Dictionary

pulse en · NOUN · etymology 1

Pronunciation

• /pʌls/ (Canada)
• /pʌls/ (General-American)
• (General-American) audio
• [pəls] (General-American)
• /pʌls/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /pʊls/ (Canada)

Etymology

From Late Middle English pulse, Middle English pous, pouse (“regular beat of arteries, pulse; heartbeat; place on the body where a pulse is detectable; beat (of a musical instrument); energy, vitality”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman puls, pous, pus, and Middle French pouls, poulz, pous [and other forms], Old French pous, pulz (“regular beat of arteries; place on the body where a pulse is detectable”) (modern French pouls), and from their etymon Latin pulsus (“beat, impulse, pulse, stroke; regular beat of arteries or the heart”), from pellō (“to drive, impel, propel, push; to banish, eject, expel; to set in motion; to strike”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pel- (“to beat, strike; to drive; to push, thrust”)) + -sus (a variant of -tus (suffix forming action nouns from verbs)).

Meanings

1. A normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin (for example, at the neck or wrist) are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them; the qualitative nature of this beat.
   • Her pulse was thready and weak.
2. (broadly, metonymically) The rate of this beat as an indication of a person's health.
   • Her pulse was 110 at 8 a.m.
   • [M]y experience is that men may enjoy better health, do more work, have clearer brains, a steadier pulse, and go on to old age better without alcohol than with. 1870 May 21, Thomas Cash, “United Kingdom Band of Hope Union. Annual Conference.”, in The Temperance Record. The Organ of the National Temperance League, number 738, London: William Tweedie, […], →OCLC, page 247, column 2:
   • [A] Pulſe which is ſlow and large denotes ſufficient remains of ſtrength, tenſion, and thickneſs of the fibres of the heart and arteries, and a viſcid and tenacious blood. All unequal Pulſes are very bad, ſince they denote that there is neither a due influx of the ſpirits, nor a proper and equal mixture of the blood; but particularly ſuch Pulſes always prognoſticate unlucky events, when they are weak. 1764, “№ XXVII. A Dissertation on the Pulse, and the Dijudication Drawn therefrom.”, in The Medical Museum: Or, A Repository of Cases, Experiments, Researches, and Discoveries Collected at Home and Abroad […], volume III, London: […] W. Richardson and S. Clark; and sold by W. Bristow, […], →OCLC, page 216:
3. (figuratively) A beat or throb; also, a repeated sequence of such beats or throbs.
   • When the ear receives any ſimple ſound, it is ſtruck by a ſingle pulſe of the air, which makes the ear-drum and the other membranous parts vibrate according to the nature and ſpecies of the ſtroke. 1756 (date written), [Edmund Burke], “Sect. XI. The Artificial Infinite.”, in A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful, London: […] R[obert] and J[ames] Dodsley, […], published 1757, →OCLC, part IV, page 135:
   • I roved at random through the town, / [...] / And caught once more the distant shout, / The measured pulse of racing oars / Among the willows; [...] 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto LXXXV”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 125:
4. (figuratively) The focus of energy or vigour of an activity, place, or thing; also, the feeling of bustle, busyness, or energy in a place; the heartbeat.
   • You can really feel the pulse of the city in this district.
5. An (increased) amount of a substance (such as a drug or an isotopic label) given over a short time.
6. (attributive) A setting on a food processor which causes it to work in a series of short bursts rather than continuously, in order to break up ingredients without liquidizing them; also, a use of this setting.
7. The beat or tactus of a piece of music or verse; also, a repeated sequence of such beats.
8. A brief burst of electromagnetic energy, such as light, radio waves, etc.
   • A thin ruby crystal is illuminated by two successive intense short pulses of coherent light, t seconds apart, obtained from a ruby-laser source. As expected, the crystal will transmit the two pulses t seconds apart. But then one observes a curious additional feature: a third light pulse emerges spontaneously from the crystal about t seconds following the second pulse, and still relatively intense. 1969, “[Scientific Progress in F[iscal] Y[ear] 69: Electronics] The Photon Echo”, in Jacob Seiden, editor, OAR Progress for 1969 (OAR 69-0017; AD 699300), Arlington, Va.: Office of Aerospace Research, United States Air Force, →OCLC, page 71, column 1:
9. Synonym of autosoliton (“a stable solitary localized structure that arises in nonlinear spatially extended dissipative systems due to mechanisms of self-organization”).
10. (also) A brief increase in the strength of an electrical signal; an impulse.
11. A timed, coordinated connection, when multiple public transportation vehicles are at a hub at the same time so that passengers can flexibly connect between them.

