplement is applied, to be followed by another one where it is not or the dosage is lower.
The deterioration of his physique may be a result of his being off cycle.
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(plural, usually) A hertz; cycle per second.
[…] the Plan incorporates in proper combination every available modern technique, including extensive electrification on the new standard high-voltage a.c. system at a frequency of 50 cycles; main-line diesel traction as a half-way house to electrification; lightweight diesel trains for secondary and branch services; and a smaller wagon fleet doing more work by the use of continuous brakes in conjunction with modernised terminals and marshalling yards.
1958 January 14, 'Borderer', “Ten Years of British Railways”, in Railway Magazine, page 15:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| cycles | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
cycle sort · downcycle · cyclize · cycle per second · photocycle · cycle polo · motor-cycle · outcycle · sixty cycle hum · cycle sport · cycle time · cycle of fifths · decycle · two-cycle · cyclol · monocycle · intercycle · cyclewear · cyclase · cyclene · cycleman · cyclin · pentacycle · in cycle · cyclism · pericycle · polycycle · cyclecar · cyclic · multicycle · acyclic · cycle group · cycledom · cycle speedway · up-cycle · oxacycle · skycycle · cycle shorts · cycle chord · cycle threshold · push-cycle · power-cycle · cyclogaine · intracycle
Descendants
Hyponyms
menstrual cycle · power cycle · cadmium cycle · software life cycle · macrocycle · lytic cycle · cell cycle · hexacycle · vicious cycle · Joule's cycle · time cycle · sulphur cycle · pseudocycle · supercontinent cycle · Hamiltonian cycle · Wilson cycle · quasicycle · Calvin cycle · execution cycle · urea cycle · stretch shortening cycle · allocycle · clock cycle · uterine cycle · handcycle · Bethe-Weizsäcker cycle · four-cycle · microcycle · metallocycle · biogeochemical cycle · carrier cycle · ornithine cycle · hydrolic cycle · ecocycle · p-p cycle · Rankine cycle · Carnot's cycle · carbon cycle · endocycle · operating cycle · Walden cycle · Jespersen's cycle · topping cycle · teracycle · lunar cycle · biocycle · gigacycle · exercise cycle · moon cycle · life cycle · tricarboxylic acid cycle · sulfur-iodine cycle · Eulerian cycle · Siemens cycle · anticyclic · love cycle · hovercycle · megacycle · Juglar cycle · kilocycle · water cycle · carbon-nitrogen-oxygen cycle · limit cycle · anthracycline · anticycle · nasal cycle · carbon-nitrogen cycle · duty cycle · fairy cycle · Kitchin cycle · Rabi cycle · Krebs cycle · hydrogen cycle · heterocycle · hypercycle · combined cycle · Otto cycle · subcycle · supercycle · nitrogen cycle · aerocycle · sulfur cycle · Brayton cycle · carbocycle · hemicycle · lysogenic cycle · trade cycle · tetracycle · homocycle · glyoxylate cycle · Hampson-Linde cycle · ovarian cycle · hermeneutic cycle · virtuous cycle · TCA cycle · Condorcet cycle · citrate cycle · business cycle · cocycle · Milankovitch cycle · Carnot cycle · hype cycle · Sothic cycle · CNO cycle · walk cycle · mesocycle · midcycle · Born-Haber cycle · canicular cycle · barocycle · machine cycle · citric acid cycle · estrous cycle · hydrocycle · Cori cycle · cybercycle · break the cycle · motor cycle · Bethe–Weizsäcker cycle · pedal cycle · phosphorus cycle · Metonic cycle · instruction cycle · Kuznets cycle · solar cycle
Relateds
quadricycle · cycle rickshaw · tricycle · cycle clip · cycle path · bicycle · cycle track · cycle rack · cycle lane · motorcycle · cycleway · unicycle
Translations (131)
nl cyclus (process that repeats itself) · ru цикл (process that repeats itself) · tr devir (process that repeats itself) · hi चक्र (complete rotation) · es ciclo (complete rotation) · ja 周期 (complete rotation) · ja 周期 (process that repeats itself) · la cyclus (process that repeats itself) · pt ciclo (process that repeats itself) · th วัฏจักร (interval of space or time in which one set of events or phenomena is completed) · fa چرخ (complete rotation) · mk циклус (complete rotation) · ro rotație (complete rotation) · cs cyklus (process that repeats itself) · fi ohjelma (program on a washing machine etc.) · da cyklus (complete rotation) · mi hurihanga (complete rotation) · it ciclo (complete rotation) · fi sykli (process that repeats itself) · fi ohjelma (orderly list for a given time) · bg ци́къл (complete rotation) · io ciklo (process that repeats itself) · fi kierros (member of the sequence formed by such a process) · fi kierros (process that repeats itself) · be абаро́т (complete rotation) · uk