Periodicities

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Referring to the quality or state of occurring at regular intervals over time
2. Describing patterns or cycles that are consistently repeating within a given timeframe
3. Relating to the frequencies or rhythms characterized by uniform recurrence in a sequence or series

Etymology: "Periodicities" is the plural of "periodicity", a noun meaning the quality of recurring at regular intervals. It is formed from "periodic" plus the suffix "-ity", which turns an adjective into a noun of quality, and the English noun was borrowed from French "périodicité", which follows the same pattern. The root is the Greek "periodos", meaning a circuit or a going around, built from "peri" ("around") and "hodos" ("way"). In Greek and Latin the idea was literal movement: a course that returns to its starting point. Over time the sense moved from a circular path to the regular return of an event, which is what "periodic" and its relatives now express. The plural form simply names several distinct kinds of such regularity at once.

Synonyms: frequency, regularity, intervals

Antonyms: irregularities