Forms

Deriveds

pulse oximetry · afterpulse · pulse ox · nonpulse · nuclear magnetic pulse · pulse demodulator · micropulse · pulse detonation engine · a pussy and a pulse · multipulse · pulse glass · pulse oximeter · nuclear-pulse rocket · pulsebeat · pulse modulator · pulsed · postpulse · electromagnetic pulse · pulsific · have one's finger on the pulse · pulsate · monopulse · attopulse · have one's fingers on the pulse · pulse oximetric · underpulse · interpulse · pulse modulation · pulse dialing · pulse repetition time · pulse decay time · macropulse · oxygen pulse · pulsable · subpulse · finger on the pulse · pulsometer · chirped-pulse amplification · pulseless · anthropulse · pulse wave · prepulse · photopulse · apulse · pulse diagnosis · pulselike · wavepulse · pulse-like · quadripulse · pulsimeter · pulse pressure · pulsetrain · pulse jet · pulse dialling · pulse-pounding · intrapulse · pulseful · pulsewidth · nanopulse · overpulse · electropulse · aeropulse · pulsejet

Hypernyms

rate

Relateds

tempo · impulse · arrhythmia · pulsive · meter · blood pressure · heartbeat · repulse · pulsion

Synonyms

heart rate · autosoliton · HR

Translations (142)