цикл (complete rotation) · fi kierros (complete rotation) · pl obrót (complete rotation) · be цыкл (complete rotation) · tr çevirim (complete rotation) · nl programma (program on a washing machine etc.) · fa چرخه (process that repeats itself) · fi pyörähdys (complete rotation) · ro ciclu (series of works of art) · bg ци́къл (program on a washing machine etc.) · ko 주기 (process that repeats itself) · cs cyklus (graph theory: closed walk or path) · grc κύκλος (process that repeats itself) · grc κύκλος (series of works of art) · txb serke (process that repeats itself) · de Zyklus (series of works of art) · de Programm (program on a washing machine etc.) · kmr sûr (process that repeats itself) · ga timthriall (process that repeats itself) · uk оборо́т (complete rotation) · eo ciklo (process that repeats itself) · ary دورة (complete rotation) · ar دَوْر (interval of space or time in which one set of events or phenomena is completed) · ro ciclu (complete rotation) · ko 사이클링 히트 (baseball: single, double, triple and home run hit by the same player in the same game) · pt ciclo (complete rotation) · ta சுழற்சி (process that repeats itself) · de Kreis (graph theory: closed walk or path) · tr program (program on a washing machine etc.) · el κύκλος (complete rotation) · sv cykel (series of works of art) · ta சுழற்சி (complete rotation) · cmn 周期 (complete rotation) · gl ciclo (complete rotation) · da (vaske)-program (program on a washing machine etc.) · ga ciogal (interval of space or time in which one set of events or phenomena is completed) · da kredsløb (complete rotation) · it ciclo (graph theory: closed walk or path) · tr devir (complete rotation) · io ciklo (complete rotation) · ca cicle (complete rotation) · fi kalenteri (orderly list for a given time) · ru цикл (series of works of art) · ota دوره (complete rotation) · bg оборо́т (complete rotation) · fi kierros (botany: entire round in a circle or a spire) · he מחזור (process that repeats itself) · es ciclo (process that repeats itself) · th วงจร (process that repeats itself) · et sari (series of works of art) · fi sykli (graph theory: closed walk or path) · eo ciklo (complete rotation) · hi चक्कर (complete rotation) · ko 주기 (complete rotation) · ms kitaran (complete rotation) · ar دَوْرَة (interval of space or time in which one set of events or phenomena is completed) · fi sarja (series of works of art) · fr cycle (process that repeats itself) · fr tour (complete rotation) · bg ци́къл (series of works of art) · lv cikls (complete rotation) · de Zyklus (complete rotation) · it ciclo (program on a washing machine etc.) · fr cycle (program on a washing machine etc.) · fi kierto (interval of space or time in which one set of events or phenomena is completed) · et tsükkel (complete rotation) · sv cykel (process that repeats itself) · pl cykl (complete rotation) · ja サイクル安打 (baseball: single, double, triple and home run hit by the same player in the same game) · pl cykl (series of works of art) · sv program (program on a washing machine etc.) · ru цикл (program on a washing machine etc.) · bg ци́къл (process that repeats itself) · nb sykel (graph theory: closed walk or path) · is snúningur (complete rotation) · la cyclus (complete rotation) · fa چرخه (program on a washing machine etc.) · it ciclo (process that repeats itself) · th รอบ (complete rotation) · lv cikls (process that repeats itself) · hi अंतराल (interval of space or time in which one set of events or phenomena is completed) · it programma (program on a washing machine etc.) · ga timthriall (complete rotation) · de Zyklus (interval of space or time in which one set of events or phenomena is completed) · yi ציקל (complete rotation) · txb serke (complete rotation) · pt ciclo (program on a washing machine etc.) · ru оборо́т (complete rotation) · ro ciclu (process that repeats itself) · ca cicle (process that repeats itself) · fi suhdannekierto (interval of space or time in which one set of events or phenomena is completed) · et tsükkel (process that repeats itself) · ar دَوْرَة (complete rotation) · el κύκλος (series of works of art) · ru цикл (complete rotation) · lv cikls (program on a washing machine etc.) · gl ciclo (process that repeats itself) · nl cyclus (complete rotation) · ota دوره (interval of space or time in which one set of events or phenomena is completed) · hi चक्र (process that repeats itself) · th วัฏจักร (process that repeats itself) · cs cyklus (series of works of art) · sv cykel (complete rotation) · tr çevirim (process that repeats itself) · de Zyklus (process that repeats itself) · el κύκλος (process that repeats itself)