pulsen.1
/pʌls/, U.S. /pəls/ 1.
a. As a mass noun: the edible seeds of leguminous plants cultivated for food (peas, beans, lentils, etc.). Also (rare) with plural agreement.Recorded earliest in pulse corn n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > fruit and vegetables > vegetables > pulse > [noun]
pulse1297
pulse corn1297
codwarea1398
legumen?a1425
pedware1577
legume1597
bullet1929
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > pulses or plants producing pulses > [noun] > pulse
pulse1297
legumen?a1425
legume1597
1297 in J. E. T. Rogers Hist. Agric. & Prices (1866) (modernized text) II. 174 Polscorn.
1400 Inquisition Misc. (P.R.O.: C 145/273/2) m. 4 Duo quarteria auene vel puls.
tr. Palladius De re Rustica (Duke Humfrey) (1896) i. 650 (MED) Puls decoct & cold To yef hem [sc. chicks] first is good & holsum holde.
1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. Matt. xiii. 77 Whiche of it selfe is lest among al pulse.
1600 R. Surflet tr. C. Estienne & J. Liébault Maison Rustique v. xx. 705 Pulse (as we call them,) that is..such graine, as is inclosed in coddes or huskes.
1605 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. i. ii. 52 In cods the poulse, the corne within the eare.
1694 W. Westmacott Θεολοβοτονολογια 22 Field Beans and Powse do feed horses.
1707 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husbandry xii. 278 The common use of Pulse is generally known as well for Man as Beast.
1780 W. Cowper Progress of Error 215 Daniel ate pulse by choice—example rare!
1822 Old Rime in Gentleman's Mag. 92 i. 15/1 Thee eat thy pouse, and I will drink my beer.
1826 R. Southey Q. Rev. 33 406 A soup composed merely of a few pulse.
1865 T. Seaton From Cadet to Colonel ix. 165 To search for and secure all grain, flour, pulse, and food of every description.
1919 B. H. Hibbard Effects of Great War upon Agric. in U.S. & Great Brit. ii.iii. 206 An order was issued prohibiting the feeding of wheat, pulse, or other grain or foodstuffs to game.
1951 Times 22 Mar. 5/7 Your Correspondant found many people eking out an existence on a meagre diet of a handful of wheat or pulse..every two or three days.
2004 A. Bogaard Neolithic Farming in Central Europe iv. 85 Rainfall in the study area is fully adequate for cereal and pulse production.
b. As a count noun: a particular kind of edible leguminous seed.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > pulses or plants producing pulses > [noun] > a kind of
pulse1555
the world > food and drink > food > fruit and vegetables > vegetables > pulse > [noun] > a kind of
pulse1555
1555 W. Waterman tr. J. Boemus Fardle of Facions i. v. 52 The priest may not loke vpon a beane, for that it is iudged an vncleane puls.
1604 E. Grimeston tr. J. de Acosta Nat. & Morall Hist. Indies vii. iv. 505 They sowed their land for bread and pulses, which they vsed.
1681 P. Bellon tr. F. de Monginot New Myst. Physick 47 All sorts of Milk~meats, Sauces, Pulces, Fruits.
1707 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husbandry (1721) I. 141 There are several other Pulses or Seeds mentioned in many Authors.
1758 R. Brown Compl. Farmer (1760) ii. 86 The least of all pulses is the lentil.
1868 B. H. Powell Handbk. Econ. Products of Punjab I. 239/1 Másh, múng and channa (gram), are the pulses most in use.
1888 Times 12 Jan. 13/2 The main ingredients of vegetarian soup are not vegetables, but grains (cereals and pulses).
1922 H. C. Sherman & S. L. Smith Vitamins 103 Dried pulses (legumes) and cereals..proved too poor in antiscorbutic vitamin to give any protection against scurvy.
1991 Pract. Health Jan. 55/3 Eat more beans and pulses and make sure you opt for the high-fibre kind of breakfast cereal.
2.
a. As a mass noun: leguminous plants yielding edible seeds; legumes.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > pulses or plants producing pulses > [noun] > plant yielding pulses > collectively
pulse corn1297
pulse?1440
podder1468
tr. Palladius De re Rustica (Duke Humfrey) (1896) ii. 58 (MED) Whan..puls & benys [L. faba et legumina] fyngris foure ascende Abouen erthe, hit is to wede hem blyue.
tr. Palladius De re Rustica (Duke Humfrey) (1896) xii. 28 (MED) Now lyne and puls [L. lenticula] is sowe as is the gise.
1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes f. 304 Deriued of the moste vsed Poultz called cicer.
1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde f. 260 All kyndes of pulse, as beanes, peason, tares, and suche other.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics i, in tr. Virgil Wks. 52 Where Vetches, Pulse, and Tares have stood, And Stalks of Lupines grew. View more context for this quotation
1772 J. Adams tr. A. de Ulloa Voy. S. Amer. (ed. 3) I. 123 Here are no pulse or pot-herbs of any kind.
1789 J. Adam Pract. Ess. Agric. I. 268 The skilful farmer will vary his course..attending only to the very essential circumstance of taking alternate crops of pulse and grain.
1807 G. Crabbe Parish Reg. i, in Poems 39 High climb his Pulse in many an even row.
1882 Folk-Lore Rec. 5 37 Cut your pulse half-ripe, your barley ripe, your wheat when the ear bends down.
a1933 J. A. Thomson Biol. for Everyman (1934) II. 1404 Next to the grasses as food plants may be ranked those grouped together as pulse—the peas, beans, and lentils.
2004 Lewiston (Idaho) Morning Tribune (Nexis) 22 Nov. 5 Farmers should be concerned about boron and molybdenum when growing pulse, oil seed or forage crops.
b. As a count noun: a particular kind of leguminous plant yielding edible seeds; a legume.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > pulses or plants producing pulses > [noun] > plant yielding pulses
pulse?1440
tr. Palladius De re Rustica (Duke Humfrey) (1896) vii. 55 (MED) For fodder now is tyme, and euery puls [L. gloss. legumina].
1551 W. Turner New Herball 107 Ciche hath the longest roote of any pulse.
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. 569 The sowing of this Pulse in any ground, is as good as a mucking vnto it.
1948 Gleaner (Kingston, Jamaica) 29 Apr. 13/7 Big cash returns could reach the hands of such farmers should they commence growing pulses in their young citrus groves.
2000 Guardian (Nexis) 1 May 4 Farmers who traditionally grew pulses and millets and paddy have been lured by seed companies to buy hybrid cotton seeds.
Compounds
General attributive, as pulse crop, †pulse-shell, †pulse-stick, pulse tribe, etc.
ΚΠ
a1661 B. Holyday tr. Juvenal Satyres (1673) xiv A pulse-shale more I value, than the whole town's praise.
?1830 P. Sellar Kyle in Ayrshire 35, in Farm-rep. A luxuriant pulse crop of itself fertilizes the soil.
1869 R. D. Blackmore Lorna Doone I. vii. 72 A hook and a bit of worm on it..or a blow-fly, hung from a hazel pulse-stick.
1884 Encycl. Brit. XVII. 381/2 The staple articles of export are pulse (beans), pulse-cake, and pulse-oil.
1900 H. Stewart Domest. Sheep iv. 145 When made into hay with the grain in it, all the pulse tribe furnish the richest kind of seed for Winter use.
2002 Star–Herald (Scottsbluff, Nebraska) 10 Feb. 4/1 Presentations..will include weed and disease management for chickpea production, an overview of pulse crop production and variety trials.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2007; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
pulsen.2
/pʌls/, U.S. /pəls/α. Middle English–1500s puls, Middle English– pulse, 1500s poulce, 1500s poulse, 1500s powlce, 1500s pulce; Scottish pre-1700 puls, pre-1700 1700s– pulse.
β. Middle English ponnce (transmission error), Middle English ponns (transmission error), Middle English pounce, Middle English pouns, Middle English pownce, Middle English pownse; Scottish pre-1700 punce, pre-1700 punse, pre-1700 punssis (plural).
γ. Middle English pous, Middle English pouse, Middle English pousse, Middle English pouz, Middle English powce, Middle English pows, Middle English powse, Middle English–1500s pouce; Scottish pre-1700 pous.
1. † c. concrete. An artery. Also: a place where the pulse is felt. Obsolete.† d. Excessive or violent throbbing; palpitation. Obsolete.
a. The throbbing or rhythmical expansion of the arteries (or other blood vessels) as blood is propelled through them by the contractions of the heart, esp. as felt in arteries near the surface of the body, e.g. in the wrist, neck, etc. Also: the rate or character of such pulsation (often as an indication of a person's state of health); (as a count noun) such pulsation of a particular kind, in a particular artery, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > vascular system > circulation > pulsation > [noun]
pulsea1398
pulsation?a1425
stroke1538
pulsidge1600
pulsion1607
mication1686
ictus1707
beat1755
pulse beat1838
blood-beat1851
α.
β. a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 102v A good phisician..sechiþ þe cause by siȝte, by hondlinge & gropinge, by vreyne & by pownce.c1450 Alphabet of Tales (1904) I. 41 (MED) A leche felid his pownce & lukid his watir.a1500 (?a1450) Gesta Romanorum (BL Add. 9066) (1879) 191 Whan he had seen her watir and felt her pounce, he said, ‘my dere lady, ye have a speciall sikenesse’.?1553 (c1501) G. Douglas Palice of Honour (London) 98 in Shorter Poems (1967) 12 ȝour man..Quakyng for fere baith puncys, vane and neruis.1578 J. Rolland Seuin Seages 178 Than Galiene vnto the Chylde he went, Felt his Punsis, and als his Vrine saw.1597 A. Montgomerie Cherrie & Slae 260 My vaines with brangling like to brek, my punsis lap with pithe.a1600 A. Montgomerie Misc. Poems xliv. 31 I quake for feir—my puncis lope.1609 S. Grahame Anat. Humors f. 26v When he feeleth the punses of any diseased person, O saieth he, it is an Ague, a raging fever.γ. a1400 tr. Lanfranc Sci. Cirurgie (Ashm.) (1894) 212 (MED) If he be feble & his herte quake & his pous falle, þan it is folie for to lete him blood.?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) (1996) i. l. 8896 He tasted his pouce [a1450 Lamb. pous], saw his vryne.a1425 (a1400) Prick of Conscience (Galba & Harl.) (1863) 822 His pouce es stille with-outen styringes.a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll.) 1016 They..felte hys powse to wete whethir were ony lyff in hym.a1475 (?a1430) J. Lydgate tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Life Man (Vitell.) 9877 (MED) I..Tastyd hys pows in certeyne.1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 257/1 Pouce of the arme, povce.a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 27 Þe pulse [L. pulsus] is a meuynge I-maad be openynge and closinge of þe herte and of þe veynes.