mnc ᠮᡝ (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · kmr rehjen (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · it tempo (beat or tactus of a piece of music or verse) · uz pulʼs (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · cs tep (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · ka პულსი (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · id pulsa (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · is púls (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · la pulsus (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · ar نَبْضَة (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · ca pulsació (beat or throb; repeated sequence of such beats or throbs — see also beat, throb) · mi panapana o te manawa (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · bg импулс (brief burst of electromagnetic energy) · cmn 脈搏 /脉搏 (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · is sláttur (beat or throb; repeated sequence of such beats or throbs — see also beat, throb) · ga cuisle (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · bg пулс (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · fi pulssi (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · bg ритъм (beat or tactus of a piece of music or verse) · el παλμός (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · mk пулс (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · kmr nebz (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · hi नाड़ी (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · it impulso (beat or throb; repeated sequence of such beats or throbs — see also beat, throb) · km ពូល (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · eo pulso (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · bg пулс (nature or rate of this beat as an indication of a person's health) · nrf pouls (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · tg набз (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · it ritmo (beat or tactus of a piece of music or verse) · az nəbz (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · tr nabız (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · lo ຈອນ (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · bg пулса́ция (beat or throb; repeated sequence of such beats or throbs — see also beat, throb) · pl puls (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · ko 맥박 (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · is æðasláttur (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · bg импулс ((increased) amount of a substance given over a short time) · ps نبض (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · sh pȕls (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · ms detik (beat or tactus of a piece of music or verse) · fo æðrasláttur (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · sh puls (beat or throb; repeated sequence of such beats or throbs — see also beat, throb) · id nadi (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · sh pulsni rad (setting on a food processor which causes it to work in a series of short bursts rather than continuously) · fi syke (nature or rate of this beat as an indication of a person's health) · hu pulzus (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · ro puls (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · fi syketaajuus (nature or rate of this beat as an indication of a person's health) · sl pulz (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · sk tep (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · ar نَبْض (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · gl pulso (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · th ชีพจร (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · pt pulso (beat or tactus of a piece of music or verse) · is taktslag (beat or tactus of a piece of music or verse) · hy պուլս (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · fi syke (beat or throb; repeated sequence of such beats or throbs — see also beat, throb) · ms nadi (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · pl tętno (focus of energy or vigour of an activity, place, or thing; feeling of bustle, busyness, or energy in a place) · pl tętno (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · nl pols (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · ru ритм (beat or tactus of a piece of music or verse) · sh пу̏лс (nature or rate of this beat as an indication of a person's health) · he דֹּפֶק (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · sl utrip (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · frm pouls (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · ca pulsació (beat or tactus of a piece of music or verse) · nb puls (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · kk пульс (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · ja 脈搏 (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · uk пульс (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · sh pulsna doza ((increased) amount of a substance given over a short time) · km ជីពចរ (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · fi pulssi (nature or rate of this beat as an indication of a person's health) · ca pols (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · nn puls (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · sh puls (focus of energy or vigour of an activity, place, or thing; feeling of bustle, busyness, or energy in a place) · uz nabz (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · sh pulsni način (setting on a food processor which causes it to work in a series of short bursts rather than continuously) · ur نبض (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · fa تپ (beat or throb; repeated sequence of such beats or throbs — see also beat, throb) · mn судас (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · it cadenza (beat or tactus of a piece of music or verse) · fr pouls (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · lo ກຳມະຈອນ (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · ja 脈 (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · bg би́ене (beat or throb; repeated sequence of such beats or throbs — see also beat, throb) · el σφυγμός (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · gl pulso (beat or tactus of a piece of music or verse) · lt pulsas (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · el παλμός (beat or tactus of a piece of music or verse) · ru пульс (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · sh ritam (beat or tactus of a piece of music or verse) · pt pulso (beat or throb; repeated sequence of such beats or throbs — see also beat, throb) · vi mạch (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · sh pȕls (nature or rate of this beat as an indication of a person's health) · de Puls (beat or tactus of a piece of music or verse) · it battito (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · mn цохих (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · sq puls (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · fro poulz (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · sh би̏ло (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · et pulss (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · it pulsazione (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · cmn 脈 /脉 (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · sh пу̏лс (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · da puls (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · be пульс (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · tk puls (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · bn স্পন্দন (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · sw mapigo ya moyo (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · ru и́мпульс (beat or throb; repeated sequence of such beats or throbs — see also beat, throb) · de Puls (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · sh bȉlo (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · ur ناڑی (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · grc σφυγμός (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · ur دھڑکن (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · cs puls (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · es pulso (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · ka მაჯისცემა (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · fi syke (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · fa نبض (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · it polso (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · arz نبض (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · ky пульс (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · sv puls (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · bn নাড়ি (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · el παλμός (beat or throb; repeated sequence of such beats or throbs — see also beat, throb) · vo peb (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · sk pulz (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · hy անոթազարկ (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · am የልብ ትርታ (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · pl puls (focus of energy or vigour of an activity, place, or thing; feeling of bustle, busyness, or energy in a place) · tl pulso (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · pt pulso (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · sh izboj (brief burst of electromagnetic energy) · hu érverés (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · hi नब्ज़ (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · lv pulss (normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin are depressed, caused by the heart pumping blood through them) · de Puls (beat or throb; repeated sequence of such beats or throbs — see also beat, throb) · is púls (beat or tactus of a piece of music or verse)

wikidata: Q191733 · wikidata: Q191733

pulse en · VERB · etymology 2

Pronunciation

• /pʌls/ (Canada)
• /pʌls/ (General-American)
• (General-American) audio
• [pəls] (General-American)
• /pʌls/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /pʊls/ (Canada)

Etymology

From Late Middle English pulse, Middle English pulsen (“to pulse, throb”), from Latin pulsāre, the present active infinitive of pulsō (“to push; to beat, batter, hammer, strike; to knock on; (figuratively) to drive or urge on, impel; to move; to agitate, disquiet, disturb”), the frequentative of pellō (“to drive, impel, propel, push; to banish, eject, expel; to set in motion; to strike”); see further at etymology 1. Doublet of push.

