pen·du·lum / ˈpenjələm; ˈpendyə-/ • n. a weight hung from a fixed point so that it can swing freely backward and forward, esp. a rod with a weight at the end that regulates the mechanism of a clock. ∎ fig. used to refer to the tendency of a situation or state of affairs to oscillate regularly between one extreme and another: the pendulum of fashion.DERIVATIVES: pen·du·lar / -lər/ adj.

pendulum

pendulum Any object suspended at a point so it swings in an arc. A simple pendulum consists of a small heavy mass attached to a string or light rigid rod. A compound pendulum has a supporting rod whose mass is not negligible. The pendulum was first used to regulate clocks in 1673 by the Dutch physicist Christiaan Huygens. Foucault's pendulum, devised by the French physicist Léon Foucault, swings in all directions and was used to demonstrate the Earth's rotation.

Pendulum ★★ 1969 (PG)

A police captain struggles to prove himself innocent of his wife's—and his wife's lover'smurders. Wow. 106m/C VHS . George Peppard, Jean Seberg, Richard Kiley, Madeline Sherwood, Charles McGraw, Marj Dusay; D: George Schaefer; C: Lionel Lindon.

pendulum XVII. — modL., sb. use of n. of L. pendulus PENDULOUS.