?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 58v (MED) Þu shal knowe bi defaylyng pulse And by pale colour.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 158 The poulce of a mannes arme.
1578 J. Banister Hist. Man vii. f. 95 Phisitions..take counsell at the pulse.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Comedy of Errors (1623) iv. iv. 53 Giue me your hand, and let mee feele your pulse . View more context for this quotation
1661 H. More Let. 26 Oct. in Conway Lett. (1992) iv. 194 A cold I gott..made my..pulse more quick and higher than ordinary.
1742 J. Atkins Navy Surgeon (new ed.) 61 Next Morning I found a high and quick Pulse.
1783 P. Clare Pract. Treat. Gonorrhœa 32 With a certain quantity of wine, hardness, fullness, and acceleration of the pulse will supervene.
1826 Lancet 28 Jan. 597/2 The pulse..is derived from the force with which the blood is impelled onwards in the artery, and which is produced by the joint action of the heart and arteries behind.
1886 P. H. Pye-Smith Fagge's Princ. & Pract. Med. II. 57 If an artificial blush be made with the nail on the skin and this be watched it may be seen to grow red and pale with every pulsation; this is known as the ‘capillary pulse’.
1933 Amer. Heart Jrnl. 8 585 There was a double aortic murmur and a waterhammer pulse.
1949 H. Bailey Demonstr. Physical Signs Clin. Surg. (ed. 11) xxxiii. 395 The pulse should not be regarded as absent until examination has failed to detect it in a thoroughly warm limb.
1988 H. Mantel Eight Months on Ghazzah St. 215 Her pulse, which had been racing, began to slow.
1997 B. Rowlands Which? Guide Complementary Med. 77 Feeling the pulse is regarded as one of the most important parts of diagnosis in traditional Chinese medicine, and textbooks list more than 32 abnormal pulses.
b. Each successive beat or throb of the arteries, or of the heart. Usually in plural.Formerly also as a vague or incidental measure of time; a ‘beat’ (see quot. 1626).
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > vascular system > circulation > pulsation > [noun] > diastole
pulsea1398
diastole1578
pulsation1612
throb1653
tick1823
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 27 By veynes & pulsis he [sc. the spirit] ȝeueþ to bestis breþ, lif, & puls.
c1450 tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Lyfe Manhode (Cambr.) (1869) 94 J tastede hise pouces, but..j fond nouht in sinewe..more than in a blast of wynd in pouce ne breth.
?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1865) I. 59 (MED) The pulses [a1387 J. Trevisa tr. betynge; L. pulsus] of the veynes be felede more in the extremites than in the myddes of the body.
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. NNv Whan we may fele our pulses bete quickely.
1566 W. Painter Palace of Pleasure I. xxvii. f. 54v To take heede to the mutacion of his poulses.
1604 T. Dekker & T. Middleton Honest Whore sig. K You gaue me a purgation, and then crept into my wiues chamber, to feele her pulses.
1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §32 For the space of ten pulses.
1664 H. Power Exper. Philos. i. 41 At every pulse of the Auricle you might see the bloud passe through this Channel into the heart [of the lamprey].
1723 J. Clarke tr. Rohault's Syst. Nat. Philos. I. i. xxvi. 193 If we will be at the Trouble to count how many Pulses of the Artery there are in the first twenty Vibrations.
1795 T. Pownall Intellect. Physicks 137 The pulses of his heart, the circulation of his blood..are things not only beyond the power of mechanism, but above all power which man hath over his own body.
1816 P. B. Shelley Dæmon of World in Alastor 83 Nor..Doth Henry hear her regular pulses throb.
1887 C. Bowen tr. Virgil Æneid ii in tr. Virgil in Eng. Verse 142 I, whose pulses stirred not at javelins showered in the fray.
1932 Z. Fitzgerald Save Me Waltz in Coll. Writings (1991) 121 Her exhaustion slowed up her pulses to the tempo of her childhood.
1960 L. R. Banks L-shaped Room xii. 156 My pulses were hammering in panic, as if I were really behind bars and spied an escape route that would close forever in a matter of seconds.
1993 A. R. Siddons Hill Towns (1994) iv. 70 I felt nothing except the purling of the drug past my wrist pulses and a kind of huge, calm waiting.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > vascular system > blood vessel > artery > [noun]
arterya1398
pulsea1398
pulse veina1398
vein pulsatile?a1425
the world > life > the body > vascular system > circulation > pulsation > [noun] > place where pulse is felt
pulsea1398
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 205 Þe saphire keleþ moche..if he is y-honged nyh þe pulses [L. juxta venas cordis pulsatiles].
a1425 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (1987) iii. 1114 Therwith his pous [v.r. pounce] and paumes of his hondes They gan to frote.
c1475 ( Surg. Treat. in MS Wellcome 564 f. 126 (MED) Summe auctouris of surgerie..taken houndis heeris..& þei medle hem wiþ a litil oile de oliue, & þei anoynte þe pous of þe heed & of þe armes.
?1541 R. Copland Maner to Examyne Lazares in Guy de Chauliac's Questyonary Cyrurgyens sig. Qivv Wastyng of a brawne, and chyefly of a poulce, so that whan it is pynched it abydeth vpryght.
1614 W. B. tr. Philosophers Banquet (ed. 2) i. ii. 16 The Artiries..are also called Pulses.
1623 H. Cockeram Eng. Dict. Pulse, a beating veine.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of internal organs > disordered pulse or circulation > [noun] > rapid pulse
pulse1607
frequency1732
1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 5 [It] strengthneth the heart, emboldneth it, and driueth away the pulse and pusillanimity thereof.
2. figurative or allusively. Something that denotes or indicates vitality, energy, tendency, or feeling; the central point of energy of anything, the life force; a throb or thrill of life, emotion, etc .
ΚΠ
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 27 So þe spirit vitalis is I-sprad in to al þe body and makeþ þe veynes þe puls of lif.
?c1550 tr. P. Vergil Eng. Hist. (1846) I. viii. 288 Godwinus havinge noe small confidence (after hee hadd once felte his pulses and perceaued his diet).
a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) iv. ii. 92 Thinke you I beare the Sheeres of destiny? Haue I commandement on the pulse of life? View more context for this quotation
a1657 G. Daniel Trinarchodia: Henry IV i, in Poems (1878) IV. 1 The Pulse of Nature neuer giues one trip.
1685 R. Codrington Proverbs 133 There needs a long time to know the World's pulse.
1745 H. Walpole Lett. (1846) II. 91 All this will raise the pulse of the stocks.
1785 Mrs. A. Adams Lett. (1848) 260 How the pulse of the ministry beats, time will unfold.
1807 W. Wordsworth Poems I. 15 And now I see with eye serene The very pulse of the machine.
1865 R. S. Hawker Prose Wks. (1893) 43 Had this instrument [sc. a barometer], the pulse of the storm, been preserved, the crew would have received warning of the..hurricane.
1937 Amer. Home Apr. 4/3 There have been fundamental changes in our economic order, those very close to the financial and economic pulse maintain.
1956 ‘R. West’ Fountain Overflows vii. 148 As the cutter went round the field in a closing spiral..he and all the wild things which had gathered with him in the dwindling island of wheat must have been shaken by one pulse of fear.
1993 Face Sept. 156/1 Fears that Glasgow, once the pulse of Scotland, will become a shadow of its former self appear to be well-founded.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > attack > [noun]
fiend-reseOE
frumresec1275
assault1297
sault1297
inracea1300
sailing13..
venuea1330
checkc1330
braid1340
affrayc1380
outrunningc1384
resinga1387
wara1387
riota1393
assailc1400
assayc1400
onset1423
rake?a1425
pursuitc1425
assemblinga1450
brunta1450
oncominga1450
assembly1487
envaya1500
oncomea1500
shovea1500
front1523
scry1523
attemptate1524
assaulting1548
push1565
brash1573
attempt1584
affront?1587
pulse1587
affret1590
saliaunce1590
invasion1591
assailment1592
insultation1596
aggressa1611
onslaught1613
source1616
confronta1626
impulsion1631
tentative1632
essaya1641
infall1645
attack1655
stroke1698
insult1710
coup de main1759
onfall1837
hurrah1841
beat-up of quarters1870
offensive1887
strafe1915
grand slam1916
hop-over1918
run1941
strike1942
the world > movement > impact > [noun] > forcible, heavy, or violent
piltinga1250
racec1330
squatc1350
dasha1375
percussion?a1425
peise1490
poise1490
dashing1580
gulp1598
jolt1599
feeze1603
slam1622
arietation1625
pash1677
pulse1677
jounce1784
smash1808
smashing1821
dush1827
birr1830
dunch1831
whop1895
1587 A. Fleming et al. Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) III. 1024/1 The commons..ran all into the towne; and there ioine themselues togither to abide the pulse.
1677 T. Gale Court of Gentiles: Pt. IV iv. 309 Every bodie that is moved by an externe pulse is inanimate.
a1687 W. Petty Treat. Naval Philos. i. ii, in T. Hale Acct. New Inventions (1691) 124 The quick and effectual pulse of the water upon the Rudder.
1710 J. Harris Lexicon Technicum II Vibrating-Motion, is a very quick and short Motion of the solid Parts of Bodies, caused by the Pulse or Stroke of some Body upon them.
4.
a. Each of a rhythmical succession of strokes or undulations; a single vibration or wave; a beat.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > alternating or reciprocating motion > pulsation > [noun] > a pulsation
pulse1616
throb1651
pulsation1832
1616 B. Jonson Emo (ed. 2) iv. iv, in Workes 142 I doe expect him at euery pulse of my watch.
1673 I. Newton Let. 3 Apr. (1959) I. 264 To suppose that there are but two figures sizes & degrees of velocity or force of the æthereal corpuscles or pulses.
1718 I. Newton Opticks (ed. 2) iii. i. 326 The Vibrations or Pulses of this Medium..must be swifter than Light.
1757 E. Burke Philos. Enq. Sublime & Beautiful iv. §11. 135 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.
1794 G. Adams Lect. Nat. & Exper. Philos. V. 4 In what manner the pulses of the air are propagated by sound.
1827 J. Keble Christian Year I. iii. 5 The last faint pulse of quivering light.
1891 J. R. Lowell Latest Lit. Ess. 121 Like those pulses of pale flame with which the sky throbs at unprophesiable intervals.
1935 Science 3 May 413 Pulses of light, emitted by the sun, require 500 seconds for their journey to the earth.
1973 Nature 20 July 141/1 Transpacific movement of pulses of warm and cold water is apparently a rather common occurrence.