Meanings

1. (also, figuratively, transitive) To emit or impel (something) in pulses or waves.
   • Though a light of love she swimmeth, / Zoned with utterless desire, / And the air of her swift coming / Through thy hot veins pulseth fire. 1850, W[illiam] C[ox] Bennett, “The Shadow-hunted”, in Poems, London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC, page 139:
   • Rapidly rotating dead stars, pulsars are so named because as they spin, they release beams of electromagnetic radiation across space that appear to pulse like celestial lighthouses. 2023 August 30, Ashley Strickland, “Astronomers solve the puzzle of an unusual pulsing dead star”, in CNN:
2. (transitive) To give to (something, especially a cell culture) an (increased) amount of a substance, such as a drug or an isotopic label, over a short time.
3. (transitive) To operate a food processor on (some ingredient) in short bursts, to break it up without liquidizing it.
4. (transitive) To apply an electric current or signal that varies in strength to (something).
5. (transitive) To manipulate (an electric current, electromagnetic wave, etc.) so that it is emitted in pulses.
6. (figuratively, intransitive, literary) To expand and contract repeatedly, like an artery when blood is flowing though it, or the heart; to beat, to throb, to vibrate, to pulsate.
   • As pulseth in thy northern skies / Th' Aurora—so, in ecstasies, / Through starry maze, my spirit flies; [...] 1849, A[ndrew] J[ames] Symington, “To Mademoiselle Jenny Lind”, in Harebell Chimes: Or Summer Memories and Musings, London: Houlston and Stoneman; Edinburgh: W[illia]m Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, stanza 5, page 139:
   • Hot blood pulsed through my veins as I grew angrier.
   • Come, descend to lower station! / We are of the same creation, / And the life that all sustains / Pulseth in our purple veins: [...] 1867, Arthur H[enry] W[innington] Ingram, “To a Squirrel”, in The Doom of the Gods of Hellas, and Other Poems, London: A. W. Bennett, […], →OCLC, page 57:
   • The streets were dark, and all that could be seen was light pulsing from the disco.
   • O Heart Divine, that pulsest through all space, / Why dost Thou seem so far away and cold? / We miss the pressure of the arms that fold; / We long to hear Thy voice, to see Thy face. [From the New Orleans Times-Democrat.] 1887 February 3, F. V., “O Heart Divine!”, in Lyman Abbott, Hamilton W[right] Mabie, editors, The Christian Union, volume 35, number 5, New York, N.Y.: The Christian Union Company, →OCLC, page 31, column 2:
   • None dare awake the deep affright / That pulseth in the heart of night, [...] 1864, James Thomson, “Vane’s Story”, in Vane’s Story, Weddah and Om-El-Bonain, and Other Poems, London: Reeves and Turner, […], published 1881, →OCLC, the story, page 54:
7. (figuratively, intransitive) Of an activity, place, or thing: to bustle with energy and liveliness; to pulsate.
   • The emotion had pulsed from the outset, the Ukraine players emerging from the tunnel with blue and yellow flags around their shoulders; the rendition of their anthem seeing eyes well up. 2023 March 26, David Hytner, “Kane and Bukayo Saka combine against Ukraine for England’s perfect Euros start”, in The Guardian:
   • There is a dangerous censoriousness pulsing through American society. In small towns and big cities alike, would-be commissars are fighting, in the name of a distinct minority of Americans, to stifle open discussion and impose their views on the community at large. Dissenters, when they speak out, are hounded, ostracized and sometimes even forced from their jobs. 2022 February 18, Jamelle Bouie, “Opinion: You Just Can’t Tell the Truth About America Anymore”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 02 May 2023:

Forms

Deriveds

pulser · pulsed · pulsing

Relateds

pulsative · pulsate · pulsating · pulsator · pulsation · pulser · pulsatory

Synonyms

undulate

Translations (12)

sh pulsirati (to emit or impel (something) in pulses or waves) · sh pulsirati (of an activity, place, or thing: to bustle with energy and liveliness) · pt pulsar (to expand and contract repeatedly — see also beat, throb, pulsate) · bg пулсирам (to emit or impel (something) in pulses or waves) · pt pulsar (to emit or impel (something) in pulses or waves) · fi sykkiä (to expand and contract repeatedly — see also beat, throb, pulsate) · sh pulsirati (to expand and contract repeatedly — see also beat, throb, pulsate) · fi syke (to emit or impel (something) in pulses or waves) · pl pulsować (to emit or impel (something) in pulses or waves) · bg пулсирам (of an activity, place, or thing: to bustle with energy and liveliness) · pl tętnić (to emit or impel (something) in pulses or waves) · bg прилагам импулс (to apply an electric current or signal that varies in strength to (something))

pulse en · NOUN · etymology 3

Pronunciation

• /pʌls/ (Canada)
• /pʌls/ (General-American)
• (General-American) audio
• [pəls] (General-American)
• /pʌls/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /pʊls/ (Canada)

