Word Study
cyclic
CIDE DICTIONARY
cyclic, a. [Cf. F. cycluque, Gr. kykliko`s, fr. ky`klos See Cycle.].
- Of or pertaining to a cycle or circle; moving in cycles; as, cyclical time. Coleridge. [1913 Webster]
- Having atoms bonded to form a ring structure. Opposite of
acyclic ."Used most commonly in respect to organic compounds.""[Narrower terms:bicyclic ;heterocyclic ;homocyclic, isocyclic ]" [WordNet 1.5] - Recurring in cycles{2}; having a pattern that repeats at approximately equal intervals; periodic. Opposite of
noncyclic ."[Narrower terms:alternate(prenominal), alternating(prenominal) ;alternate(prenominal), every other(prenominal), every second(prenominal) ;alternating(prenominal), oscillating(prenominal) ;biyearly ;circadian exhibiting 24-hour periodicity) ;circular ;daily, diurnal ;fortnightly, biweekly ;hourly ;midweek, midweekly ;seasonal ;semestral, semestrial ;semiannual, biannual, biyearly ;semiweekly, biweekly ;weekly ;annual, yearly ;biennial ;bimonthly, bimestrial ;half-hourly ;half-yearly ;monthly ;tertian, alternate(prenominal) ;triennial ]" [WordNet 1.5] - Marked by repeated cycles{2}. [WordNet 1.5]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
cyclic, adj.
1 a recurring in cycles. b belonging to a chronological cycle.
2 Chem. with constituent atoms forming a ring.
3 of a cycle of songs etc.
4 Bot. (of a flower) with its parts arranged in whorls.
5 Math. of a circle or cycle.
1 a recurring in cycles. b belonging to a chronological cycle.
2 Chem. with constituent atoms forming a ring.
3 of a cycle of songs etc.
4 Bot. (of a flower) with its parts arranged in whorls.
5 Math. of a circle or cycle.
Etymology
F cyclique or L cyclicus f. Gk kuklikos (as CYCLE)
THESAURUS
cyclic
alternate, annular, annulate, annulose, articulated, atomatic, atomic, atomiferous, atomistic, beating, catenated, ceaseless, circinate, circling, circular, concatenated, connected, constant, continual, continued, continuing, continuous, coronary, crownlike, cyclical, cycloid, diatomic, dibasic, direct, discoid, disklike, endless, epochal, even, ever-recurring, every other, featureless, frequent, gapless, haunting, heteroatomic, heterocyclic, hexatomic, homocyclic, immediate, incessant, interminable, intermittent, isobaric, isochronal, isocyclic, isoteric, isotopic, joined, jointless, linked, measured, metronomic, monatomic, monotonous, never-ending, nonstop, oscillatory, pentatomic, perennial, periodic, periodical, pulsing, reappearing, reciprocal, recurrent, recurring, repetitive, returning, revenant, rhythmic, ring-shaped, ringlike, rotary, round, round-the-clock, rounded, running, seamless, seasonal, serial, serried, smooth, stable, steady, straight, subatomic, tetratomic, thematic, thick-coming, triatomic, tribasic, twenty-four-hour, ubiquitous, unbroken, unceasing, undifferentiated, undulant, undulatory, unending, uniform, unintermitted, unintermittent, unintermitting, uninterrupted, unrelieved, unremitting, unstopped, wavelike, wheelingFor further exploring for "cyclic" in Webster Dictionary Online