1997 J. Wilson Coarse Fishing Method Man. (1998) 194/3 Positioning that bait in a chosen area allows the predator more time to home in on its vibratory pulses.
b. A rhythmical recurrence of strokes, vibrations, or undulations collectively; beating, vibration.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > alternating or reciprocating motion > pulsation > [noun]
throbbing1573
beatinga1616
pulse1657
pulsation1658
flaffing1828
flackering1855
1657 W. Morice Coena quasi Κοινὴ xv. 218 Like the pulse of the flowing Sea.
1660 R. Boyle New Exper. Physico-mechanicall xxvii. 208 So weak a pulse as that of the ballance of a Watch.
1665 R. Hooke Micrographia xv. 100 That there is such a fluid body..which is the medium, or Instrument, by which the pulse of Light is convey'd.
1726 E. Stone New Math. Dict. at Sound A Sound moves 968 Foot..in a Second of Time..supposing the Air by the Pulse which causes Sound, to be in a Motion.
1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam lxxxv. 125 The measured pulse of racing oars Among the willows. View more context for this quotation
1876 J. S. Blackie Songs Relig. & Life 157 Pulse of waters blithely beating, Wave advancing, wave retreating.
1915 V. Woolf Voy. Out ix. 121 The faint but penetrating pulse of an electric bell could now be heard in the corridor.
1951 N. Monsarrat Cruel Sea (1953) iii. x. 259 The pulse of the screw against the racing sea made the whole after-part vibrate.
1993 National Trust Mag. Spring 34/2 The..massive granite engine houses..echoed to the slow pulse of giant steam pumps while the miners toiled in the darkness 278 fathoms down.
c. Prosody and Music. A beat or stress in the rhythm of a verse or piece of music; a succession of such beats or stresses.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > versification > rhythm > [noun] > beat > rhythmical or metrical stress
accent1550
stroke1576
impression1643
percussion1674
pulse1677
ictus1752
arsis?1775
elevation1776
thesis1864
upbeat1883
1677 Ld. Guildford Philos. Ess. Musick 33 As the Musick and Harmony of Tones depends upon the regular distance of the pulses..the observance of a regular proportion of Time affords great pleasure; as in the beating a Drum, or striking a pair of Castanets.
1712 J. Brightland Gram. Eng. Tongue (ed. 2) xi. 127 If Pulse of Verse a Nation's Temper shows In keen Iambics English Metre flows.
1885 J. Lecky in Philol. Soc. Proc. p. v Varieties of metre were caused (a) by altering the division and coalescence of pulses, as in passing from dactyl to anapest..(b) by altering the number of pulses into which the stress-group was divided (substitution of triplets in binary metre, and of duplets in ternary).
1893 C. H. H. Parry Art of Music 7 In that state the rhythmic music is defined only by the pulses, and has no change of pitch.
1922 S. Grew in Contemp. Rev. Aug. 226 The first voice of the above has a ‘metre’ of four pulses, the second has a ‘metre’ of three.
1992 Strad Feb. 116/2 For a useful exercise, tap a pulse at the speed of crotchet = 60 and name the first and last note on each line with each beat.
d. Physics. A short burst of radiated energy; a train of radio waves, sound waves, etc., of very short duration.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic phenomena > [noun] > pulse
pulse1904
1904 S. R. Bottone Radium iv. 74 A third kind of emanation is also produced by radium... Röntgen rays—ether vibrations—produced..by the sudden arrest of velocity of the electrons by solid matter, producing a series of Stokesian ‘pulses’ or explosive ether waves, shot into space.
1906 Nature 29 Nov. 105/2 The signal produced by a spark discharge consists of a series of violent pulses each consisting of a short train of strongly damped vibrations of definite frequency.
1947 J. G. Crowther & R. Whiddington Sci. at War 16 Meanwhile the pulse flies on, reaches the aircraft, and is reflected back as an echo.
1978 Sci. Amer. Apr. 38/2 The bats and whales were before us, but now we humans make routine use of pulses of ultra~sound (or of microwave) to map the night or the depths.
1987 Atlantic Mar. 26/3 Electrically powered devices known as gyrotrons can produce brief pulses of very high energy microwave radiation.
e. Physics and Electronics. A sudden momentary change in the amplitude of an electrical signal from a steady or slowly varying level; = impulse n. 5.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > voltage > [noun] > pulse, surge
impulse1883
surge1908
pulse1932
spike1935
pip1946
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electric current > flow of electricity > [noun] > pulse, surge
impulse1883
surging1904
surge1908
kick1910
pulse1932
glitch1962
1932 Proc. Physical Soc. 44 77 A transformer..translated the square-topped current pulsations into voltage pulses, alternately positive and negative, of very short duration.
1949 B. Grob Basic Television v. 63 The amplitude of the video signal is divided into two sections, the lower 75 per cent being devoted to the active camera signal while the upper 25 per cent is used for the synchronizing pulses.
1967 Electronics 6 Mar. 159/2 A simple change in d-c level cannot be used as a trigger because it locks up the flip-flop against further changes; a pulse is a must.
1971 C. C. Goodyear Signals & Information ii. 31 The behaviour of the spectrum of a train of pulses as the pulse interval T is made indefinitely large.
2002 R. Carter Consciousness i. 24 During this split second, the brain does a phenomenal amount of preconscious work in order to turn a stream of electrical pulses into a conscious sight, sound, emotion, thought or perception.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > mechanics > force > [noun] > average value multiplied by time
impulse1875
pulse1899
1899 R. H. Jude & H. Gossin Physics 41 Time-integral, like every other physical quantity, must have a proper unit. In the British system this is that of 1 poundal acting for 1 sec. and is called 1 pulse.
6. Chiefly Biology and Chemistry. A quantity (or increased quantity) of a reactant, isotopic label, drug, or other substance supplied to a system, substrate, etc., during a brief interval. Cf. pulse-label vb. at Compounds 2, spike n.2 2f(b).
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > laboratory analysis > period > [noun]
logarithmic phase1914
prothrombin time1927
log phase1938
turnover time1943
survival time1947
pulse1960
scotophase1962
1960 Jrnl. Molecular Biol. 2 308 Phage infection and the subsequent 32P pulse experiment were performed at 28°C.
1970 Jrnl. Catalysis 19 401/1 Both the metal area and the specific catalyst activity may be determined in a single experiment by injecting successive pulses of adsorbate into the reactant stream and measuring the decline in reaction rate.
1985 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 9 Nov. 1305/2 We achieved prompt remission without side effects in patients given three intravenous pulses of methylprednisolone followed by low dose oral prednisone.
1997 J. M. Crothers et al. in F. Halter et al. Gut as Model in Cell & Molecular Biol. xx. 238 A pulse of 2 mCi of [35S]-methionine and [35S]-cysteine in an approximately 4:1 ratio..was injected via an ear vein.
2003 Proc. National Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 100 1495/2 A typical concentration of the pulse in the reactor was 0.5 mM... After the pulse was injected, 10 samples were collected..every minute.
7. Geology. A temporary upward movement of magma through the earth's crust; a body of magma intruded in this way.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > formation of features > tectonization or diastrophism > [noun] > upwelling of magma
magmatism1952
sea-floor spreading1961
pulse1964
ocean-floor spreading1965
plume1967
1964 Nature 13 June 1100/2 Difficulties with this concept have led petrologists..to postulate a pulse mechanism to explain such features as the magnetite layer near the top of the Main Norite Zone of the Bushveld Igneous Complex.
1977 A. Hallam Planet Earth 68 Occasionally a new pulse of magma on its way to the surface breaks off fragments that emerge as xenoliths included in lava flows or ash falls.
2006 Jrnl. Struct. Geol. 28 576/1 It is necessary..to keep in mind that later magma pulses may intrude into earlier pulses, the latter of which thus become host rock to the younger pulses.
8. Cookery. A function on a food processor which enables it to operate in short bursts, rather than continuously (chiefly attributive); an instance of using this function.
ΚΠ
1971 J. Oster Blender Recipes (rev. ed.) 6 Simply push the desired speed button and momentarily activate the pulse button as often as desired.
1977 Bucks County (Pa.) Courier Times 13 July a13/2 Will have steel and plastic blades, shredding and slicing discs, on-off and pulse buttons,..and a brake that stops moving parts quickly.
1984 J. Rosso & S. Lukins Silver Palate Good Times Cookbk. (1985) v. 400/1 Add the butter and process with repeated pulses until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
1990 Littlewoods Catal. Spring–Summer 860/1 (caption) Kenwood Food Processor..Single Speed and Pulse.
2004 Marie Claire (N.Y.) (Electronic ed.) Aug. Remove rosemary sprig, and puree bean mix in a food processor using the pulse function.
Phrases
P1. to feel (also take, †taste, †try) the pulse (also †pulses) of: (a) Medicine to ascertain the rate and nature of the pulse; (b) figurative to ascertain the intentions, feelings, or opinion of.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > interrogation > extract information [verb (intransitive)] > by sounding out
to feel (also take, taste, try) the pulse (also pulses) ofa1400
fish1570
to take soundings1856
the world > health and disease > healing > diagnosis or prognosis > specific measuring or recording > measure or record [verb (intransitive)] > feel the pulse
to feel (also taste) a person's (or the) vein(s)c1330
to feel (also take, taste, try) the pulse (also pulses) ofa1400
a1400 tr. Lanfranc Sci. Cirurgie (Ashm.) (1894) 221 (MED) I tastide hir pous & it was wondir feble.
?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) (1996) i. l. 8896 He tasted his pouce, saw his vryne.
?c1425 T. Hoccleve Jonathas (Durh.) l. 604 in Minor Poems (1970) i. 237 He sy hire vryne & eeke felte hir pous.
?c1550 tr. P. Vergil Eng. Hist. (1846) I. viii. 288 Godwinus havinge noe small confidence (after hee hadd once felte his pulses and perceaued his diet).
a1616 W. Shakespeare Comedy of Errors (1623) iv. iv. 53 Giue me your hand, and let mee feele your pulse . View more context for this quotation
1639 S. Du Verger tr. J.-P. Camus Admirable Events a iv I have runne over some pieces of them, only as to feele their pulse, and informe my selfe of their language and Country.
1707 J. Freind Acct. Earl of Peterborow's Conduct in Spain 263 With whom my Lord had occasion to talk and to feel his Pulse.
1759 L. Sterne Let. 5 Oct. in Lett. 1739–64 (2009) 96 I propose..to print a lean Edition..at my own Expence merely to feel the Pulse of the World—& that I may know what Price to set..from the reception of these.
