oscillate

vi. 振动, 彷徨, 犹豫
vt. 使振动, 使动摇
【医】 振动, 摆动

形容词:oscillatory 名词:oscillator 动词过去式:oscillated 过去分词:oscillated 现在分词:oscillating 第三人称单数:oscillates 

os.cil.late

v.intr.（不及物动词）
os.cil.lat.ed,os.cil.lat.ing,os.cil.lates
To swing back and forth with a steady, uninterrupted rhythm.
持续周期性地摆动：以稳定的、不间断的节奏来回摇摆
To waver, as between conflicting opinions or courses of action; vacillate:
动摇，犹豫：犹豫不决，如在不同意见或不同方案上；踌躇：
例句：
.The court has oscillated over the decades from more liberal to less, more conservative to less, depending upon who was president at the time of vacancies.(Gordon J. Humphrey)See Synonyms at swing
.几十年来法庭一直（在自由和保守问题上）摇摆不定，自由多了就限制些，太保守了就自由点，这一切都取决于谁来填补总统这个空缺.(戈登J.汉弗莱)参见 swing

Physics To vary between alternate extremes, usually within a definable period of time.
【物理学】 振荡，振动：在两个振动极端间变化，通常指在一段确定的时间里

来源：
Latin ôscill3re ôscill3t-
拉丁语 ôscill3re ôscill3t-
from ôscillum [swing]
源自 ôscillum [摆动]
probably from ôscillum [small mask of Bacchus] [diminutive of] ôs [mouth] * see ôs-
可能源自 ôscillum [酒神巴克斯戴的小假面] [] ôs的小后缀 [嘴] *参见 ôs-

【引伸】
os.cilla.tor
n.（名词）
os.cillato.ry

<注释>The rather dry wordoscillate may become a bit less dry as we learn its story. It is possible that it goes back to the Latin wordôscillum, a diminutive ofôs, .mouth,. meaning .small mouth.. In a passage in theGeorgics, Virgil applies the word to a small mask of Bacchus hung from trees to move back and forth in the breeze.From this wordôscillum may have come another word ôscillum, meaning .something, such as a swing, that moves up and down or back and forth..And thisôscillum was the source of the verb ôscill3re, .to ride in a swing,. and the noun (from the verb) ôscill3tio, .the action of swinging or oscillating.. The words have given us, respectively, our verboscillate, first recorded in 72', and our noun oscillation, first recorded in '58. The next time one sees something oscillating,one might think of that small mask of Bacchus swinging from a pine tree in the Roman countryside.
当我们了解了与oscillate 有关的传说时，这个较为枯燥的词就会变得不那么干巴巴的了。 此词可被追溯到一个拉丁词oscillum， 可简写成os， .嘴.，意为.小嘴.。 在农事诗集 的一节中， 维吉尔用这个词指挂在树上在微风中来回摆动的酒神巴克斯的小假面具。从oscillum 一词可以得出另一词 oscillum， 指.前后或上下摆动的某物，如秋千。.而这里的oscillum 便是意为.在秋千上摆动.的动词 oscillare 和意为.摆动或摇动的动作.的名词（从动词来） oscillatio 的词源。 从这些单词中分别得出了我们今天所用的动词oscillation （首次记录于72'年）和名词 oscillation （首次记录于'58年）。 以后若看见物体在摆动，就很可能会想起古罗马乡间一棵松树上摇来晃去的巴克斯的小假面具了