- cy|cle
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–n.1. any period of time or complete process of growth or action that repeats itself in the same order. The seasons of the year—spring, summer, autumn, and winter—make a cycle. SYNONYM(S): round.3. a) all the stories, poems, legends, or ballads told about a certain hero or event: »
There is a cycle of stories about the adventures of King Arthur and his knights.
b) a series of miracle or mystery plays: »the Coventry cycle.
4. a very long period of time; age: »Better fifty years of Europe than a cycle of Cathay (Tennyson).
SYNONYM(S): epoch.5. a complete or double alternation or reversal of an alternating electric current. The number of cycles per second is the measure of frequency.6. a bicycle, tricycle, or motorcycle.7. Biology. a recurring series of changes.8. Botany. a closed circle or whorl of leaves.9. Astronomy. an orbit or circle in the heavens: »the cycle of a planet.
10. Physics. a series of operations by which a substance or operation is finally brought back to the initial state.11. the series of strokes of a piston in the cylinder of an engine.–v.i.1. to pass through a cycle or cycles; occur over and over again in the same order.2. to ride a bicycle, tricycle, or motorcycle.╂[< Late Latin cyclus < Greek kýklos wheel, circle, ring]
Useful english dictionary. 2012.