1833 C. Williams Fall River 174 We approached the young woman and felt her pulse, and believing she was in a hysteric fit,..begged permission to employ restoratives.
1869 A. C. Swinburne Ess. & Stud. 5 He only who has felt the pulse of an age can tell us how fast or slow its heart really beat towards evil or towards good.
1904 J. London Sea-wolf xxxvi. 338 I took his pulse. It beat steadily and strong, and was quite normal.
1961 N. Mailer Advts. for Myself 175 He is taking the pulse of his anxiety.
1992 J. Peters & J. Nichol Tornado Down xxiii. 235 A doctor took everybody's pulse and blood pressure, examined everyone's eyes.
P2. on (also upon) the pulse (and variants): through one's own experience.With allusion to Keats's use.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > knowledge, what is known > experience > [adverb]
expertlyc1420
feelinglyc1450
experimentally1593
on (also upon) the pulse1818
ambulando1876
1818 J. Keats Let. 3 May (1931) I. 154 Axioms in philosophy are not axioms until they are proved upon our pulses. We read fine things, but never feel them to the full until we have gone the same steps as the Author.
1953 C. Vaughan Four Metaphysical Poets p. v The meaning is unambiguous... It is not only conveyed to the reason but ‘proved on the pulses’ by the poet's rhythm and diction.
1968 Times 6 July 21/1 Doctrines must be constantly proved on the pulses of political reality.
1973 Listener 6 Dec. 798/3 The committed nationalism of, say, the 19th-century Russian composers, who had felt oppression on the pulse.
2004 Kirkus Rev. (Nexis) 1 May Brimful with love, nature, energy, and intellect: history proved on the pulse and expressed through the heart.
P3. to have (also keep, lay, etc.) one's finger(s) on the pulse: see to have (also keep, lay, etc.) one's finger(s) on the pulse at finger n. Phrases 4r.
Compounds
C1.
a. General attributive.
pulse amplitude n.
ΚΠ
1915 Proc. Royal Soc. B. 88 529 The [blood] pressure first rose and the pulse amplitude diminished.
1963 B. Fozard Instrumentation Nucl. Reactors iv. 42 Discrimination against gamma rays is obtained by using a pulse amplitude discriminator in conjunction with the counter.
2005 Internat. Jrnl. Machine Tools & Manuf. 45 1283/1 These difficulties are often dealt with by the proper selection of probe and parameter settings, such as pulse width, pulse amplitude, pulse repetition rate, [etc.].
pulse beat n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > vascular system > circulation > pulsation > [noun]
pulsea1398
pulsation?a1425
stroke1538
pulsidge1600
pulsion1607
mication1686
ictus1707
beat1755
pulse beat1838
blood-beat1851
1838 H. D. Thoreau Jrnl. 10 Aug. (1981) I. 50 Every pulse beat is in exact time with the crickets chant.
1841 R. W. Emerson Method of Nature 8 We do not take up a new book, or meet a new man without a pulse-beat of expectation.
1969 W. Mitford Lovely she Goes! xxxi. 168 The pulse beat of the engine is the beat of nature's heart.
1995 W. Weaver tr. U. Eco Island of Day Before 336 Here he was, believing hours had passed, and instead only a few pulse-beats had gone by.
pulse height n.
ΚΠ
1948 L. B. Arguimbau Vacuum-tube Circuits xi. 560 Depending on the pulse height, the multivibrator will synchronize at one fifth, one fourth, or one third of the pulse repetition rate.
1987 J. Millman & A. Grabel Microelectronics (ed. 2) xv. 699 This system is often referred to as a pulse-height modulator or a pulse-amplitude modulator.
pulse rate n.
ΚΠ
1870 Proc. Royal Soc. 19 324 The first cardio-arterial interval varies inversely as the square root of the pulse-rate.
1935 F. P. Gay Agents of Dis. lxiii. 1506 Symptomatic disturbances during protein shock are an increased pulse rate, sweating, decreased blood pressure, [etc.].
1992 News of World 15 Nov. (Suppl.) 26/2 And make it the sort [of exercise] that really pushes up your pulse rate—aerobic activities such as running, press-ups and swimming.
pulse recurrence frequency n.
ΚΠ
1937 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) A. 236 205 The time scale on the oscillograph screen at the receiver and the pulse recurrence frequency at the sender were separately controlled.
1991 New Scientist 31 Aug. 52/3 The frequency range used is 3 to 30 megahertz; the pulse recurrence frequencies range from a few hertz to several tens of hertz.
pulse recurrence rate n.
ΚΠ
1948 Proc. Symp. Large-scale Digital Calculating Machinery 1947 37 The normal pulse recurrence rate of the ENIAC is 100,000 cycles per second.
1965 Proc. Royal Soc. A. 283 455 On account of the long lattice relaxation time of cerium, the pulse recurrence rate was kept below 10 s−1.
pulse repetition frequency n.
ΚΠ
1947 Science 10 Oct. 333/1 The rectangular pulses used in this experiment contain all harmonics of the fundamental pulse repetition frequency at approximately equal amplitude.
1993 Jrnl. Insect Behavior 6 125 The pulse repetition frequency of the male song is known to be involved in mate recognition and also to vary among geographical populations.
pulse repetition rate n.
ΚΠ
1948 L. B. Arguimbau Vacuum-tube Circuits xi. 560 Depending on the pulse height, the multivibrator will synchronize at one fifth, one fourth, or one third of the pulse repetition rate.
1989 Jrnl. Royal Soc. Med. 82 295/2 A laser pulse repetition rate corresponding to the MHz acoustic frequency of the ultrasound lithotripter could show greater success in pulverizing stones.
pulse stroke n.
ΚΠ
1832 W. Motherwell Poems 101 Feel every pulse-stroke thrill of good.
1881 Times 21 Apr. 5/6 Lord Beaconsfield was a bold, ambitious, fantastic striver without the pulsestroke of genuine patriotism.
1975 Speculum 50 700 The difficulty of detecting the music of pulse might be due to the extreme brevity of pulse strokes as compared with musical notes.
pulse-throb n.
ΚΠ
1797 M. G. Lewis tr. F. Schiller Minister v. ii. 181 There was a time..when eagerness for my presence hung upon the weights of the tardy clock; and when every pulse-throb was chidden.
1860 N. Hawthorne Marble Faun I. xiv. 161 Cleopatra had sunk down out of the fever and turmoil of her life, and for one instant—as it were, between two pulse-throbs—had relinquished all activity.
1955 Post Standard (Syracuse, N.Y.) 29 Sept. 4/1 I used to lie and listen to the rustle of my own pulse-throb.
pulse-tick n.
ΚΠ
1855 R. Browning Old Pictures in Florence vi, in Men & Women II. 53 One whom each fainter pulse-tick pains.
pulse train n.
ΚΠ
1948 Jrnl. Sci. Instruments 25 145/2 The direction of a single pulse train, derived from a Geiger-Müller counter, so that pulses pass alternately into the two solenoids.
1990 Physiotherapy 76 746/2 For fracture repair 20 pulses are grouped together in a pulse train, or pulse burst.., lasting 5 ms.
b. Objective.
pulse-amplifying adj.
ΚΠ
1956 Science 20 Apr. 663/2 Measurement[s] of the pulse amplifying characteristics have been carried out with a transmission photomultiplier of seven stages.
2005 Optics & Lasers in Engin. 43 266 A photodiode..is used to monitor the pulse amplifying process in the cavity.
pulse analyser n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic devices or components > electronic instruments > [noun] > instrument classifying pulses
kicksorter1947
pulse analyser1947
1947 Rev. Sci. Instruments 18 90/2 Five instruments, which have been named Pulse Analysers, Pulse Amplitude Analysers, or ‘Kicksorters’, have been developed in England and Canada.
1999 Thin Solid Films 346 192/2 The pulses are recorded in channels of the pulse analyser according to their height.
pulse counter n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic devices or components > electronic instruments > [noun] > scaler or pulse counter
scale of (two, etc.)1932
scaler1945
pulse counter1963
1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Gil Blas I. ii. iv. 208 The little pulse-counter set himself about reviewing the patient's situation.
1963 B. Fozard Instrumentation Nucl. Reactors xiii. 166 Two scales..indicate approximately (a) the current produced in a reactor instrumentation ionisation chamber..and (b) the pulse rate produced by a fission-type pulse counter.
2000 J. Van der Spiegel et al. in R. Rojas & U. Hashagen First Computers ii. 142 The Master Programmer..is basically a pulse counter which emits a program pulse every time it receives one..and at the same time increments its own counter.
pulse-counting adj.
ΚΠ
1947 Jrnl. Optical Soc. Amer. 37 430/1 The lower limit of usable voltage or gain in the photomultiplier tube in a pulse-counting application is reached when the photo~electronic output pulse becomes reduced.
1992 S. P. Maran Astron. & Astrophysics Encycl. 311/2 Designed to operate primarily in the ultraviolet, it uses a pulse-counting television system for high sensitivity.
pulse-feeling n. and adj.
ΚΠ
1778 G. Washington Let. 20 Aug. in D. R. Hoth Papers George Washington (Revolutionary War Series) (2006) XVI. 338 His Letters..are..of a pulse-feeling cast.
1826 Lancet 3 June 302/1 You pull out your ‘pulse-watch’, and give us nineteen mortal pages on pulse-feeling!!
1892 Lancet 9 July 115/1 Dr. Colvin Smith records a death under chloroform which affords a striking example of the danger of pulse feeling in chloroform administration.
1897 Lancet 25 Dec. 1689/1 What an object-lesson in the vie intime of antiquity might not be given to the modern world in the capital pulse-feeling scene with its local surroundings?
1999 Resuscitation 41 6/1 Concerning pulse feeling, it could be excluded as a requirement, because even medical students have difficulty feeling the carotid pulse.
pulse-forming adj.
ΚΠ
1947 J. V. Lebacqz & M. G. White in L. N. Ridenour Radar Syst. Engin. x. 376 A pulse transformer can be inserted between load and pulse-forming network so that the network can be designed to use the available switching device most efficiently.
2000 J. McFall tr. K. Wille Physics of Particle Accelerators iv. 139 (heading) A very short pulse, with a duration determined by the length of the pulse-forming cable, briefly removes this barrier potential.
pulse-generating adj.
ΚΠ
1961 Science 21 July 232/2 Pulse generating equipment features high repetition rates and fast rise and fall times.
1988 J. Downer Supersense 33 Pulse-generating species emit such short and irregular clicks that they rarely jam each other and most gregarious electric fish are of this type.
pulse generator n.
ΚΠ
1934 Proc. IRE 22 911 (caption) Transmitter and pulse generator with cathode ray oscillograph monitor.
1990 Sci. Amer. Apr. 90/2 Rather than purchase expensive switches and a pulse generator, Gosnell built a mechanical switching device.
pulse-quickening adj.
