cyclic
/ˈsʌɪklɪk
/ /ˈsɪklɪk/adjective
1Occurring in cycles; regularly repeated: the cyclic pattern of the last two decades...
- The evolution of the universe could be cyclic, with regularly repeating periods of expansion and contraction.
- The new terror was cyclic, and the cycle took exactly a century to complete.
- Pepper, like some other fruit vegetables, shows a cyclic growth pattern where periods of high fruit set and slow fruit growth alternate with periods of low fruit set and rapid fruit growth.
1.1 Mathematics (Of a group) having the property that each element of the group can be expressed as a power of one particular element.
1.2Denoting a musical or literary composition with a recurrent theme or structural device.His own composition classes were solidly based on a historical foundation of Gregorian chant, Palestrinian and Bachian polyphony, Beethoven's symphonic language, and Franck's technique of cyclic themes....
- The Quartet is a cyclic composition full of fine music ranging from the eloquent to the virtuosic.
- The oeuvre includes the formally ingenious Violin Sonata no.l, its finale a set of cyclic variations recapitulating in reverse order the themes of the entire work.
2 Mathematics Relating to a circle or other closed curve.
2.1 Geometry (Of a polygon) having all its vertices lying on a circle.This information is independent both of the orientation chosen for the plane and of the orientation for the polygon specified by the cyclic order of its vertices....
- The expression for the radius of the circle in which a cyclic quadrilateral is inscribed, given in terms of the sides of the quadrilateral, is usually attributed to Lhuilier in 1782.
- Since Tucker hexagons are cyclic, so are the hexagons of the six circumcenters at hand.
3 Chemistry (Of a compound) having a molecular structure containing one or more closed rings of atoms: a cyclic sulphonium salt...
- He theorized that the structure of these compounds were long, chainlike molecules and not aggregates or cyclic compounds as previously thought.
- The basic mode of action is to make the cyclic structure a straight chain molecule.
- By sharing two oxygen atoms, silicates can form either cyclic or chain structures.
4 Botany (Of a flower) having its parts arranged in whorls.
Origin
Late 18th century: from French cyclique or Latin cyclicus, from Greek kuklikos, from kuklos 'circle'.