Luctations

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A fluctuation in physical or mental states or conditions, often indicating instability or variation in circumstances
2. The oscillation or wavering of an entity, reflecting changes in intensity or quality over a period of time
3. A state of irregularity or uncertainty characterized by shifts in position, level, or values across different dimensions

Etymology: "Luctations" is the plural of "luctation," a word that began as a Latin noun meaning a wrestling match or a struggle. It comes from "luctātiō," formed from the verb "luctor," meaning "to wrestle" or "to strive," and the English noun keeps that physical sense of effort against resistance in its ancestry. The "-ation" ending is the familiar Latin suffix that turns an action into a noun, which is why the word sounds so much like its cousins "information" and "negotiation." Its current sense of "up-and-down changes" is a long way from the original image of two bodies grappling. Struggle and fluctuation share the idea of pushing back and forth against something, and the English word has settled on the oscillating side of that meaning, so that a set of luctations is a series of rises and falls rather than a contest.