ΚΠ
1868 ‘G. Eliot’ Spanish Gypsy 18 Thrilling, pulse-quickening as a living word.
1911 Times 21 Dec. 10/5 The delicious, pulse-quickening, nerve-titillating, brain-maddening music.
1991 Seattle TV Times 24 Nov. 3/1 (advt.) The Super Bass Horn system adds a pulse-quickening punch to bass delivery.
pulse-shaping adj.
ΚΠ
1937 Proc. Royal Soc. A. 161 183 An appropriate compromise between desirable selectivity and desirable pulse-shaping fidelity.
1996 Optics Lett. 21 1756/1 Pulse-shaping technology, based on filtering of spatially dispersed optical frequency components, is now finding applications ranging from optical communications to coherent control.
pulse transformer n.
ΚΠ
1945 Electronic Industries Sept. 222 Pulse transformer, a special transformer designed to have a frequency response suitable for passing a pulse without materially altering its shape.
2000 J. McFall tr. K. Wille Physics of Particle Accelerators iv. 138 The thyratron..is then fired with a trigger pulse, causing the pulse-forming network to discharge abruptly through the primary winding of the pulse transformer.
C2. † pulse-breath n. Medicine Obsolete rare pulsation of the breath audible during expiration (present in some cases of tuberculosis with cavitation or consolidation near the heart and aorta).† pulse-pad n. humorous Obsolete a medical man (cf. pad n.3 4).Apparently an isolated use.† pulse-place n. Obsolete a place on the body where the pulse can be felt; a pulse point.† pulse vein n. [compare vein pulsatile n. at pulsatile adj. 1a and the parallels cited at that entry] Obsolete rare an artery.
pulse amplifier n. Electronics an instrument or circuit for increasing the amplitude of an electrical pulse.
ΚΠ
1940 Rev. Sci. Instruments 11 44/1 The use of ionization chambers in conjunction with pulse amplifiers permits data to be taken much more rapidly.
2000 J. McFall tr. K. Wille Physics of Particle Accelerators iv. 138 The required pulse amplifier and trigger electronics are well shielded within the cathode housing.
pulse amplitude modulation n. Telecommunications a form of pulse modulation in which variations in the signal amplitude are represented by variations in the amplitude of the pulses; abbreviated PAM.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > [noun] > signal > modulation
choke control1909
modulation1919
frequency modulation1922
pulse modulation1929
phase modulation1930
undermodulation1940
pulse time modulation1944
pulse position modulation1945
PCM1947
pulse amplitude modulation1947
pulse code modulation1947
pulse frequency modulation1950
pulse width modulation1953
pulse duration modulation1956
1947 Bell Syst. Techn. Jrnl. 26 396 When the pulses consist simply of short samples of the speech waves, their varying amplitudes directly represent the speech waves and the system is called pulse amplitude modulation or PAM.
1972 Sci. Amer. Sept. 101/2 The most widely used processes of modulation are amplitude modulation (AM), frequency modulation (FM), pulse amplitude modulation (PAM) and pulse code modulation (PCM).
2004 Pacific Sci. (Nexis) 1 Apr. 325 Rapid light curves were obtained for all algal thalli using a pulse amplitude modulation fluorometer to estimate photosynthetic efficiency.
ΚΠ
1862 C. R. Hall in Trans. Med.-Chirurg. Soc. 45 167 By the term ‘pulse-breath’, I wish to signify..an audible pulsation communicated to the breath as it issues from the mouth by each beat of the heart.
pulse code n. Electronics and Computing a code in which the nature of a pulse, or the pattern of pulses in a group, is used to convey a specific value; cf. pulse code modulation n.
ΚΠ
1947 Bell Syst. Techn. Jrnl. 26 395 This paper describes an experiment in transmitting speech by PCM, or pulse code modulation.
1957 Public Opinion Q. 21 413/1 A reading device which scans the entries and enters pulse codes for the information on magnetic tape.
1976 R. Dawkins Selfish Gene (1978) iv. 51 The pulse codes of digital computers.
1993 Proc. National Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 90 10104/1 Refinements of the pulse code for better separation with increasing base number.
pulse code modulation n. Telecommunications a form of pulse modulation in which the actual signal amplitude at successive moments is approximated by the nearest in value of a set of permitted amplitudes, which is then represented by a short sequence of pulses in accordance with a binary code; abbreviated PCM.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > [noun] > signal > modulation
choke control1909
modulation1919
frequency modulation1922
pulse modulation1929
phase modulation1930
undermodulation1940
pulse time modulation1944
pulse position modulation1945
PCM1947
pulse amplitude modulation1947
pulse code modulation1947
pulse frequency modulation1950
pulse width modulation1953
pulse duration modulation1956
1947 Bell Syst. Techn. Jrnl. 26 395 This paper describes an experiment in transmitting speech by PCM, or pulse code modulation.
1967 Times 7 Feb. 9/3 The Post Office is to start work on the installation..of the world's first pulse code modulation exchange.
2002 P. Miles Robot Sumo x. 193 To further improve the reliability of FM radios, an advanced signal transmission method known as pulse code modulation (PCM) can be used.
pulse coding n. Electronics and Physiology the grouping of pulses in accordance with a prescribed code; (also) = pulse compression n.
ΚΠ
1951 Jrnl. Royal Statist. Soc. B. 13 46 Since the transmission of nervous messages along nerve fibres in the body is electrical in character,..we should expect that some form of pulse coding would be used in nervous transmission.
1957 Acta Electronica 2 352 Optimum pulse-coding requirements for industrial colour television operation.
1961 E. E. Suckling Bioelectricity viii. 183 (caption) Record from sensory nerve fibers, showing pulse coding and accommodation.
2005 Military & Aerospace Electronics (Nexis) 1 June 20 Laser designators and seekers use a pulse coding system so that seekers and designators work together. The seeker will track only the designated target when the designator and seeker have the same code.
pulse column n. Chemistry and Engineering = pulsed column n. at pulsed adj. Compounds.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > atomic nucleus > radioactivity > [noun] > tower for solvent extraction
pulse column1954
pulsed column1958
1954 R. Stephenson Introd. Nucl. Engin. ix. 333 The principal advantage of pulse columns is their greater plate efficiency which permits a column of smaller height.
2000 Chem. Engin. & Processing 39 173 Five types of phase-dispersion behaviour have been observed in pulse columns.
pulse compression n. Electronics the conversion of long, low-amplitude pulses of electromagnetic radiation into short, high-amplitude ones, esp. as used to increase the resolution of radar images at long range.
ΚΠ
1953 U.S. Patent 2,624,876 5 The system shown in Fig. 2 may be adapted to provide pulse compression in the radio frequency stage.
1985 Sci. Amer. Feb. 82/3 Limitations on signal power have added to the importance of techniques known as pulse coding and pulse compression.
2004 N. Brown Global Instability & Strategic Crisis App. 275 Pulse compression is the key to maximizing peak power [of a laser].
pulse curve n. a sphygmogram.
ΚΠ
1865 Lancet 25 Nov. 599/2 This indication is given, in the application of the sphygmograph, by pulse-curves, which present a nearly vertical line of ascent, an acute summit, [etc.].
1899 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. VII. 239 (note) The pulse curve is usually anacrotic.
1994 Brit. Jrnl. Ophthalmol. 78 461 The pulse curve of the ophthalmic artery showed significantly increased systolic and decreased diastolic velocities.
pulse dialling n. Telecommunications telephone dialling in which each digit is transmitted as an equivalent number of electrical pulses; cf. tone dialling n. at tone n. Additions.
ΚΠ
1972 Official Gaz. (U.S. Patent Office) 19 Sept. 816/2 Data Dialing Transmitter... A transmitter..controls withdrawal of energy from the telephone lines at a reporting station to intermittently unload the lines for pulse dialing purposes.
1982 D. A. Tugal & O. Tugal Data Transmission iii. 104 With pulse dialing, a typical 10-digit number takes 15 s to dial.
1991 Which? June 303/2 They work only on the newer digital (tone dialling) phone systems, and not on pulse dialling systems, which a large number of phones still use.
pulse-Doppler adj. [after earlier pulsed Doppler adj. at pulsed adj. Compounds] Electronics = pulsed Doppler adj. at pulsed adj. Compounds (chiefly with reference to radar systems).
ΚΠ
1954 Syracuse (N.Y.) Herald-Jrnl. 22 Aug. 63/6 Pioneering new developments on..pulse and coherent pulse Doppler systems for missile guidance, ground base tracking, airborne gunlaying, [etc.].
1989 Flight Internat. 4 Feb. 31/3 Pulse-Doppler radars measure the frequency shift between a transmitted pulse and its returning echo that results from the energy bouncing off a moving target.
2001 Navy News Feb. 16/6 Employing..Blue Vixen pulse doppler radar, the Sea Harrier has the nasty habit of surprising even the most capable adversary platforms.
pulse duration modulation n. Telecommunications = pulse width modulation n.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > [noun] > signal > modulation
choke control1909
modulation1919
frequency modulation1922
pulse modulation1929
phase modulation1930
undermodulation1940
pulse time modulation1944
pulse position modulation1945
PCM1947
pulse amplitude modulation1947
pulse code modulation1947
pulse frequency modulation1950
pulse width modulation1953
pulse duration modulation1956
1956 S. Seely Radio Electronics xv. 439 In pulse-duration modulation..the signal/noise ratio is proportional to the bandwidth.
1980 Euromicro Jrnl. 6 420/1 Both line terminals transmit using Pulse Duration Modulation at exactly the same frequency.
1995 IEEE Micro 15 iv. 40 We present several adapted implementation concepts that..are based on lookup tables, optimized rule processing, and digital pulse-duration modulation.
pulse frequency modulation n. Telecommunications a form of pulse modulation in which variations in the signal amplitude are represented by variations in the frequency of occurrence of the pulses.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > [noun] > signal > modulation
choke control1909
modulation1919
frequency modulation1922
pulse modulation1929
phase modulation1930
undermodulation1940
pulse time modulation1944
pulse position modulation1945
PCM1947
pulse amplitude modulation1947
pulse code modulation1947
pulse frequency modulation1950
pulse width modulation1953
pulse duration modulation1956
1950 Sci. Amer. May 42 Communication engineers call this system ‘pulse-frequency modulation’.
1996 Jrnl. Robotic Systems 13 388/1 The combination of leaky activators with pulse frequency modulation..opens up new possibilities for pneumatic control.
pulse glass n. a partially evacuated glass tube with a bulb at one or both ends and containing a small amount of water or alcohol, which when grasped by the hand exhibits a momentary agitation which is repeated at each beat of the holder's pulse as the heat of the hand vaporizes the liquid.