Etymology

From Middle English puls (“(collectively) seeds of a leguminous plant used as food; leguminous plants collectively; a species of leguminous plant”), Early Middle English pols (in compounds), possibly from Anglo-Norman pus, puz, Middle French pouls, pols, pous, and Old French pous, pou (“gruel, mash, porridge”) (perhaps in the sense of a gruel made from pulses), or directly from their etymon Latin puls (“meal (coarse-ground edible part of various grains); porridge”), probably from Ancient Greek πόλτος (póltos, “porridge made from flour”), from Proto-Indo-European *pel- (“dust; flour”) (perhaps by extension from *pel- (“to beat, strike; to drive; to push, thrust”), in the sense of something beaten).

Meanings

1. (uncountable) Annual leguminous plants (such as beans, lentils, and peas) yielding grains or seeds used as food for humans or animals; (countable) such a plant; a legume.
   • Wild nuts, peas, vetch, a legume which had edible seed pods, and grasses were often combined with pulses like beans or lentils, the most commonly identified ingredient, and at times, wild mustard. To make the plants more palatable, pulses, which have a naturally bitter taste, were soaked, coarsely ground or pounded with stones to remove their husk. 2022 November 22, Katie Hunt, “Neanderthals cooked meals with pulses 70,000 years ago”, in CNN:
2. (uncountable) Edible grains or seeds from leguminous plants, especially in a mature, dry condition; (countable) a specific kind of such a grain or seed.

Forms

Translations (20)

hi दलहन (edible grains or seeds from leguminous plants; specific kind of such a grain or seed) · fi palkokasvi (annual leguminous plants yielding grains or seeds used as food for humans or animals; such a plant — see also legume) · grc ὄσπριον (annual leguminous plants yielding grains or seeds used as food for humans or animals; such a plant — see also legume) · nl peulvruchten (annual leguminous plants yielding grains or seeds used as food for humans or animals; such a plant — see also legume) · sq groshë (annual leguminous plants yielding grains or seeds used as food for humans or animals; such a plant — see also legume) · sh grahorice (edible grains or seeds from leguminous plants; specific kind of such a grain or seed) · sh leguminoze (edible grains or seeds from leguminous plants; specific kind of such a grain or seed) · fr légumineuse (annual leguminous plants yielding grains or seeds used as food for humans or animals; such a plant — see also legume) · nl peulen (annual leguminous plants yielding grains or seeds used as food for humans or animals; such a plant — see also legume) · bg варива (edible grains or seeds from leguminous plants; specific kind of such a grain or seed) · es legumbre (edible grains or seeds from leguminous plants; specific kind of such a grain or seed) · la legūmen (annual leguminous plants yielding grains or seeds used as food for humans or animals; such a plant — see also legume) · sh leguminoze (annual leguminous plants yielding grains or seeds used as food for humans or animals; such a plant — see also legume) · es leguminosa (edible grains or seeds from leguminous plants; specific kind of such a grain or seed) · hi दाल (edible grains or seeds from leguminous plants; specific kind of such a grain or seed) · ca llegum (edible grains or seeds from leguminous plants; specific kind of such a grain or seed) · hi दलहन (annual leguminous plants yielding grains or seeds used as food for humans or animals; such a plant — see also legume) · de Hülsenfrucht (annual leguminous plants yielding grains or seeds used as food for humans or animals; such a plant — see also legume) · hi दाल (annual leguminous plants yielding grains or seeds used as food for humans or animals; such a plant — see also legume) · sh grahorice (annual leguminous plants yielding grains or seeds used as food for humans or animals; such a plant — see also legume)