ΚΠ
1772 A. Walker Syllabus Lect. Natural & Exper. Philos. 8 How far [water is] compressible and hard—proved by the Florentine and Mr. Canton's experiments,—the pulse glass, &c.
1873 T. Hardy Pair of Blue Eyes II. xiv. 301 Elfride..awaited Stephen's reply in breathless silence, if that could be called silence where Elfride's dress, at each throb of her heart, shook and indicated it like a pulse-glass.
2004 D. Baird Thing Knowledge iii. 41 Several toys are now made from pulse glasses, including the ‘fever motor’ and the ‘drinking duck’.
pulse jet n. Aeronautics a type of jet engine in which combustion is intermittent, the ignition and expulsion of each charge of mixture causing the intake of a fresh charge.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > machines which impart power > engine > internal-combustion engine > [noun] > jet > types of
jet turbine1878
ramjet1945
pulse jet1946
plasma engine1958
reaction jet1959
fan-jet1963
1946 F. Hamann Air Words 43/1 Pulse-jet, a jet plane or motor that..operates in short bursts of power or impulses.
1949 Aircraft Engin. Mar. 71/3 No analysis will decide whether ram-jet or pulse-jet is the better—such questions are decided by service experience.
1990 Science 8 June 1219 The ejection system of the beetle shows basic similarity to the pulse jet propulsion mechanism of the German V-1 ‘buzz’ bomb of World War II.
pulse-label v. Biochemistry (transitive) to label (a cell, cell component, etc.) by subjecting it to a pulse (sense 6) of radioactive or other material.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > laboratory analysis > processes > [verb (transitive)] > labelling
label1935
tag1939
pulse-label1961
1961Pulse-label [see pulse-labelling n.].
1966 Proc. National Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 56 106 The H3-thymidine was added 2–5 hr before fixation for a 10-min interval, in an attempt to ‘pulse-label’ the chromosomes.
1974 Nature 8 Nov. 168/1 Yeast protoplasts were pulse labelled for 30 min with H-adenine, then quickly cooled and lysed by osmotic shock.
1999 Science 13 Aug. 1085/3 We used the fluorescent styryl dye..to pulse-label the plasma membrane.
pulse-labelled adj. Biochemistry (of a cell, cell component, etc.) labelled by being subjected to a pulse of radioactive or other material (see pulse-label vb.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > laboratory analysis > processes > [adjective] > labelling
labelled1935
tagged1945
radiolabelled1949
radio-tagged1949
pulse-labelled1962
photoaffinity1970
1962 Proc. National Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 48 428 The chromatographic positions of these three radioactive RNAs corresponds well to..the pulse-labeled messenger RNA.
1993 Science 1 Jan. 85/1 The repression is specific to wild-type p53 and is not the result of decreased expression of transfected CBF as assessed by immunoprecipitations of pulse-labeled proteins.
pulse-labelling n. Biochemistry the action or process of labelling a cell, cell component, etc., by subjecting it to a pulse of radioactive or other material (see pulse-label vb.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > laboratory analysis > processes > [noun] > labelling
label1935
radiolabelling1959
radio-tagging1959
pulse-labelling1961
1961 Nature 13 May 581 (heading) Unstable ribonucleic acid revealed by pulse labelling of Escherichia coli.
1989 B. Alberts et al. Molecular Biol. Cell (ed. 2) ix. 541 Within 30 minutes of radioactive pulse-labeling, the first mature small ribosomal subunits..emerge from the nucleolus.
pulse meter n. [compare earlier pulsimeter n.] = pulsimeter n.
ΚΠ
1871 Proc. Royal Soc. 1870–71 19 405 I tested the flow with a small and delicate but very simple pulse-meter on all these occasions, not liking to interfere overmuch with my fingers.
1927 Sunday Times-Signal (Zanesville, Ohio) 9 Jan. iii. 1/3 Dr. Goldschmit hopes to limit the use of his pulse meter to doctors and experts on the grounds that too close a watch on his own pulse will make the laymen neurasthenic.
1999 Which? Jan. 34/4 Three machines are supplied with a pulse meter so that you can monitor your rate.
pulse-modulated adj. Telecommunications modulated by pulse modulation.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > [adjective] > modulated
frequency-modulated1936
phase-modulated1936
pulse-modulated1943
pulse-time-modulated1945
undermodulated1974
1943 Gloss. Terms Telecommunication (B.S.I.) 65 Pulse-modulated waves, recurrent wave-trains in which the duration of the trains is, in general, short compared with the time interval between them.
1967 J. Blish Star Trek 65 A weak signal with high impedance, pulse-modulated.
1983 New Scientist (BNC) 27 Jan. Radiation from VDUs at very low frequencies may give cause for concern... Some biologists suspect that these pulse-modulated radiations may be more harmful than unperturbed waves.
pulse modulation n. Telecommunications a form of modulation in which a series of initially identical, regularly recurring pulses is varied in some respect (as amplitude or timing), esp. so as to represent the amplitude of an applied signal after successive short intervals of time.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > [noun] > signal > modulation
choke control1909
modulation1919
frequency modulation1922
pulse modulation1929
phase modulation1930
undermodulation1940
pulse time modulation1944
pulse position modulation1945
PCM1947
pulse amplitude modulation1947
pulse code modulation1947
pulse frequency modulation1950
pulse width modulation1953
pulse duration modulation1956
1929 Proc. IRE 17 1787 It could not be predicted with certainty that the transmitter crystal would provide a suitably constant phase reference for comparison with the echoes, particularly because of the fact that its phase..might be shifted slightly by the pulse modulation of the power amplifiers excited by the crystal circuit.
1945 Electronics Jan. 103/3 With pulse modulation, especially at very high carrier frequencies, problems of modulation at the transmitter are greatly simplified.
1997 Bryologist 100 103/2 Fluorescence data in the lab was acquired using a..pulse modulation fluorometer.
pulse modulator n. Telecommunications an apparatus or device for performing pulse modulation.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > [noun] > signal > modulation > modulator
modulator1919
pulse modulator1952
modem1958
coupler1968
1952 Proc. Royal Soc. A. 213 293 The spark gap of a Pulse Modulator..used for pulsing a magnetron.
1965 Wireless World July 18 (advt.) EEV magnetrons, klystrons, pulse modulators..offer extreme reliability in quality marine electronics.
1996 Surface & Coatings Technol. 85 86/2 The pulse modulator..provides the voltage pulses to implant ions into parts.
pulse oximeter n. Medicine an oximeter that measures the oxygen saturation of blood in pulsating vessels, esp. the capillary beds of the finger or ear.
ΚΠ
1984 W. New & J. E. Corenman European Patent 0104771 1/1 A pulse oximeter wherein light of two different wavelengths is passed through body tissue, such as a finger, an ear or the scalp, so as to be modulated by the pulsatile component of arterial blood therein.
1997 M. Dertouzos What will Be i. 12 Kane..asks the technician if the kiosk is equipped with a spirometer and a pulse oximeter.
2000 Reader's Digest Oct. 73/2 The paramedic then gave Stuart a pulse-oximeter, which he attached to his thumb.
ΚΠ
1706 E. Baynard in J. Floyer Anc. Ψυχρολουσια Revived (rev. ed.) ii. 16 These Pulse-pads, these Bedside Banditti.
ΚΠ
a1644 G. Plattes in S. Hartlib Legacy (1655) 262 They say, that divers who were esteemed dead have been annointed with old Oyl in the five principal pulse-places, and revived.
pulse point n. originally North American a place where the pulse can be felt easily (usually where an artery is located near the surface of the body); frequently (and in earliest use) figurative.
ΚΠ
1905 Washington Post 24 Sept. iv. 3/1 The constant dispatching and returning of cars, and all that goes to make up a pulse-point on a great transportation artery.
1946 Chicago Tribune 29 Aug. 18/4 What causes the heart to pound so that clothes and pulse points on the body vibrate most noticeably?
1977 Amer. Q. 29 508 The book is more (or less) than a mirror of the popular mind or a pulse point in cultural history; it is the product of one man's experience.
2001 F. Craft Forever Love xxviii. 179 She put a hint of lavender behind her ears and at the pulse point of her throat.
pulse position modulation n. Telecommunications a form of pulse modulation in which variations in the signal amplitude are represented by variations in the time position of the pulses relative to their unmodulated position; abbreviated PPM.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > [noun] > signal > modulation
choke control1909
modulation1919
frequency modulation1922
pulse modulation1929
phase modulation1930
undermodulation1940
pulse time modulation1944
pulse position modulation1945
PCM1947
pulse amplitude modulation1947
pulse code modulation1947
pulse frequency modulation1950
pulse width modulation1953
pulse duration modulation1956
1945 Electronic Industries Dec. 82 (heading) Pulse position modulation technic.
1992 RS Components: Electronic & Electr. Products July 818/2 The device uses pulse position modulation (P.P.M.) without a carrier, and is therefore best suited to infra-red or direct wire link applications.
2002 P. Miles Robot Sumo viii. 157 Movement commands are encoded using a pulse position modulation (PPM) method (many people incorrectly call this pulse width modulation).
pulse pressure n. Medicine the pressure produced in an artery by the wave of blood flow corresponding to a pulse; spec. the difference between systolic and diastolic blood pressure.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > vascular system > circulation > [noun] > pressure or volume of blood
blood pressure1846
pulse pressure1892
Gaertner's phenomenon1910
hypervolaemia1925
normovolaemia1925
1892 Philos. Trans. 1891 (Royal Soc.) B. 182 628 Maximum of pulse pressure long continued.
1966 Lancet 24 Dec. 1387/1 Fig. 1 shows the mean responses of pulse-rate and pulse-pressure during the insulin-tolerance tests in the six men.
1990 Jrnl. Developmental Physiol. 14 82/2 Fetal heart rate was measured with a cardiotachometer triggered by the arterial pulse pressure.
pulse radar n. a radar system that transmits pulses of radio energy rather than a continuous beam.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > radio communications > [noun] > other methods or operations > radar > types of
radio sounding1922
auto-following1946
automatic following1946
shoran1946
auto-follow1947
pulse radar1947
colidar1961
1947 Sci. Monthly July 8 Pulse radar, in which short streams of pulses are directed towards the missile, sent back by the missile, and the position calculated from the measured time interval between sending and receiving the pulse.
1966 McGraw-Hill Encycl. Sci. & Technol. (rev. ed.) XI. 211/2 In pulse-radar systems the transmitter and receiver generally share a single antenna.
1997 IEEE Trans. Microwave Theory & Techniques 45 1633/1 The proposed filters may be suitable for some pulse-radar applications.
pulse radiolysis n. Chemistry radiolysis by means of very short pulses of electrons or other ionizing radiation, used for studying free radicals and excited states.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > atomic nucleus > radioactivity > ionizing radiation > [noun] > decomposition of compound
radiolysis1948
pulse radiolysis1961
1960 McCarthy & MacLachlan in Trans. Faraday Soc. 56 1187 The technique of pulsed radiolysis has not heretofore been applied to the transient measurement of rapid chemical reactions.]
1961 Nucleonics Oct. 54/1 Pulse radiolysis has become feasible within the past few years through the availability of electron accelerators.
1995 New Scientist 29 July 70 (advt.) The techniques of pulse radiolysis and laser flash photolysis will be used to generate chlorine atoms in aqueous solution and to study their reactivity.
pulse repeater n. Electronics a device for receiving pulses from one circuit and transmitting corresponding pulses to another circuit.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic devices or components > [noun] > pulse repeater
pulse repeater1946
1946 Sci. Monthly Dec. 420/1 A transponder,or pulse repeater, suspended from the balloon could pick up the original radar pulse and amplify it before returning it.
1992 A. J. Levine Strategic Bombing Germany 1940–1945 iii. 42 A pulse repeater in the plane amplified and retransmitted signals from the ground stations.
pulse-taker n. a person who monitors trends or public opinion with respect to a particular field or issue; cf. pulse n.2
ΚΠ
1922 Sheboygan (Wisconsin) Press-Telegram 6 Oct. 2/1 R. C. Forbes, pulse-taker of big and little business names 92 of the largest corporations in the United States as resuming or increasing their dividends this year.
2002 Sunday Times (Nexis) 1 Sept. 4 Almost 90% of Americans tell the Gallup pulse-takers that they are very or somewhat satisfied with their jobs and the work they do.
pulse-taking n. the taking of a pulse rate to ascertain the state of a person's health; also figurative (cf. pulse-taker n.).
ΚΠ
1926 Lancet 30 Oct. 899/2 The common causes of tachycardia are, of course, eliminated by the usual clinical examination and the use of a careful routine in pulse-taking.
1950 N.Y. Times 20 Apr. (City ed.) 1/1 In the light of today's pulse-taking, it appeared unlikely that the committee would agree on such an approach.
1977 Proc. Royal Soc. Med. 70 425/1 We know that pulse-taking was an important ritual, especially among doctors who did not accept Harvey's discovery of the circulation of blood.
1991 Time Out 13 Mar. 14/3 One of the hard things was not knowing what a neurologist really does..there's no shots given, although there is a lot of pulse-taking.
pulse-time-modulated adj. Telecommunications modulated by pulse time modulation.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > [adjective] > modulated
frequency-modulated1936
phase-modulated1936
pulse-modulated1943
pulse-time-modulated1945
undermodulated1974
1945 Electronic Industries Nov. 91/3 At the transmission end amplitude modulated speech signals are changed into pulse time modulated signals by a tube similar to the cyclophone called the Cyclo-odos.
1996 Appl. Physics Lett. 69 3330/1 The pulse-time-modulated UHF plasma can efficiently generate a larger amount of negative ions than conventional high density plasma sources because its electron temperature is lower.
pulse time modulation n. Telecommunications pulse position or pulse width modulation.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > [noun] > signal > modulation
choke control1909
modulation1919
frequency modulation1922
pulse modulation1929
phase modulation1930
undermodulation1940
pulse time modulation1944
pulse position modulation1945
PCM1947
pulse amplitude modulation1947
pulse code modulation1947
pulse frequency modulation1950
pulse width modulation1953
pulse duration modulation1956
1944 Electr. Communication 22 92/1 The merits of another method of transmission applicable to telephony were considered by the Paris Laboratories of the International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation early in 1937... At the time the method was called pulse ‘time’ modulation.
1975 D. G. Fink Electronics Engineers' Handbk. xiv. 28 The control applications [of pulse modulation] are usually confined to the use of pulse time modulation (PTM) and pulse frequency modulation (PFM), where on-off control power can be used to minimize device dissipation.
1995 Proc. SPIE (Internat. Soc. Optical Engin.) 2614 53 The pulse time modulation family..can be employed to trade bandwidth against noise performance.
pulse tracing n. a sphygmogram.
ΚΠ
1866 Lancet 22 Dec. 688/1 The ascent, summit, and descent of the pulse-tracing.
1896 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. I. 314 This change is only maintained during the bath; after it the pulse-tracing returns to its former standard.
2000 H. Kawai in H. Kawai & H. Kawabata Brachial Plexus Palsy iii. 52 Jackson and Keats studied this problem extensively by means of 15 cadaverdissections and pulse tracings in 5 patients.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > vascular system > blood vessel > artery > [noun]
arterya1398
pulsea1398
pulse veina1398
vein pulsatile?a1425
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 237v Þe puls veynes [L. vene pulsatiles].
?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (Hunterian) f. 57v (MED) Þe pouce veine passeþ oute fro þe lefte orifice, of þe whiche þe tone partie goeþ to þe lunges, þe whiche pouce veyne is cleped venalis.
1658 W. Johnson tr. F. Würtz Surgeons Guid v. 353 I called for help, intreating them to cut the pulse vein on my left temple.
pulse watch n. now historical any of various types of timepiece used for determination of the pulse rate.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > diagnosis or prognosis > specific measuring or recording > [noun] > specific measuring or recording instruments > for pulse or blood-flow
pulse watch1706
pulsiloge1812
sphygmometer1834
pulsimeter1842
rheometer1847
haemodromometer1857
pulsometer1858
sphygmograph1860
haemotachometer1867
haemometer1872
angiograph1877
haemodromograph1888
phlebograph1893
oscillometer1910
1706 E. Smith Let. 17 Dec. in T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. (1885) I. 313 Sir Joh. Floyer [is printing] an Invention of a Pulse-Watch wch being nicely set and adjusted to a Man's Constitution tels him when his Blood & that is out of order.
1707 J. Floyer Physician's Pulse-watch Pref. I caused a Pulse-Watch to be made which run 60 Seconds, and I placed it in a Box to be more easily carried, and by this I now feel Pulses.
1826 Lancet 3 June 302/1 You pull out your ‘pulse-watch’.
1960 H. Hayward Connoisseur's Handbk. Antique Collecting 269/1 In the earliest stop watches, c.1680–90, the stop stopped the whole movement. They were used by doctors and were called ‘pulse watches’.
pulse wave n. a wave of blood flow through an artery, corresponding to a pulse; (also) (a component element of) a sphygmogram.
ΚΠ
1846 W. B. Carpenter Man. Physiol. vi. 338 When the tonicity of the arteries is less than it should be, their walls yield too much to the pulse-wave.
1920 J. J. R. Macleod Physiol. & Biochem. in Mod. Med. (ed. 3) xxiii. 200 When the arteries become hardened in old age, the rate of transmission of the pulse wave is markedly increased.
1989 Jrnl. Psychophysiol. 3 404/2 Infrared photoplethysmography was undertaken using a Beckman radial transducer, which uses only back scatter light to detect the cardiovascular pulse wave.
2006 Heart, Lung & Circulation 15 66/1 Auscultatory findings are dealt with in great detail and are supported with ample illustrative phonocardiograms and pulse waves.
pulse width n. the duration of a pulse, esp. an electrical pulse.
ΚΠ
1947 R. Lee Electronic Transformers & Circuits ix. 220 Common pulse widths lie between 0·5 and 10 microseconds.
1991 New Scientist 31 Aug. 52/3 The frequency range used is 3 to 30 megahertz;..the pulse width may be from hundreds of microseconds to several milliseconds.
pulse width modulation n. Telecommunications a form of pulse modulation in which variations in the signal amplitude are represented by variations in the width (duration) of the pulses.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > [noun] > signal > modulation
choke control1909
modulation1919
frequency modulation1922
pulse modulation1929
phase modulation1930
undermodulation1940
pulse time modulation1944
pulse position modulation1945
PCM1947
pulse amplitude modulation1947
pulse code modulation1947
pulse frequency modulation1950
pulse width modulation1953
pulse duration modulation1956
1953 A. T. Starr Radio & Radar Technique i. 26 Pulse Width Modulation does not correspond to any normally emitted C.W. system, but corresponds to phase modulations of the frequencies ω, 2ω,..each multiplied by the original low-frequency signal.
1978 Gramophone Apr. 1790/1 Sony offered the first class D (pulse width modulation) power amplifier.
1991 Hydrocarbon Processing Sept. 181/3 A high performance microprocessor-based digital motor speed controller using current controlled pulse width modulation..for producing adjustable frequency speed control.
Derivatives
pulse-like adj. resembling or like a pulse.
ΚΠ
1585 J. Banister Wecker's Compend. Chyrurg. i. 6 The paine [of an abscess] is pulslike beating, mixt with pricking & some itching.
1828 R. E. Landor Impious Feast vi. 193 Streets throbbed throughout with pulse-like life.
1889 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Sept. 322 The rapid pulse-like beats of the exhaust [in a locomotive].
1990 Sciences Mar. 29/2 Astronomers proposed that the Great Red Spot of Jupiter is a pulselike formation of swirling gases in the atmosphere of the planet.
pulse-wise adv. by means of a pulse, in pulses; discontinuously, a bit at a time.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > continuity or uninterruptedness > discontinuity or interrupted condition > [adverb]
rhapsodically1586
brokenly1591
discontinuingly1611
interruptly1646
interruptedly1663
discontinuously1816
pulse-wise1909
saccadically1962
1909 W. James Pluralistic Universe vii. 285 By us it [sc. reality] has to be taken pulse-wise, for our span of consciousness is too short to grasp the larger collectivity of things.
1974 Solid State Comm. 15 1837/2 Carriers were excited pulse-wise by means of a single-diode GaAs laser.
2004 Acta Oecologica 24 S18/2 Planktothrix exhibits faster uptake kinetics when phosphorus is given pulse wise and at low concentrations.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
pulsev.
/pʌls/, U.S. /pəls/α. late Middle English– pulse, 1500s pulst (past participle); Scottish pre-1700 poulse, pre-1700 pulce, pre-1700 puls, pre-1700 1700s– pulse.
β. Scottish pre-1700 pvnse.
1.
a. intransitive. To expand and contract rhythmically; to beat, throb, as the heart, etc.; = pulsate v. 1a. Now only in literary use.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > vascular system > circulation > pulsation > [verb (intransitive)]
beatc1200
pulse?a1425
strike1583
pulsate1674
throb1725
tick1868
?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 55v First..it [sc. an ulcer] shal ake And after, forsoþ, þan þe particle shal pulse or bete [L. pulsabit] & flegmonie.
1559 P. Morwyng tr. C. Gesner Treasure of Euonymus 359 This oyll anoynted vpon the pulsing veynes, where they appeare moste.
1668 N. Culpeper & A. Cole tr. T. Bartholin Anat. (new ed.) i. xxxvii. 82 For the Umbilical Arteries of a live Child being bound, as yet cleaving to the Mother..they pulse between the Ligature and the Child.
1702 J. Gardiner Disc. concerning Circulation of Blood 89 When taken out of the Body..the Heart Pulses as formerly, tho' it can have no communication with the Brain.
1864 D. Cook Trials of Tredgolds II. 118 The heart pulsed very, very feebly; his eyes were closed again.
1895 F. E. Trollope F. Trollope I. i. 6 The warm blood pulsed beneath high-waisted gowns.
1905 W. Campbell Poems 163 The song of life was on his lips..With heart that pulsed and pulsed again.
1945 W. de la Mare Burning-glass & Other Poems 41 Pulsing beneath the silken skin The milk-blue blood rills out and in.
1993 D. A. McIntee White Darkness (BNC) 224 A vein pulsed in Richmann's temple, giving silent voice to his irritation.
b. intransitive. figurative or allusively, with reference to life, energy, influences, feelings, etc.; = pulsate v. 1b. Cf. pulse n.2 2.
ΚΠ
1818 J. Keats Endymion i. 8 The mass Of nature's lives and wonders puls'd tenfold.
1874 J. R. Green Short Hist. Eng. People v. §1. 216 The throb of hope and glory which pulsed at its outset..died into inaction or despair.
1888 Times 26 June 9/5 The outward and sensible expression of the never-resting flow of thought, action, and feeling which pulses through it [sc. London].
1903 E. Childers Riddle of Sands ii. 13 That delicious physical awakening that pulses through the nerve-sick townsman when city airs..are left behind him.
1947 I. L. Idriess Isles of Despair xxxv. 233 In a beauty of flowers pulsing with life.
1999 C. Brookmyre One Fine Day in Middle of Night (2000) 206 He swiped his card through the slot, another ripple of anticipation pulsing through him as the lock clunked beckoningly open.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > motivation > motivate [verb (transitive)] > incite or instigate > drive, impel, or incite
enforce1542
pulsec1550
carry1570
pusha1578
propel1830
drive1838
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going or coming out > letting or sending out > let or send out [verb (transitive)] > expel
afferreOE
warpc1000
outdriveOE
wreakc1100
to cast out1297
to cast fortha1382
out-chasec1395
flecchea1400
to shoot forth, out, awaya1400
propel?1440
expulse?a1475
scour1488
out-thrust1532
to catch forthc1540
propulse1548
pulsec1550
unplant1552
to turn out of ——1562
extrude1566
detrude?1567
eliminate1568
deturbate1570
detruse1571
unroost1598
to put by1600
deturb1609
bolt1615
run1631
disembogue1632
out of1656
expel1669
rout1812
to manage (a person) out of1907
c1550 Complaynt Scotl. (1979) xv. 99 Necessite pulsis and constrenȝes me to cry on god.
c1550 Complaynt Scotl. (1979) xvi. 110 Ȝour ignorance inconstance ande inciuilite, pulcis ȝou to perpetrat intollerabil exactions.
1573 T. Twyne tr. Virgil Æneid (1584) x. Q v Pulst forth through spite from princely throne [L. Pulsus ob invidiam solio].
1586 in D. Masson Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1881) 1st Ser. IV. 111 The Douglassis wes pulsit up to this be thame quha advanceit thameselffs to be farrest in his Hienes secreitis.
3. transitive. To drive or send out in or by pulses or rhythmic beats; to transmit by pulses. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impelling or driving > impel or drive [verb (transitive)]
driveeOE
sendc950
stira1300
enforce1340
swayc1400
compel1447
force1582
impel1611
impulse1611
to set gone?1611
to knock on1642
pulse1666
command1680
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > alternating or reciprocating motion > pulsation > cause to pulsate [verb (transitive)] > send out in or by pulses
beat1604
pulse1666
1666 J. Smith Γηροκομία Βασιλικὴ 230 The heart..doth..cast it [sc. the blood] forth, and pulse it to all, even the extreamest parts.
1704 Athenian Oracle III. 7/2 Circulation is perform'd by the Blood pulsed into the Arteries.
1820 J. Keats Isabella in Lamia & Other Poems 52 The ruddy tide Stifled his voice, and puls'd resolve away.
1876 A. D. Whitney Sights & Insights II. iii. 371 Life is not dead, but living;..pulsed into us, not set outside of us to grasp and define.
1925 Geogr. Jrnl. 66 505 Such trade was the life-blood whereby the great civilization of Minoan Crete..was pulsed through the veins of our continent.
1946 T. K. Sharpless in Moore School Lect. (1985) 200 The beam hits a certain point and will hold there until it gets pulsed over into the next.
1977 Design Engin. July 27/2 Energy in high power radar systems..is pulsed through a magnetron in discrete ‘pockets’ to allow the returning echo to be related in time with the initial transmission.
2003 Appl. Physics Lett. 82 4602/1 In the X-pinch, a large current is pulsed through two wires that are arranged in the form of an ‘X’.
4. † b. intransitive. To make recurrent thrusts, sallies, or attacks. Obsolete.Apparently only in the works of Thomas Carlyle.
a. intransitive. To perform or exhibit a rhythmic movement; to beat, vibrate, undulate; = pulsate v. 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > alternating or reciprocating motion > pulsation > pulsate [verb (intransitive)]
beatc1200
quopa1382
quavea1387
flack1393
flackerc1400
whopc1440
flicker1488
throb1788
pulse1851
pulsate1861
1851 J. C. Hare in T. Carlyle Life J. Sterling ii. i. 132 Playing and pulsing like sunshine or soft lightning.
1874 J. Geikie Great Ice Age iv. 45 The heat of the sun..pulses through the great piles of ice that cumber the higher elevations of Alpine countries.
1883 Harper's Mag. June 117/1 The thermal water..pulsed out of the cleft of the rock.
1904 M. Hewlett Queen's Quair ii. vii. 285 You could hear the regular galloping of a horse, pulsing in the dark like some muffled pendulum.
1927 A. Merritt in Amazing Stories May 137/2 The shadows wavered; the tips of flame..pulsed outward, drew back, darted forth again.
1973 Sci. Amer. Nov. 33/2 They can be made to pulse up to 500 million times per second.
1995 Face Sept. 90/1 It's late afternoon now, Eat Static and Salt Tank are pulsing through the car stereo and we're heading deeper into the heart of the countryside.
ΚΠ
1851 T. Carlyle Life J. Sterling i. iv. 44 His studies..were..pulsing out with impetuous irregularity now on this tract, now on that.
1865 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia VI. xx. v. 125 Such charging and recharging, pulsing and repulsing, has there been.
1865 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia VI. xx. vii. 201 Broglio, on the other hand, keeps violently pulsing out, round Ferdinand's flanks.
5. transitive. To apply a pulsed signal or electric charge to.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > [verb (transitive)] > pulse
impulse1931
pulse1946
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic phenomena > processes > [verb (transitive)] > apply pulsed signal to
pulse1946
1946 T. K. Sharpless in Moore School Lect. (1985) 191 There is a type of circuit which you might think of as a memory element which is nothing but an r.f. oscillator which when pulsed will break into oscillation and remain oscillating until you quench it in some way.
1964 Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 115 665 The..16 digital output lines..can be pulsed individually by a special computer instruction.
1974 Physics Bull. June 257/1 The transmitter consists of a small loudspeaker pulsed by a capacitor discharge and the echoes are received by a small conventional microphone.
1998 Wired Apr. 186/1 Another big arena for wearables is electrophoresis, in which molecules move when pulsed with an electric charge.
6. transitive. Electronics and Physics. To modulate (a wave, beam, etc.) so that it becomes a series of pulses.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > [verb (transitive)] > modulate
modulate1908
phase-modulate1941
pulse1957
frequency-modulate1962
undermodulate1962
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > light > laser > subject to processes [verb (transitive)]
pump1953
pulse1957
Q-switch1963
mode-lock1966
Q-spoil1966
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic phenomena > processes > [verb (transitive)] > modulate (a device) > to produce pulses
pulse1957
1957 Science 15 Nov. 1034/3 The beam is pulsed, with energy per pulse variable to a maximum of 11 joules.
1975 D. G. Fink Electronics Engineers' Handbk. xiv. 28 In usual applications [of pulse modulation], subcarriers are pulsed, time-division-multiplexed, and then used to frequency-modulate a carrier.
1991 Nucl. Energy June 158/1 The current was pulsed between 90 and 145 amps at a wire feed speed of 520 mm/min and a travel speed of 55 mm/minute.
7. transitive. Chiefly Biology and Chemistry. To subject (a system or sample, esp. cells in culture) to a pulse of a particular reactant, antigen, isotopically labelled substrate, etc. Cf. pulse n.2 6.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > laboratory analysis > processes > [verb (transitive)] > using isotopically labelled substrate
pulse1960
1960 Jrnl. Molecular Biol. 2 320 Uninfected cells were pulsed with 32P under the same conditions and the purified soluble RNA was examined.
1975 Nature 14 Aug. 592/1 After various incubation periods the cells were pulsed for 1h with labelled amino acids or nucleosides, collected and macromolecular synthesis measured.
1990 Internat. Immunol. 2 1085 (caption) The lysis by GN30 cells of 103 GNE, JY or NPR target cells pulsed with Borrelia antigen or non-antigen-pulsed control cells..was measured in a 51Cr release assay.
2002 Jrnl. Hazardous Materials 95 85 Subsequently, batch reactor systems were repeatedly pulsed with H2S to determine if the systems could be saturated.
2005 Virology 335 218/1 Cells were pulsed with 3H TdR and cell proliferation determined by measuring the uptake of radioactive thymidine.
8. transitive. Cookery. To operate (a food processor) in short bursts, esp. using a pulse function; to process (food) in this way.
ΚΠ
1981 Chron.-Telegram (Elyria, Ohio) 11 Jan. c8/2 Pulse on-off several times..to chop ingredients to desired coarseness.
1982 Washington Post 15 Dec. e32/1 In a food processor with the metal blade, pulse the almonds until chopped medium-fine—about 10 times.
2002 J. Peterson Glorious French Food xi. 155/2 The liquid is added and the mixture is pulsed again until the dough forms a ball.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.11297
n.2a1398v.?a1425